An Overnight Stay at AutoCamp Russian River

A few years ago my family and I spent a weekend in Sonoma County. We had a rental home in Guerneville, in the heart of the redwoods, and fell in love with the area. Last month, our epic road trip was winding down and we found ourselves in the bay area. We had one more night before we headed home so we decided to head back to Guerneville and splurge on a stay at AutoCamp Russian River.

A few years ago AutoCamp, an Airstream campground, opened in Santa Barbara and was quickly added to my “must try” list. As things go, I never got around to booking a stay there when I found out about the new Russian River location in Guerneville. Airstreams under the redwoods? Awesome!

So last month when we were looking for our final night’s accommodations I suggested AutoCamp and my mom and sis readily agreed. Since it was a weekday I was able to book an airstream for a single night and we headed back to Guerneville.

AutoCamp is located just beyond town right off Highway 116 and features a range of Airstream trailers and luxury tents as accommodations. In the heart of it all is a modern canteen where you check in and out, purchase amenities, shower (the tents don’t have restrooms) or simply sit around the large campfire and relax.

After a simple check in with the friendly staff we made our way to our Airstream. Now, these aren’t vintage trailers and instead are modern and new. They consist of a cozy bedroom, a bathroom and a small living/kitchen area.

The futon opens up as a second bed which allowed three of us to share one trailer. Every convenience is thought out and both the bathroom and kitchen were fully stocked with all we needed from an electric teakettle to a full set of dinnerware. Plus, there was a smore’s kit to enjoy by the fire.

In addition to the campfire in the canteen and a large campfire in the communal area each Airstream has its own patio and personal fire pit. Of course, we broke out the smore’s kit and spent a wonderful evening by the fire. The sky was clear and we saw so many stars and a small fox passed right through our site!

The next morning we woke up bright and early and headed to the canteen for coffee and fresh orange juice. It was foggy out and pretty nippy but being in the fresh air was wonderful.

We enjoyed our stay immensely and lingered until checkout so we could soak up every minute. Of course, accommodations like these come with a price and AutoCamp is not cheap. I would love to return for a longer stay but I really don’t think it’s in my budget. And the Russian River in the title is a bit of a misnomer because it’s on the opposite side of the highway. We booked an outer trailer (there is an outer and inner ring of trailers) for a higher fee thinking we’d be on the river and instead faced a dry creek-bed.

Regardless, I really truly loved my stay at AutoCamp. Now, I definitely need to visit the Santa Barbara location. It’s in the heart of the city and I’m super curious to see how it compares.