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4.0
41 votes

Brannan Island State Recreation Area

17645 CA-160, Rio Vista, California 94571 USA

  • Independent
  • Credit Cards
    Accepted
  • Pet Friendly
  • Wheelchair
    Accessible
  • Public
    Restrooms
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“a prime spot for boat campers”

Brannan Island will be managed by American Land and Leisure starting August 1, 2012.  Until then the park will maintain its current service reduction status, but will be available for camping reservations through Reserve America during the month of July.  

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Reviews of Brannan Island State Recreation Area

16 people have reviewed this location

Ratings Summary

4.6 Access
4.4 Location
4.5 Cleanliness
4.1 Site Quality
4.4 Noise

Cell Coverage

Verizon 4G

Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on May 29, 2023

AT&T 4G/5G

Confirmed by 9 users | Last reported on May 29, 2023
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Reviewed by
Campendium

September 03, 2016
Rated

State recreation park that is maintained well. There is a boat launch, picnic areas with bbq's, dry camping, and RV camping (no longer than 36 ft). Late fall through spring is a great time to go. Otherwise summer crowds abound.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $30.00

Days Stayed: 0

Site Number: -

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise
  • 47 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
November 21, 2016
Rated

This place would be great, if it wasn't just glorified boondocking. There are a few RV sites with hookups near the marina (cramped quarters), but the main campground (with 100+ sites) has no hookups. Most of the restrooms/showers were closed for the season, but the big disappointment was that the water was declared non-potable by the state inspector. So this is boondocking, with a $31 price tag (we got the $2 senior discount).

That being said, the surroundings are lovely, and off-season it's quiet. Spaces are, maybe, 30 feet (our 28ft Airstream just barely fit). Great 3-mile walking/biking trail, and lots of room for the dog to run and play. They're pretty loose about the leash rules. No WiFi, but great cell service for our hotspot. Friendly and helpful host. Nice little town nearby, Rio Vista, don't miss Foster's Big Horn restaurant.

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Nightly Rate: $29.00

Days Stayed: 6

Site Number: 97

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

  • 2 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
February 01, 2018
Rated

We stayed at the Willows Campground which does not have hookups. There was running water and it was potable. (One of the earlier posts from last year said it was not.) There is also a Olympic Campground that has hookups, but it pretty small and a little cramped. At the Willows Campground, there was plenty of space between the sites, and lots of grassy area. Each site had a picnic table and a BBQ pit. The bathrooms and pay showers were fairly clean, but several of the showers were out of order and did not have very hot water. The dump station was free and easy to navigate and use.

There were not many other campers there, and it was beautiful and peaceful with the river rolling by. We really enjoyed our stay so much that we stayed an extra night and moved to one of the better sites. The hosts were frindly and helpful.

On driving here, I would suggest taking Hwy 12 from Lodi over instead of Hwy 160. Siri told us to take Hwy 160 coming down from the Sacramento area and it is a narrow levee road, so there is not much wiggle room and almost no where to pull off to let drivers pass.

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Nightly Rate: $31.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 3 and 31

5 Access
5 Location
4 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

August 19, 2018
Rated

We camped here for one night in Olympic Campground which is a small loop with 50A/30A Electrical and Water hookups. Our AirStream is still new and we haven't installed Lithium batteries yet otherwise we would have camped at the other two loops where the sites are much larger and have a good distance between sites but don't have any hookups. The camp hosts are nice and friendly.

This place seems to have a very popular boat launch so it gets busy on the weekends but there is enough distance between the campground and boat launch.

We went for walk along the water in the evening and it was really nice. The temperatures during the day were quite high so the 50A did help a lot. We would definitely come back when it's cooler and would most likely camp in other loop with bigger sites and no hookups.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $40.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 104

5 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
3 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

February 23, 2020
Rated

Took a chance and the gamble was well worth it. Huge sites with a ton of room between. Pads are paved, everything else grass. Picnic tables and large fire pits. Huge boat launch. First come first serve during the winter. Absolutely beautiful. Can get windy

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Nightly Rate: $31.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: 38

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise
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Reviewed by
Campendium

July 20, 2020
Rated

Upon arrival (42 minutes early) was treated quite negatively. Was told we could not enter as check-in was 2:00. Was told to go to overflow parking. Went back to the main station at the appropriate time and was again treated with the woman’s icy personality. No one was in our reserved sites (76, 78 & 80) so didn’t know why we were forced to wait. Oh well, after meeting our camp hosts, Jeff and Louren, out whole experience turned around. These hosts were exceptionally gracious and helpful. We do a lot of camping and have met few hosts as wonderful as Jeff and Lauren. Their attitudes changed the whole feel of our camping trip. I hope that the powers to be realize what a great asset these hosts are. We will return to the camp again and hopefully the 2 ladies at the check in booth will work on improving their attitudes.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $35.00

Days Stayed: 7

Site Number: 78

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

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Reviewed by
Campendium

February 10, 2021
Rated

Large and spacious sites, and not many people here! Pretty level, I believe there is an area for RV’s but we just set camped. Bathrooms open, showers closed for Covid

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $31.00

Days Stayed: 1

Site Number: 86

5 Access
5 Location
5 Cleanliness
5 Site Quality
4 Noise
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Reviewed by
Campendium

February 17, 2021
Rated

Did not care much for the $10 fee PER DAY for my wife to join the grandkids and me. Other than that, had a wonderful time climbing trees, bike riding and just enjoying nature. Staff was great and fair. Don’t arrive before check-in and you won’t disappointed.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $31.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 99

4 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
5 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

Reviewed by
Arnell

  • 20 Reviews
  • 0 Helpful
April 05, 2021
Rated

The campground is located on a pennisula between the Sacramento River and Threemile Slough toward the delta. The biggest standout of this campground is the available space between the campsites. There's enough rooom for the average group of campers to have their own space in an open space layout all covered in grass. We observed there are just as many RVs/Trailers in the park. The campground is primarily dry camping, but water is available almost everywhere. There are more than enough bathrooms available, but the showers are currently closed, most likely to COVID.

We spent a couple of nights at the Willow Campground and didn't really look at the Southern campground, Cottonwood, but looks like there are more tress available. This may be a big deal in the Summer months. Judging by the Google maps, it's laid out the same, which means you'll have the same amount of space. We're really big on space and privacy, primarily because we have dogs and when people come by to say hello and I don't like the traffic. Everything is paved (asphalt), including the pads. Most of the sites look pretty level including the site we were at. The loop is oneway, but strangely enough, the angle of pads are for the opposite direction. This is no issue, because everything is surrounded by grass so you'll just have to jacknife it on the grass. We visted on Easter weekend and the weather was mild, but it was windy... very windy. I walked by the hook-up area and it was typical, which means not a lot of space for my taste, but acceptable for many. If you plan to camp on the water/slough side and fish, be mindful if it's at high tide, the bank is steep and you may not have a place to sit.

Be mindful, wind can be an issue as the Delta breeze can be a blessing and a curse. In the shoulder months it's just wind. When we were there it was in the 50's at night and upper 60's in the days, but the wind was blowing at 20 mph. For us, it was not an issue as our trailer blocked the wind and we were able to use our propane fire pit to chill out at night. As you're driving in, you'll notice to West the big wind farm. That should tell you that wind is common in this area.

Getting to this campground is easy, but note you will be driving on river roads, which are narrow. Take your time. As noted, it can be windy there and windy on your way there. The only major town around is Rio Vista, which will handle most of your needs including shopping market, gas, fast food, and auto parts stores. There are many little small towns around, so be mindful if you're in need of supplies. Read, these are mostly small towns, but they have enough to get you by.

Internet connectivity is good. I went from 1 bar to 3 bars, but still getting 20+ mbps on my Verizon Hotspot. This really depended on if I was in/out of the trailer and where I orientated myself when I was outside. I believe the tower was coming from the East, but it seemed unpredictable. AT&T was about the same.

Many have written reviews about the people who check you in... I can see exactly why they would say these things. Some of these reviews are years old too and I still think they're the same people there. I made sure I did not come prior to the 2:00 pm check in time, but communicating with them was a little difficult and the passive-agressive comments were a bit annoying from one of them. I forgot about this from the previous reviews until it happened. I didn't see the camp hosts except the one's (there were a few) at their site eating their dinner around 5 pm. Because we didn't have any interactions with them, I really don't have any opinion on it. I will say from other campers, they're really big on parking. They don't like you an inch on the grass, so simply don't do it. You can only fit one vehicle and one trailer or two vehicles if you're tent camping at each site. If you have an extra vehicle they have overflow parking. It's an easy walkable distance. There is a dump station, but the water pressure was not that great. Took a while to properly clean out my black tank, but still clean and has everything you need.

Overall, we liked this campground, simply because of the space between sites. The location can be hit and miss when it comes to the weather, so be mindful and check the weather for wind. I would come back to this campground again, but primarily because it's close to my home and good space between sites.

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Nightly Rate: $31.00

Days Stayed: 2

Site Number: -

4 Access
4 Location
4 Cleanliness
4 Site Quality
4 Noise

Cell Coverage Rating

Verizon 4G

AT&T 4G

Photo of Campendium

Reviewed by
Campendium

May 31, 2021
Rated

I have been going here all of my life. I love this campground and #74 is perfect for my disabled husband. There is alot of wind so we compensate for that. However, the camp host needs to be on top of the noise level of people who drive up blaring their speakers while everyone is trying to relax in a serene atmosphere. People who bring big boom box speakers and create so much havoc until 3 and 4 in the morning are not welcome here. They should go to the group side of the park and blare their music. While we were here there was a group of about 12 people, 8 in a campsite is the limit, and put up boom box speakers and blared their music so loud. During the day was no different. My husband is 92 with a serious heart condition and strokes and can not take that kind of trauma. I am not saying that people should not have fun but the "entitled" should have more consideration and respect for others as they are not the only ones in the campground. The camp host did stop them the second night and they quieted down after 11:30pm. I'm not saying they shouldn't have fun, I am just saying they don't need to play music so loud you can hear it 1/2 mile away. But like I said I have been going there and will keep going there because most of the time it is a great experience for us. We love it so much and it carries a lot of memories for me with family members who are no longer with us. I like to visit with other campers and get together with others but these music blaring people are just plain rude and self centered and don't care who they are disturbing.

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This reviewer would stay here again

Nightly Rate: $33.00

Days Stayed: 3

Site Number: 74

Cell Coverage Rating

AT&T 4G

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Brannan Island State Recreation Area

17645 CA-160
Rio Vista, California
94571 USA
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  • Unavailable
    Parking
  • Check
    Pets Allowed
  • Check
    Restrooms
  • Unknown
    Wifi
  • Check
    Wheelchair Accessible
  • Check
    Credit Cards Accepted
Affiliation
State park or forest
Back In RV Sites Count
20
Last Nightly Rate
30.0
Longest Vehicle Length Reported
32.0
Lowest Nightly Rate
29.0
Max Length
36 ft
Max Stay
14
Sites Count
140
  • Check
    Paved Sites
  • Check
    Fifty Amp
  • Unavailable
    Full Hookup
  • Check
    Rec Facilities
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through
  • Check
    Tent Sites
  • Check
    Dump Station
  • Unavailable
    Big Rigs
  • Unavailable
    Open Seasonally
  • Unavailable
    Age Restricted
  • Check
    Back In RV Sites
  • Check
    Boondock
  • Unavailable
    Cabin Sites
  • Unavailable
    Dispersed Sites
  • Unavailable
    Firewood
  • Unavailable
    Fulltime Residents
  • Check
    Group Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Laundry
  • Unavailable
    Mobile Homes
  • Unavailable
    Permit Required
  • Check
    Potable Water
  • Unavailable
    Propane
  • Check
    Public Water
  • Unavailable
    Pull Through RV Sites
  • Check
    Reservations
  • Unavailable
    Sewer Hookup
  • Check
    Showers
  • Check
    Sites
  • Check
    Standard Tent Sites
  • Unavailable
    Vehicle Wash Permitted
  • Check
    Water Hookup
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