The Ultimate Guide to Visiting Mendocino Grove with Kids
Mendocino Grove: a coastal, Northern California glamping site is the perfect blend of
gorgeous nature, hotel comforts, and family fun.
Family Glamping at Mendocino Grove
Mendocino Grove, a dreamy little glamping site along the Pacific Coast, is the ideal place for any outdoor-loving family looking for a kid-friendly travel destination in Northern California.
Like all glamping sites, Mendocino Grove combines the experience of outdoor adventures with glamorous accommodations and great customer service.
With it’s stunning location that boasts for vast coastal views, calm rivers, and stunning hiking trails, Mendocino Grove offers families plenty of unforgettable things to do and opportunities to make the fondest travel memories.
This is your go-to guide to visiting Mendocino Grove with kids. In this post we’ll explore all the great things this glamping site has to offer and why it has everything an adventurous family needs to have a great time without all the conveniences of hotel comforts.
Then, at the end, we’ll dive into some simple tips and tricks to make your visit to Mendocino Grove extra special.
What is
Mendocino Grove?
Mendocino Grove is a great glamping site located in the dreamy, coastal community of Mendocino, California.
At Mendocino Grove, you’ll find that one minute you’re roasting marshmallows in the middle of the woods, over an open fire, under a blanket of twinkling stars. And the next minute, you’re walking into your family tent, helping your kids into comfortable beds, and tucking them in for the night with warm down comforters.
Like all glamping sites, Mendocino Grove provides unforgettable outdoor experiences in nature with all the luxuries of a comfortable hotel.
It’s a place the family can hike, build fires, collect sticks, and play in rivers while still having the comforts of warm showers, flushing toilets, and top-notch customer service.
Where is Mendocino Grove?
Mendocino Grove is situated right along the Pacific Coastline in Mendocino, just 155 miles north of the bustling city of San Francisco.
It is only about a 3 hour drive from the city, which makes it a great weekend getaway destination for outdoor-loving families in Northern California.
What to Expect During Your Stay
Here are all the things you can expect to find and enjoy on your stay at Mendocino Grove.
Get ready to be in awe of the great amenities, awesome activities, gorgeous sights,
and top-notch customer service!
The Tents and Beds
The tents at Mendocino Grove are spacious and safari-style.
Depending on the size of the tent, these glamping accommodations can easily sleep 2 to 6 people. That’s plenty of room for adventurous families!
Each tent comes with the most comfortable beds, cotton linen, down comforters, plush pillows, and wool blankets to guarantee a warm and cozy nights sleep.
All tents are also equipped with electric lamps with USB charging ports, battery-operated lanterns, fluffy towels, and leather, butterfly chairs to make your stay extremely comfortable.
The Bathhouses
The bathrooms and showers at Mendocino Grove are so clean and well taken care of, you’ll forget your in the middle of a forest.
There are indoor and outdoor spaces that offer hot showers which feel amazing on cool, misty days. There are even oversized showers that are are roomy enough for parents and younger kids to shower in together. It makes clean up so much quicker and easier for families who’ve had a busy day exploring.
In addition, there are indoor and outdoor sinks that offer plenty of places for quick clean-ups, and all areas of the bathhouses are stocked with EO Martin bath product.
Then there is one other simple, spa-like touch that’ll leave you feeling totally spoiled: beautiful fresh-cut flowers in all areas of the bathhouses.
The Meadow
Common Area
The common area at Mendocino Grove is the community recreational area filled with plenty of comfortable seating both in the sunshine (or mist) and under the covering of large canopies.
Every morning, the amazing staff serves complimentary coffee and tea in the commons along with a wholesome and delicious breakfast. Then, while parents enjoy their morning beverages, kids can sip on delicious hot cocoa, which is also served daily.
In addition, the common area is where you can play board games, get dependable wifi, participate in group activities, meet for guided nature walks, and simply just hang out.
On-site Fun
There is no shortage of things to do at Mendocino Grove. This glamping site has something to keep the entire family entertained throughout your stay.
Mendocino Grove has a large collection of books and boardgames that you can borrow from the front office in case you forget to bring your own.
At the Meadow Common Area, you’ll find bocce ball and horseshoes, which is always a great family bonding experience.
And for anyone looking to just lie back and enjoy the serenity of the sky above, there is no shortage of hammocks scattered throughout the common area. It’s a great place for parents to snuggle up close to their little campers.
Mendocino Grove also offers group activities like the morning yoga sessions that are offered on the weekends.
And for moments when the family needs to get a little more movement in, there is the Fern Canyon Loop Trail which is a short hike inside the site grounds.
Off-site fun
Mendocino Grove’s is just a short drive or hike away from other gorgeous, off-site experiences.
First of all, just down own the road is the Big River. The water here is very calm and is a great place for kids to splash a play on warmer days, while grown-ups lay out on picnic blankets, soaking up the California rays.
This place is great on cloudier days as well. Here, you and your family can also rent canoes and go on an adventure paddling up and down the river.
A little farther north of the glamp grounds, you’ll stumble across Mendocino Village. This quaint, little Village offers great bookstores, restaurants, galleries, coffee shops, gift shops, and pubs. It’s a great place for window shopping and grabbing a bite to eat.
Campfire Rings
What better way to roast marshmallows than over an open campfire!
All Mendocino Grove tents comes with it’s own campfire ring to keep you warm on chilly mornings and dark nights. In addition, campfire rings come with a grill for on-site, open-fire cooking.
Furthermore, firewood is available for purchase on site for $10 a bundle and will conveniently be delivered to your tent by the amazing staff.
Then, if you really feel like being spoiled, the amazing Mendocino Grove employees will gladly start your campfire for you. All you have to do is simply ask for the campfire valet service. However, in my opinion, giving your kids the experience of starting their own fire is way more fun and memorable.
Food and Cooking
While there are no restaurants on site, there are a couple of convenient options for cooking at Mendocino Grove.
As mentioned earlier, every tent comes with it’s own campfire ring and grill. With this option you can prepare simple meals like roasting hotdogs on a stick or heating up a pre-packed dish in campfire-safe cookware.
There are also many gas BBQ conveniently located throughout this gamping site. With this you can easily grill all your delicious, barbecue favorites.
For even more convenience, if you don’t feel like packing all your own cookware, Mendocino Grove rents out a Camp Box that contains all your food-prep basics: table cloth, plates, utensils, mugs, bowls, frying pan, pot, and paper towels.
Note: The Camp Box should be reserved in advance to assure availability.
As for clean-up, there are several conveniently-located wash stations throughout the site which are always stocked with dish soap and dish sponges, ready for you to use.
Tips and Tricks for Happy Glamping
- Bring battery operated twinkle lights to string up around your camp site to make your stay extra magical.
- When roasting marshmallows, think outside the box. Try adding fruit to your s’mores. Try using ice cream cones instead of graham crackers. There possibilities are endless!
- Bring your favorite books, card games, and easy crafts to give kids some engaging down-time.
- Kid-friendly headlamps are fun for exploring the camp grounds at night.
- Download a stargazing app to help kids identify constellations at night. (best done in the common area)
- Bubbles are always fun.
- Bring a cute table cloth to make meals more homey.
- Plan out your meals ahead of time to make meal time low-stress and easy.
- Prepare hot food ahead of time and simply heat over the campfire or BBQ. We made cheesy pasta and pulled pork ahead of time at home, stored them in aluminum trays, and then just warmed them up when it was time to eat at the glamping site.
- Prepare simple sandwiches ahead of time to make lunchtime a snap. We made several peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids before heading off to Mendocino Grove and stored them in a cooler until we needed them.
- Bring battery-operated puck lights to serve as night lights for kiddos who might be afraid of the dark at bedtime.
- Bring your kids’ favorite stuffed animal or blanket to create a welcoming bed for them to sleep in at night.
In Conclusion
Mendocino Grove is Great Family Fun
Life as a parent is already so jam packed with planning, prepping, and all-around busyness, so it makes sense that taking the family on an outdoor, camping getaway in the middle of nature can sound very cumbersome.
Luckily, glamping sites like Mendocino Grove can give families all the fun of traditional camping without all the added work that comes with it. With all the plush amenities, well-kept facilities, and superb customer service, Mendocino Grove is great at pampering it’s guests with the comforts of home, all while still being situated in the middle of the woods.
It’s a place for families to play, get dirty, and explore
AND
it’s a place where families can relax, live luxuriously, and get spoiled.
After all, every family definitely deserves that.
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