Tradewinds RV Park in Vallejo is situated to the east of San Francisco just south of the Napa Valley. It is a pretty basic RV Park, but it is very well situated for day trips to San Francisco. It is close to a highway, and easy to access.
We are posting this review so you can decide for yourself whether the pros outweigh the cons at this park. We are publishing similar reviews for all the parks we visit. We also invite readers to submit their own reviews. Share your knowledge and help us to create a large collection of in-depth reviews to help others in the RV life! Please contact Maggie for more details. For more RV park reviews and videos, click here.
Video and Maps
You can see some video footage of Tradewinds RV Park, and instructions about how to get from the park to San Francisco, in our video below. The part about Tradewinds and San Francisco starts at minute 1:22.
Map showing Location of Tradewinds RV Resort, Vallejo, California
You can zoom this map in and out, and also change it from map view to satellite view.
If you are thinking of doing a trip with an RV in the San Francisco area, check out RV rental San Francisco!
Sites at the Tradewinds RV Park, Vallejo, California
There are 78 sites, all with 30 or 50 amp service. All sites have full hook-ups and cable. There is a small grassy picnic area. The sites are level, and mostly gravel. There were no fire rings or picnic tables. There are 13 pull-through sites, which seem to be reserved for short-term visitors. We were lucky enough to reserve one of these. The sites were narrow, as you can see in this photo.
The park is sparsely treed, and the configuration is tight with little privacy between the sites. The water pressure is adequate. The site we got had not been cleaned after the previous people left, and had a large number of cigarette butts in it – as if somebody emptied their ashtray before leaving.
Location and Local Attractions at the Tradewinds RV Park, Vallejo, California
The Park is in very close proximity to US 80, but we were not bothered by traffic noise day or night. There are food stores and other shops in the area, but nothing within walking distance.
Ferry Ride from Vallejo to San Francisco
Vallejo is a one-hour ferry ride away from San Francisco. This park gives RV’ers a low-cost way to sightsee in San Francisco without a car, in a very relaxed way. You can drive to the Vallejo ferry terminal and park (but the parking lot looked extremely full to us), or take a cab for less than $10. There is a pleasant coffee shop at the terminal.
The ferry is an extremely comfortable catamaran, with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz on the trip. The ferry stops at the Ferry Pier on the Embarcadero and at Fisherman’s Wharf. You can even buy beer, wine, and spirits on board. We combined our stay with a Big Bus tour to maximize our sightseeing in the small amount of time that we had available (just one day). We got off the ferry at the first San Francisco stop (SF Ferry Building), bought a bus ticket in the SF Ferry Building, and hopped onto a bus very close by.
We found this an ideal way to see San Francisco without having to drive into the city – which everyone told us would be a very bad idea, and very stressful.
Pet Policy at the Park
The park allows any type of pets, with the usual leash rules. There is no posted dog off-leash, but we did take them off-leash in the small, grassy picnic area.
Public Transport in the Area
There is no local transit in the area, but there is a relatively inexpensive taxi service which we used to and from the ferry terminal.
Accessibility and Availability
The drive south from Calistoga on CA 29 and CA 80 was for the most part multi-laned and relatively straight. The Park was easily accessed from the highway. Once inside the park, the roads were wide and easy to navigate.
General Atmosphere at the Tradewinds RV Park, Vallejo, California
We stayed at this park during December, so it was cold at night, but we had sunny days with temperatures around 60 degrees in the day time (15 degrees Celsius).
The Park was almost full, with a lot of full-timers. The reviews we read before booking said that there were a lot of transient workers using the Park. We found everyone to be respectful and friendly, with no party animals. However, we were not there over a weekend.
Noise Level at the Tradewinds RV Park, Vallejo, California
The park was very quiet the week we were here. We did not notice any traffic noise, particularly at night.
Staff at the Tradewinds RV Park
The Park is well organized, with an office staffed 8:30 – 5:00 daily, closed between 12:00 – 2:00 for lunch. We were given a very comprehensive package on check-in which included a map of the park, Wi-Fi information, maps denoting shopping and local attractions, mechanics in the area, car rental information, gas stations, written directions to various services, a ferry schedule and a map of downtown San Francisco. This was by far the best information we had been given at any park we stayed. I wish all parks would provide this kind of information package!
Value for Money at Tradewinds RV Park
The price is reasonable for sites with full hookups and cable.
Wi-Fi
We did not use the Wi-Fi because only one hour of service was free. Also, the service is provided by a third party, and we have not had great experiences with that kind of Wi-Fi.
Cable TV
There was cable TV. It was fairly good – typical RV park quality cable.
Cellular Reception
Cellular coverage was good for both Joe’s AT&T and my Verizon service.
Washrooms
The washrooms were always clean, and the free showers had a plentiful supply of hot water with good pressure.
Facilities
There is an office and lounge containing a book swap and videos. There are maps and brochures about the local area. There are laundry facilities on-site. There are very limited recreational facilities. For example, there is a small picnic area. In the winter, it was not at all attractive. It might possibly be useful in the summer.
There is also a small children’s playground. In the winter it is mainly used by people looking for a patch of grass to walk their dogs. Unfortunately, not everyone picks up after their dogs, so it was a bit gross when we were there.
Guest Parking at the Tradewinds RV Park
We did not notice any guest parking area.
Bottom Line on the Tradewinds RV Park, Vallejo, California
The park was quiet with adequate sites. The only negative was the lack of privacy between the sites. However, this is more than offset by the reasonable prices, proximity to San Francisco, and the amenities in the town and surrounding area.
Weigh up these pros and cons to decide if this is the RV Park for you!
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