Avila-Pismo Beach KOA

What a horrible campground! RV park only with no tents allowed, but also no space for them. RV's parked within 4 feet from one another. It looked more like a parking lot for RV's than a campground. I'll never be back.

This RV park is tucked in right off the Hwy101 and Avila Beach Drive.

The good points:
Location! We absolutely love this area. We have used this campground when we were unable to get into some of our other favorites. The staff is friendly. There is a small store, large hot tub, and pool. This park also offers the usual KOA events like movies under the stars and pancake breakfasts. The entrance to the Bob Jones Trail is almost directly across the street. This lovely trail is a local favorite for walking and biking. It travels along the sycamore trees, across the golf course, and ends down town at the park and beach area. The Avila Hot Springs are right next door. If you go there you shouldn't miss the Avila Valley Barn where you can get roasted corn on the cob, and great pies.
The not so good points:
The spaces are very close together, and we have had some challenges when we are backing in to a site. I ALWAYS over estimate how long our truck and trailer are when we book here because of that. If you book a center site plan on another rig being bumper to bumper with you. You can hear noise from the highway which is located just the rear of the campground, but it's not terribly bad. Wood fires are not allowed in this park. It's expensive.

Update as of June 2017. This KOA is under new management and, although the grounds and facilities remain the same, we had a number of issues with our last group reservation. The staff seemed pretty disorganized and confused. Requested RV sites ended up being unavailable when we arrived, even after confirming a week prior. Cabins that were booked ended up being the wrong model cabins. Kids are no longer allowed in the hot tub.
We will still stay again, but the experience certainly wasn't what we expected.

Great for an Avila/Pismo Beach weekend, this campground is centrally located and offers pretty much every amenity you could ask for...Pool/hot tub, playground, game room, bathrooms/showers, laundry room, and outdoor movie theater. Cabins available for non-RV campers.

Full hookups with 30/50 amp service, pricing is dependent upon the size of your RV/site. We noticed the sites do run on the small side, so consider sizing up when you reserve your spot.

Staff was really friendly and helpful. According to other campers, this used to be a membership-only campground that had become run-down over the years. KOA recently took over and the staff is clearly working hard to repair and improve the grounds.
There is some highway noise, due to its location, however the grounds are very quiet at night.

We came in on very short notice and were able to book same-day over the phone. After-hours check in was simple. After days of dry camping and boondocking in the desert, this was a welcome slice of civilization for our family. In fact, after two days, none of us wanted to leave, we'll definitely be back!

Overall, this was a great place to stay. They had so many amenities! Nice pool area with hot tub, tetherball, floor shuffleboard, table shuffleboard, billiards, playground, basketball, even movies on weekends.

Sites were really basic, with paved roads and small gravel sites. We had a pull-thru which gave us some more space. Generally I have found at KOA's that it's wise to pay more for a better space.

Avila Hot Springs is right next door, and it's a nice place to soak with a water slide for the kids--great fun. Also don't miss Avila Beach itself. Nice town to kick back and enjoy the beach without the pounding crowds of Pismo.

I enjoyed riding through See Canyon--highly recommended.

Backs up to 101, they show a creek on map but it’s really the 101. Half full but they put us in a back in next to a 40 ft with a long trailer with extra car. Trouble getting hooked up due to extra car and cabin across roadway built right on road. First time we could load truck without leaving Airstream

Great place to go explore the area. Lots of activities for the kids. A little tight but all our neighbors were good. The freeway is close by and a little noisy but not enough to discourage me from staying again.

It’s a nice place to stop. We only did one night on our way up to Santa Cruz. Staff was friendly and campground was clean. You can hear the 101.

This KOA is clean and beautifully landscaped, new playground and lots of nice little touches. That being said, it is small and literally backs up to the 101. We lucked out because we got the last spot... a pull through where they had just added a fire pit and table. It is super cute. This spot had plenty of space but the others, especially on the exterior ring are really packed in and I heard one person complaining as I checked in that there was no room for his slide outs. Staff was super friendly and the place was spotless... so with limited space I think they’ve maximized their potential with the quality. Fine space to stay in as a pass through but it is a bit to the beach from that location. (If you do stay there check out Ontario Ridge Trail... it’s amazing hike just 10 minute walk away. Warning: It is steep! But the view is lovely and it oscilates from oak trees to open space along the ridge.) The 101 noise is a definite minus. It is much nicer than the hot springs RV park next door... that’s pretty much a dirt parking lot.

If it was’nt so expensive and your only here to park your rig then go site seeing for the whole time, this would be perfect. I was parked along the 101 fwy in my 38’ class A with the worst of noise ....I don’t see the logic in charging at all....this area should be used for over flow parking.
Not all KOA’s are equal in caring for the good experience for their “campers” unfortunately.
A great KOA is in Temecula, CA @ $60 a night.

Start with the positives......well managed, nice professional staff, good wifi, good cell service, great bike paths to Avila Beach (about 2 miles), beautiful park like setting. Very nice pool and playground for the youngsters. Well stocked store (very pricey) Even with close quarters, it was reasonably quiet.

The not so good: this KOA has packed as many sardines as they could into this small park. For 90 bucks, you get a postage size site with your neighbors as close as you can get without getting married. For $120+ bucks, you get a bigger site, but since these are reserved for the bigger rigs, the result is the same. If you are staying one night and not want to unhitch, think again.

Bathroom, showers were ok but my spouse tells me the washing machine gaskets were very dirty.

When you pay this much, expectations are raised. Most KOA do meet our expectations but not this one.