For our annual camping trip with family, we decided to head to the coast and visit Henry Cowell State Park. The park was amazing…see below for our review!
Henry Cowell State Park – June 2010
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: Near Felton on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Amenities: Flushing toilets and showers
Pets: Allowed at no additional charge
Sites: 3, 5, 10 and 12
Pros: The campground has some awesome sites located under a canopy of trees. The canopy provides protection from the sun and gives off wonderful shades of green when the sun’s rays peak through. Pictures can’t convey how beautiful the greenery is!! The campsites and amenities were very clean and the trails within the campground were nice to explore! Aside from a few small gnats, the campground is essentially bug-free. The campground is a short 15 minute drive to the coast. During our stay, we visited Natural Bridges State Beach (no dogs are allowed but it was too windy and cold to stay long), Mitchell’s Cove (same vicinity as NBSB)–a dog friendly beach, and a beach in Davenport (no dogs allowed at the beach we walked to but there is one nearby). The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was also within 15 minutes; however, no dogs are allowed at the Boardwalk so we did not include this stop in our itinerary.
Cons:
The canopy of trees, while lovely to see during the day, is also the home to many species of birds. Like clockwork, these birds will “talk” to each other during the early hours of the morning. If you’re not a sound sleeper, you won’t be able to sleep in past 6. During our walks within the campgrounds, we noticed that there were quite a few individual sites that were not ideal. Be careful with your selection! If you like the shade, we suggest reserving a site located on the side of the loop where our sites are. If the campground is full, you won’t be able to cut through nearby sites to shorten your journey to the bathroom. If you have a small bladder, try to find a site closer to the bathroom to avoid any accidents. While we didn’t have to worry about bugs, there are lots of birds and squirrels that would love to eat the food you bring! If you leave the site, make sure you put all your food in bins or in a secured place. Don’t leave anything out! During our stay, we lost bread, watermelon, fiber bars, and banana bread to the squirrels. It was out fault for leaving the items out…so learn from our mistake! Also, zip up your tents completely because a squirrel slipped through a four inch gap in the Walden’s tent to get to the bread and ended up getting caught in their tent!! The critters are hungry!!! The campground is alcohol free…but nothing classy red cups can’t disguise!! *wink* 🙂 As with most pet-friendly campgrounds, there are trails that dogs are not allowed. We weren’t the only dog owners who broke the “rules.” Just make sure you clean up after your dogs so we can continue bringing our furry family members on future trips!
PS: The water in the park is cloudy white! Don’t be alarmed when you’re filling up your bins to do dishes…the cloudy white water is just due to air bubbles. If you let the water sit for a few minutes, the cloudiness will diminish! 🙂