Marina Dunes RV Resort Review: Our Two-Week Stay on California’s Central Coast
We stayed at Marina Dunes RV Resort in Marina, California, for two weeks in early April 2026, using it as our home base for exploring Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Point Lobos, Big Sur and Pinnacles National Park.
This isn’t a huge destination campground packed with resort amenities.
That’s also not why I would stay here.
Marina Dunes gave us a quiet, comfortable campsite in an incredibly expensive part of California, put us across the street from the beach and gave us easy access to some of the most beautiful places we visited in the state.
Through our Thousand Trails Adventure membership and Encore/Thousand Trails Collection benefits, we paid approximately $320 for our entire two-week stay.
For us, that made Marina Dunes an incredible value.
Our Site
We had a back-in, 50-amp, full-hookup site in the main section of Marina Dunes.
I believe we were in Site 24.
Marina Dunes is divided into two sections with separate entrances. We stayed in the main section with the office and playground, which worked well for us with three kids.
Our site wasn’t enormous, but we had a surprisingly good amount of usable space—particularly behind our RV.
There was grass behind the site, some shade and enough room for the kids and Willie. We also had a picnic table.
One thing I really liked was the fencing and separation throughout the campground. Even though the individual sites aren’t huge, they felt more private than sites at many larger RV resorts.
Behind our site was a larger open area where the kids could play, followed by a fence separating the campground from Highway 1.
At around 40 feet, our RV was probably approaching the upper end of what I would personally want to maneuver into our particular site. There may be larger sites available, but if you’re traveling with a very large fifth wheel or motorhome, I would confirm your specific site’s dimensions before arriving.
Highway 1 Noise
The campground sits right along Highway 1, so yes—you can hear traffic.
During the day it was noticeable from our site.
At night, though, it didn’t bother us at all.
We slept normally throughout our stay, and overall I would still describe Marina Dunes as a quiet campground.
Most people seemed to be coming and going rather than living there long-term. We saw mostly RVs along with some other lodging options, and people generally kept to themselves.
Kids & Family Amenities
Marina Dunes doesn’t have a huge list of amenities, but the things our kids actually used were good.
There was a nice shaded playground, which they enjoyed.
The campground also has paved roads, and our kids liked being able to ride their bikes around more freely than they can at campgrounds with loose gravel roads.
It felt relatively family-friendly. We saw other families during our stay, although this wasn’t the kind of campground where all the kids congregated and played together every evening.
Because the sites have some privacy, most families seemed to do their own thing.
For us, that was perfectly fine.
We weren’t spending our days hanging around the campground anyway.
Staying With a Dog
There was no dedicated dog park during our stay.
We could easily walk Willie around the campground on leash, and there was enough grassy space around our site for him.
There was also a larger grassy area behind us where, when nobody else was around, we could let him run back and forth with us for a little exercise.
A fenced dog park would have made Marina Dunes better for us, but the lack of one wouldn’t stop us from staying again.
Bathrooms & Laundry
We travel with our own bathroom and laundry setup, so we didn’t use the campground’s facilities during this stay.
Because of that, I can’t fairly comment on their condition.
Internet & Working From the RV
We had no significant connectivity problems during our two weeks.
Starlink worked normally, and from what I remember, our cell service was also fine.
My husband works remotely during the week, so reliable internet is important when we’re choosing a campground for a longer stay. We didn’t have any issues that interfered with his ability to work.
Staff & Packages
Our interactions with the staff were generally friendly.
One thing full-time travelers should know is that Marina Dunes had a fairly restrictive package policy during our stay. From what I remember, they only accepted certain essential deliveries, such as medication and possibly emergency RV parts, rather than regular Amazon packages.
I had medication shipped to the campground, but the package was addressed to me while our reservation was under Eli’s name. That created a little confusion because they couldn’t immediately match the package to our reservation.
After that, I had our regular Amazon orders sent to an Amazon pickup location at Whole Foods in Monterey, which was easy enough and avoided any issues.
Package policies can change, so if you need medication, RV parts or another important delivery during your stay, I would confirm the current policy with the campground first and make sure the name on the package matches your reservation.
Location
The location is the biggest reason I would recommend Marina Dunes.
You’re staying in Marina rather than directly in Monterey or Carmel, but we never felt like that put us at a disadvantage.
We were roughly 20–30 minutes from Monterey, depending on where we were going, with Carmel and Point Lobos a little farther south.
Big Sur was more of a dedicated day trip, but completely manageable.
Pinnacles National Park’s east entrance was approximately an hour and a half away.
For everyday shopping, Marina itself had plenty of services. We tend to seek out stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Natural Grocers and Costco, so we did more of our grocery shopping outside Marina.
We used Costco in Seaside and Whole Foods in Monterey, and Whole Foods also became our Amazon package pickup location during the stay.
The Beach
One of the coolest things about Marina Dunes is that Marina State Beach is directly across Highway 1 from the campground area.
You aren’t stepping directly from your RV onto the sand. You still have to make your way through the dunes toward the coastline, so it is a bit of a walk.
But having the Monterey Bay coastline that close to your campground is pretty incredible.
Ironically, we never actually spent a full day at Marina State Beach.
We were here in April and had only two weeks to explore an area absolutely packed with things we wanted to see. Between Big Sur, Point Lobos, Carmel, Monterey, 17-Mile Drive and Pinnacles, our days filled up quickly.
If we came back during summer, I would intentionally schedule a couple of slower days just to stay around Marina and enjoy the beach.
Weather in April
Early April was a really comfortable time for our stay.
I don’t remember dealing with significant wind at the campground, and unlike our foggy Big Sur day, I don’t remember Marina itself being particularly foggy during our stay.
Most days were comfortable enough for shorts and T-shirts without feeling overly hot or cold.
We couldn’t hear the ocean from our campsite, but we knew it was right across the dunes.
Thousand Trails & Encore Members
This is where Marina Dunes became especially valuable for us.
Marina Dunes isn’t a traditional Thousand Trails preserve. It is an Encore property, and our Thousand Trails Adventure membership includes access to participating properties through the Thousand Trails Collection.
We pay approximately $750 per year for that additional benefit and, at the time of our stay, Marina Dunes cost us an additional $20 per night.
Our total for two weeks was around $320.
That is a completely different value proposition than paying the campground’s normal retail nightly rate.
I don’t know that I would personally pay Marina Dunes’ regular retail pricing for an extended stay. It’s a nice campground, but there aren’t enough resort-style amenities for the campground itself to justify a huge nightly rate for our family.
At our membership rate?
Absolutely.
One important warning for other Thousand Trails members: these discounted Encore sites can be difficult to book.
Availability depends on your specific membership and booking window, so if Marina Dunes is important to your itinerary, I would reserve it as soon as your membership allows rather than assuming you’ll find availability at the last minute.
Final Verdict
Would we stay at Marina Dunes RV Resort again? Yes.
Marina Dunes isn’t the campground I would choose because I wanted to spend two weeks sitting around an RV resort.
It’s the campground I would choose because I wanted to spend two weeks exploring one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline in America.
And there’s a difference.
We had full hookups, enough room for our family, a playground for the kids, space for Willie, reliable internet for work and a relatively quiet place to come home to every night.
Then we could wake up and head toward Monterey, Point Lobos, Carmel, Big Sur or Pinnacles.
For approximately $320 for two weeks through our membership, it was an exceptional value.
I’d happily stay here again—especially if we returned during warmer weather and could finally slow down enough to spend a few days enjoying the beach right across the street.
Sometimes the best campground isn’t the one with the most amenities.
It’s the one that puts you exactly where you want to be.
Marina Dunes did that for us.
Read More
Marina, Monterey & Big Sur: Our Two-Week Experience
Everything we did while using Marina Dunes as our home base, including Point Lobos, Garrapata, Carmel, 17-Mile Drive and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Pinnacles National Park With Kids
Our experience hiking Bear Gulch Cave, Bear Gulch Reservoir and the Rim Trail Loop.
Daniel Cormier Wrestling Academy Review
What it was like having our kids train at Daniel Cormier’s wrestling academy during our two weeks in Marina.
