The night that makes a Sonoma trip work is up Adobe Canyon Road at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, a meadow-and-creek camp under rock outcrops above Kenwood and the closest public campground to the valley's tasting rooms. Sites open on ReserveCalifornia up to six months out and the weekends go, so book the site first and the van second. It's an alcohol-free park with no hookups and no dump station, which catches out a few people who came to wine country to drink wine, so roll in with full water and a charged battery.
Days run down Highway 12 through Kenwood and Glen Ellen, one tasting room to the next, with the oak-shaded plaza back in Sonoma for lunch in between. For a second tasting day, Napa is just east over Highway 12 and 121, close enough to spend the afternoon there and still be back up the canyon by dark.
The Sonoma Coast at Bodega Bay and Wright's Beach
When the valley bakes, run Highway 116 west to Highway 1, where the summer fog usually burns off by midday and the air stays cool. Two state camps put a van right at the water, Bodega Dunes back in the dune grass and Wright's Beach out at the sand edge.
Wright's has 27 developed sites next to the beach and takes trailers up to 27 feet, with the premium beach row booking out months ahead. There are no showers, and as of August 2026 a boil-water notice means no tank fill there, so top up fresh water at Bodega Dunes about five miles south.
Bodega Dunes is the larger camp back in the grass, with token hot showers and the fill station that also serves Wright's. Its dump station is closed under a notice dated August 2026, so plan tank service elsewhere and check at the kiosk before you count on it.
At the mouth of the Russian River, Goat Rock has a harbor-seal haul-out on the sand. Stay at least 50 yards off the seals, more during spring pupping, and leave the dog behind, since it's barred there and on the plover beaches at Bodega Dunes and Salmon Creek. Keep north past Jenner and Salt Point is the next coast night, Gerstle Cove open year-round over honeycombed tafoni sandstone, with no dump on site but free dump-and-fill back at Bodega Dunes with a camping receipt.
The Armstrong redwoods near Guerneville
Inland of Guerneville, the old-growth grove at Armstrong Redwoods is the one detour worth breaking the wine loop for, coast redwoods like Parson Jones over 310 feet and Colonel Armstrong past 1,400 years old on the flat Pioneer Nature Trail. It's day-use only, with no overnight in the reserve, so walk it and drive back to Sugarloaf or the coast to sleep. The old van camp up the hill at Bullfrog Pond in Austin Creek is closed until further notice as of August 2026.
Farther south, Point Reyes National Seashore is closer to San Francisco, and that coast trip lives on the San Francisco campervan page. The rest of the state starts from the California campervan hub.
For a group that needs more beds or a rig longer than the 27-foot park caps, RV rentals in Sonoma go bigger.