Casini Ranch Campground Review

Russian River camping is very popular with people living in Northern California. The area around Russian River is beautiful, has good camping weather ¾ of the year and it is easy to get to from San Francisco Bay Area.

Casini Ranch campground is a nice privately owned family campground located on the Russian River. Russian River camping does not get better than this because Casini Ranch campground has its own big private beach right on the river. What could be better for family camping fun?

Casini Ranch campground pros:

1. Casini Ranch campground has lots of amenities for kids: playgrounds, sports grounds (for volleyball, basketball, etc.), MINING…., go-carts rentals.
2. Casini Ranch campground has other useful amenities for campers: fully stocked store, very clean showers (coin operated) and very clean bathrooms, a separate convenient room just for washing your dishes, a nice pond with water fowl that you can feed.
3. Russian River camping at Casini Ranch campground means lots of water activities: swimming, fishing, kayaking (kayaks can be rented at the campground for a very reasonable fee).
4. Casini Ranch campground organizes many family activities during the high season: movie nights, karaoke nights, hay rides, bonfire nights, s’more roasting (all supplies provided by the campground free of charge), etc.
5. Casini Ranch campground is located very close to many Sonoma County attractions: ocean beaches, hiking trails, state parks, Sonoma family friendly wineries, etc.
6. Casini Ranch campground is located away from major cities to have enough of the “wilderness” experience but not as deep in the wilderness so that it would have bears roaming the grounds (see my Giant Gap campground review if you prefer true wilderness).
7. The staff at Casini Ranch campground is very nice and helpful.
8. Since Casini Ranch is a family campground, it attracts a decent, quiet, “respectable” crowd, no loud parties, binge drinking, etc.

Casini Ranch campground cons:

1. Casini Ranch campground is the second most expensive campground that we ever stayed at. With all the fees our tent site was about $75 per night.
2. We stayed at Casini Ranch campground a couple of times and we have yet to find a good tent site. The first time we stayed in a shaded, secluded area but it was yellow jackets’ Mecca. Hordes of these stinging beast were swarming around us all the time! We were lucky because we have Coleman Elite WeatherMaster 6 Screened Tent that has a front area covered with netting and this is the only place we could eat in peace, hidden behind the net. The second time we stayed at Casini Ranch campground, we chose a “premium” site right on the Russian River. The site was advertised on Casini Ranch campground’s website as having “partial shade”. We NEVER had shade. So we were burning in the sun most for the time. Some of the mornings were overcast and then it was fine but from about 10.00 am when the sun would come out till about 7.30 pm our tent site was under the blazing sun.

Also, this area of Casini Ranch campground has a very packed, dense ground. It is very hard to drive tent stakes into the ground. It was a very painful experience trying to put a tent up. If you are going to come to Casini Ranch campground I suggest you have the following necessities with you:

Additional advice for staying at Casini Ranch campground:

1. Russian River camping is very popular so you have to book well in advance. Since Casini Ranch campground is not managed by the U.S. Federal Government, you are not limited to a certain booking window. Book any time you want!
2. Russian River camping is fun but it can have 2 drawbacks: a) the river can flood in spring and b) if the summer is long and hot the water in Russian River is prone to toxic algae growth because the river’s current is very slow, it is almost like standing water. So if either of the two events happen the beach at the Casini Ranch campground may be closed.
3. Here is our favorite family camping gear that we always take with us and it serves us well every time:

Good stove (it will save you lots of time cooking, it gives you many options what to cook (rather than just grill) and it does not use lots of gas):  Coleman has the best product in this category as well –
 Portable Propane Gas Classic Camp Stove with 2 Burners

Self-inflating camping pads with a pillow (I love that you can just open a valve and forget about it – if it is not fully inflated you can add just a couple of breaths through the valve and that’s it. AND you do not need to bring pillows with you).  MOVTOTOP Self Inflating Sleeping Pad is super comfortable – we all slept like babies! We tried a different, cheaper, pad before and it was horrible – do yourself a favor and get this one.

Everybody needs a sleeping bag for camping but which one to choose? We have 3 different sleeping bags (3 different brands) in our family and we definitely have 1 winner –  Coleman Palmetto Cool Weather Adult Sleeping Bag (make sure your bag is weather rated at 30 F for California – my husband got a bag with a lower limit of 45 F and it was useless when it is 52 F outside)

4. If you are new to camping definitely read my expert article Camping Guide for Beginners which has tons of invaluable tips and hacks.

If you are interested in other campgrounds reviews, please check out:

Big Sur Campground and Cabins review – Big Sur, California

Giant Gap campground review – Tahoe National Forest, California

If you found this Russian River camping and Casini Ranch campground review useful, please do me a little favor and share this information with others, for there’s a good chance that it will help them with their travel plans. 🙂 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram where I post many more cool photos and videos about our trips than I could include in a blog post and organize some nice giveaways!