Smithwoods RV Park - Felton, California

Dava S.

This is a well-maintained, forest-rich, RV location, located close to Henry Cowell State Park, Two different train rides, (1 to the coast & 1 to the mountains). A beautiful covered bridge and it's only a few miles to Santa Cruz!
30 & 50 amp available! (Alas, no internet to speak of.) We brought our Verizon box and had the circle of death more than getting to watch TV . But they do have a small room for WiFi.

Roze C. C.

Gourgous! Pet friendly. So cute and beautiful. It rained I was happy.

Very nice people. We called before we headed up they waited for us. And then left for the day. They have power and water sewer hook ups.
Winter visit.

Only down is you can not get T-Mobile data and the free internet did not reach us so we had to pay for internet which was 8$ for 6 hours.

Christopher K.

The location of the park is good. The redwoods are all around and provide great shade. Campsites are very close to each other.

The campground is dated and the owners should put some money back into the place. There is limited (if any) cell phone service and if you want wifi you will need to huddle up in there “wifiroom” to get it.

We were there for Labor Day weekend. One of their communal bathrooms was out of service and they did not have any ice available to buy. We had to walk over to the campground next door to get a bag (Cotillion Gardens RV Park).

I read reviews of how the staff is and would tend to agree with their assessment. They were not very welcoming, but they were not rude. Almost seemed liked they didn’t want to be there.

I think next time we’re in Felton, we will stay at Cotillion Gardens RV Park.

Crystal D.

We found this RV park by chance and it ended up being one of the highlights of a 15 day vacation all along Northern California.

The RV spots are tucked in the tall redwoods with lots of shade. Quiet and cozy, feels like camping in the middle of a forest because that's what it really is. I love that they repurposed washer barrels for campfire rings. The swimming pool was a big hit. The caretakers clearly do a superb job.

If ever in this area again, we will definitely be back. Highly recommend it!

Ruby W.

Beware of the ownership and poor customer service here! We booked a year and a week in advance (they allowed us to, and their policy is not posted on their website or office that we could find). Then we were called a week later and told the spots we had booked were rebooked by another party because we were booked over a year in advance (by 1week) We were not called to see if we still wanted to book the spots or told when we booked that we needed to call back at the 365 day point. We asked to speak to the owner to express our disappointment. The owner, Rich or Rick I believe called us today and told us it was their policy and even though it was their fault, he didn’t care! He only cared about his “policy”, even though his system allowed the booking. Rick only saw his point and didn’t care about our plans or how it affected us at the customer. He told us if we didn’t like it we could cancel and go to another park and that there were 2 other camp grounds next to him and we could stay there. He didn’t care one bit about us as the customer. He said if we didn’t like it, we could choose another campground. As my husband was trying to explain to him that us as the customer should come first and he should see things from the customers perspective and not the owners and see how their error impacted us, he cut my husband off and said, “you are being hostile toward me and therefore I am cutting you off and cancelling all of your reservations.” At no time was my husband hostile toward him and was only explaining facts. He didn’t want to hear that either and cut my husband off again and said, “nope, we are done and all your reservations are cancelled in the system.” WHAT!? You don’t like the truth and your response is to cancel our reservations. Completely unacceptable! Don’t stay here! It is a nice place to camp because of the scenery, but the place is run down and the bathrooms have been in the same state of repair for 4 years. We have over looked that because of the location and scenery, but now you see why it is the way it is because of poor ownership and leadership. The owner is resting on the fact that no matter what the customer needs them / him more than he needs the customer. Very disappointing experience today for sure. Never expected that. Sad! Stay clear. I would not honor a business that truly doesn’t honor people and customers first.

Sony G.

Rude office staff. The campground is nice. It’s conveniently located near several attractions. The two women that run the office are NOT welcoming and are very rude for no reason at all. It’s seems as if they are tired of doing this and should think about retirement or a career path that doesn’t involve interacting with people. The gentleman that is the grounds keeper is helpful and kind. I only gave 3 stars because of him. Outside of any interaction with the two women in the office everything else was pleasant.

They charge $20 per car and golf cart. They offer a free WiFi room or a complicated charge by the minute WiFi connection at your campsite. They were out of ice but had several snack options in the office for sell. I avoided the office due to the staff, I preferred my stay to be pleasant so I drove to the near by store for anything I needed.

There is a small snack shop at the rear of the camp site. There are no hours posted while it was closed up but I caught it open on Saturday morning there was a sign on the counter showing it opened at 9 AM.

If you have guest or multiple vehicles the additional parking is in the rear of the campsite. It’s a short walk to any of the spaces. I would recommend unloading then finding a parking spot.

There are two joining showers that are separated by showers curtains the bathroom door that leads to the showers does not lock and we had several people not knock and just open the door.

Joe P.

Just camped there last weekend. The staff were helpful and the restrooms were clean (although one was shut down). The sites were a bit on the small side and really close to each other. Our smaller trailer and truck barely fit on the site. We had a small area for the table and fire pit. On the first night two of the other campsites were overly loud past 10PM and into the early AM hours. The camp host was driving around on a golf cart for at least part of the night and it would have been Nike if they enforced the quiet time. Fortunately the second night the loud party was quiet. We saw the host stop by the loud site several times during the day as if they were looking for them. I assume something was said which caused the loud group to be quieter.

K W.

So I have camped here with my family for the past four years, mostly for the atmosphere and scenery, not so much for the amenities and service. This past week and today, confirmed for me that it was never for the service. We were just there for our annual family camping trip and while there we scheduled our stay for next year. Our entire group (4) of us booked our 4 spaces for next year and we’re looking forward to our trip. A week later, while at home, got a call from Smithwoods rep (I won’t name the person) who told me that THEY made a mistake and should not have booed us because it was beyond the year mark and a violation of their policy (not seen on their site or in the office). She continued to tell me that our reservation was cancelled and given to a group who was currently there. I explained how this was not fair and why did THEIR mistake affect me? She told me it was what it was and there was nothing that could be done. I asked her how the system would even let us book if it was a violation. She said it was her mistake and she wanted to try and fix it by moving us. I asked to talk to the owner who called me today. Sadly, the issues of poor customer service continued, but I couldn’t believe how much worse it got. Today I talked to the owner who identified himself as Rick. The short of it is Rick told me there was nothing that could be done and ir was their policy. When I explained to him how it wasn’t fair for us as the customer(s) he told me, “if you don’t like it, you can leave and go to another campground.” When I continued to express my frustration of how the issue was customer service, he continued to say it was the policy and then asked what we wanted him to do. My wife told him she just wanted him to understand how it wasn’t fair and they should have recognized that and how it impacted us. He then said, “it’s our policy and what do you want me to do, I am not going to comp you guys or anything like that, I am not going to give you a free space.” I then told him we were not looking for that and just wanted him to recognize that us as the customer is important and he should see the issue through our shoes and not just as the owner of the business. He then cut me off and said, “ok, you are now being hostile with me and this conversation is over.” I told him I was not being hostile and just trying to explain my position and asked him to see it from the customers viewpoint. He then told me, “that’s it, this conversation is over and I am cancelling your reservation.” I asked him, you are cancelling me and he told me that is you are cancelled and all your reservations are cancelled. He then hung up. I was never hostile, vulgar or rude with him. Rick didn’t care what we had to say. He made it clear that he was the one that was important and me the customer didn’t matter. I felt that he and Smithwoods feel as if we the customers need them more than they need us and if it is not us renting a space it will be someone else. In my 50+ years I have never been treated like this by anyone and have never treated anyone like this. This was the most unprofessional level of service and representation of a company I have ever experienced. If you choose to spend your money here, understand you are supporting a rude, obnoxious, uncaring and unprofessional individual and business. The scenery of this park is amazing and we have enjoyed it, but the park is dated and rundown. The men’s bathroom has been in the same state of repair for the past 4 years and now I know how bad the service is. This was not our first experience of unprofessional customer service and rudeness, but today confirmed what they are all about, Themselves! Rick, you really missed the mark here and failed big time.