Manchester Beach - Mendocino Coast KOA

Hey, it’s a KOA. Busy. Crowded. Pricey, no privacy. Offers lots of activities for families and a pool as well being close enough for a nice hike to the beach. Friendly staff, Clean facilities, Plenty of showers and flush toilets. Very convenient for exploring the the fabulous Mendocino Headlands, Port Arena area and even Gualala. If you don’t expect “wilderness camping” it’s OK. We have a small camper. Wouldn’t want to be here during high season or in a tent.

This is a very nice family campground. Sites are in a pine Grove so roads kick up a lot of dust.

We don’t love KOAs but this is a good one. We were there mid week which probably makes a big difference. We had a w/e site under huge old pines. The sites are big in this part of the park. The tent camping toward the beach is so pretty, and the dog run is big. The trail to the beach is great, but no dogs allowed on the beach itself. Wifi is spotty at best, cell not great either, even with a booster.

There aren't many places to choose from on this stretch of the Mendocino Coast, especially during a pandemic (the state park campground was closed). We were there mid-week in May 2021. This KOA property is large and flat, has lots of trees, and the campsites large and well spaced. We chose a back-in full hook-up site on the northern edge of the campground, and found it to be very peaceful, especially as the occupancy rate was probably only about 50%. The roads are gravel, so there is going to be dust especially when the wind blows (as it does often). Did not use any of the amenities. Wi-fi coverage spotty and challenging.

Campsite doesn’t have much around it. Walk/drive to the beach. Fair condition. Bathrooms needed more attention. Wi-Fi nonexistent. Note: don’t pay for the outside Wi-Fi it doesn’t work much better than the KOA Wi-Fi.

This was a great campground. Beautiful mature trees, no road noise, trail from the campground to the coast. There was a pool, a movie night for kids, an arcade, an ice cream social. Nice place for an overnight.

I would not stay here again. Not a great layout and very muddy. Additionally, the rate quoted did not include pet fees or wifi, they nickel dime you! Avoid unless you must. The best part of the experience was at night as you could not see anything!

It was a rainy time, to be fair, but I have never ever seen so many potholes in a campground as I saw here. Every road and every driveway and every campsite was covered with water- and mud-filled holes. Unacceptable!
Third-party wifi was a bad joke--didn't work as advertised. At least I was able to get my money back for it.
The thing that pushed me past the edge though was the huge Go Brandon flag that a guy two sites down from me flew over his rig. I don't really care what a campground owner's politics are but it's unacceptable to me that they permit guests to advertise their personal BS like this. Left / Right or in between--keep it to yourself when sharing common areas with others you don't know. Shame on KOA for allowing this!

Campground is ok, fairly quiet and sparsely populated when we were there in November. Prices are a bit high for what you get and they charge extra at check-in if you have a dog. Yes there is a dog park which is fine but charging extra feels like nickel and diming to me. Be aware that dogs are not welcome at the state park that is walking distance from the campground so if you want to walk your dog on the beach you have to drive to the next beach down the way. Sites are heavily treed so Starlink is not really an option and wifi also costs extra however I didn't try it so I can't report on the speed, AT&T service was spotty and slow. Site are grass, dirt and pine needles but our site was at least mostly level. The roads do turn into mud puddles when it rains but that didn't really bother us. The road access to this part of the coast is very narrow and windy so be aware of this if you're driving a larger rig. Google Maps may try to route you along MountainView Road but that is not recommended for trailer at all so you must access from the North or South only.