4501 Pleasanton Avenue
Pleasanton, CA 94598
Date Visited: December 2015, July 2017
Site: #135/122; #136/123 — PULL-THROUGH, FULL HOOK-UPS
We paid: $65 PER NIGHT, PLUS TAX
Review: When camping in a metropolitan area, your options can be very limited, so we were glad to find the Alameda County Fairgrounds in the East Bay of San Francisco. (Actually, many county and state fairgrounds have pretty decent RV parks.) You have to go through town a bit, and the entrance to the RV park can be confusing because the fairgrounds themselves are so big. Check their directions online. Enter through Gate 12.
These sites are long, mostly level, pull-through sites, but they are on grass with some gravel, and if it has been raining, it can be a bit muddy. In the summer, they let the grass die, so it might be better to request one of the gravel sites in the next row over from 122/123. The grass sites were ugly—dead grass that was uncared for. Site 123/136 had a disgusting sewer hookup that fortunately we did not have to use. There is no shade and no privacy between sites. The bathrooms were clean and the park was quiet. We stayed here over the Christmas holidays and it was just fine. We have also stayed here in the summer, and that was fine too.
We will probably stay here again when needing a place east of San Francisco, but that is only because there is nothing else around. Chabot Regional Park in the Castro Valley hills has 12 hookup sites, but it is a long, windy drive to get in and out of the campground, so it’s not very convenient for visiting people. It is a pretty campground, though, if you just want a scenic alternative in the Bay Area.
Fairpark has a new office that’s very nice and the bathrooms are decent. It’s fine if you don’t plan to sit outside your rig and enjoy the view. Take Gate 12 off of Valley Ave. Bernal Ave. has a weight limit, which we violated, but you’re only on Bernal for less than a half-mile, so it’s probably fine to come in that way, especially if you’re coming north on 680.