A genuinely unique setting within the redwood complex, Gold Bluffs Beach sits directly on the Pacific coastline, with towering bluffs on one side and open ocean on the other — a real change of pace from camping among the trees. Sites are more primitive here, with cold showers and vault toilets, no hookups, reachable via a narrow unpaved access road that isn’t suited to larger RVs. Its coastal setting puts you close to Fern Canyon, a dramatically lush, fern-draped slot canyon that’s become one of the most photographed short hikes on the entire North Coast. Given the narrow access road and beach setting, this is a genuinely different camping experience from the forested campgrounds elsewhere in the complex.