Tentrr is your private camping experience. We connect adventurers like you with private landowners who want to share their land so you can experience new places.
“This was our first Tenttr experience! With a half dozen camping and RV trips this year (with our 2 year old and dog) under our belt, this was absolutely the most breathtaking, “all-inclusive” (with the exception of firewood) camping spot we came across. Typically you head to other camping spots and need to meander nearby (whether driving or hiking) to that grove of redwoods or babbling creek to get to whatever version of “paradise” you are looking for. This campsite allows you to be right in the middle of it. So much thought and attention have been put into highlighting the natural aspects of the land while laying out the modern conveniences of glamping. There are all these little nooks to hang out in - the lovely hammock(s), the fire pit, the chairs by the pizza oven, the bench overlooking another part of the creek, the double swing, among others. We loved that the tent was set back from the social/cooking area. The fire pit was a standout. If you are into meat, the store a few minutes drive away has mouth watering sausages that were perfectly cooked over the grill on the fire. Road noise/bringing our firewood was expected and totally fine. I also have to point out that Mark went above and beyond any other camp host, especially with the maintenance of the property. It’s one thing to create these beautiful sand paths throughout the property but it’s another to arrive with them completely clear of leaves. Mark also cleared a bees nest the day before we got there. We all know how some other camp spots tend to have bees; it is part of camping but how nice to not have to worry about them. Our son also loved the sand toys and boats, the details mattered. We could easily see this being a group camp spot and would totally rent this space all for ourselves in the future. We were lucky to hang there the last weekend of the season, looking forward to the next visit.”
“Beautiful place!!! My only two negatives are: 1.) the tent is a little far from the car, but not a huge deal just pack a little light so you don’t have to make a bunch of trips 2.) the bed was very uncomfortable! Otherwise it was a great, private experience. The hammocks are a great touch!”
“everything was amazing, clean, every detail is thought through, Mark and his wife were very attentive and helpful. The main downside for us was The campsite is right next to a main road so you do see and hear cars often, and gets quite a bit of traffic during the week. I highly recommend this location!”
“What a relaxing respite from the city. Sleeping next to a babbling creek, surrounded by redwoods is just what the doctor ordered for a stressed out city family! We felt fortunate to be entrusted with this special place for a few days over Labor Day weekend.
It's immediately obvious when walking down to the campsite how much thought and preparation Mark has put into the development of this Tentrr site. Several paths have been cleared and are nicely lined with rocks, and there is sand all around to keep the dirt and dust down. The tent site has been thoughtfully chosen and arranged.
There is plenty of sleeping capacity- we slept 2 adults and 2 kids comfortably and there was plenty of room for more. There were lots of "amenities" even though we were outdoors the whole time. This was what I call "easy" camping or "glamping"- as we didn't have to think about anything. Mark has already done that!
Make sure to bring your own wood and plenty of it because it was hard to find in town and consider how much weight you are packing in your bags and coolers, as there is some hiking and steps back and forth to the car.
Read the Tentrr landing page carefully, as the common area near the fire pit and eating area could be rented out separately to a different group. So before you book your dates, just check in to see if that space will be rented. Mark is very responsive via email and answered all our questions and I suspect that he will tell you what spaces are rented (or not) ahead of time. We were very lucky to have the entire place to ourselves.
There were plenty of places to explore around the campsite and there were several stores and restaurants within driving distance. You should also know that this site is near a developed road with bikes and cars and very close to other houses so you will hear some neighborly noises like dogs barking and roosters crowing. So, you aren't totally secluded away. We understood this though going into it so it was not a surprise to us. But if you aren't sure what to expect, just reach out to Mark. He will be very open and honest about the site and surrounding areas. Relative to the city, it was still very quiet for us.
We appreciated the amount of thought and care that went into the development of this site and overall, we were pleased with our first Tentrr experience and would definitely stay here again.”
“This campsite is so cool! It's like Fern Gully in real life. The property is up in the mountains above Santa Cruz, but still just a short drive away from all the main tourist spots in the area - 15 mins to Highway 1. The campsite is just off the road, so parking was a breeze and super straightforward. Just follow Mark's directions and you'll be set. We really enjoyed the access to the common area with the table, cabana, and fire pit. It was a really nice place to relax after a long day on the road. We brought our own propane stove but there was also a bbq on site that campers can use. Lots of counter space to spread out and cook meals. The tent itself sits under a canopy of redwood trees. So beautiful and I wish we had more time to stay! Some tips: cell reception isn't great (we had Verizon) so be sure to plug in the address for directions beforehand. Also bring your own potable water unless you're cool with filtering the water from the creek. Also, bring your own wood. Thanks for an awesome stay, Mark!”
“This is one of the prettiest properties around - small creek, large redwoods and other trees with moss and vines, sheer sandstone rock wall with boulders in the creek, and very well appointed, all in a location pretty close to Santa Cruz and San Francisco. There are two hammocks which had pillows and a blanket at the time, a swinging cozy love seat, all kinds of lovely chairs, cairns with rocks that looked like faces, etc. You can use the stream water for washing dishes if you dry them thoroughly afterward, possibly, but otherwise bring plenty of potable water. A few things to note in case it matters to you: it's almost fully in shade, which was fine with us on a warm day (and there are hiking trails in the sun nearby), the road is only about 100 feet from the site (but cars and bicyclists only go by every 20 minutes or so), and there is a rooster that crows a lot. The owner lives across the road and was very nice - the one time we saw him was a couple of hours after our checkout time, as we were just hanging out at the stream all packed up and read to go. Also there's a cafe not too far away. And no cellphone reception of course.”
“Off a casual road in the Watsonville mountains, you can find Mark’s place that he considers a place of peace, rest and bonding for those visitors. The space itself is amazing. Every detail is thought through, and afternoon talking to Mark, there seems to be many things he has done with it and would still like to do.
Our stay was short but very comfortable. We didn’t even end up leaving the site, since we were so comfortable and the space was large enough for us to explore.
It was overall a great experience. If you’re looking for some privacy in a very nice campsite not so secluded from civilization, I definitely recommend this site.”
“Our first impression of the campsite was "wow!" As one of the previous reviewers mentioned, it was one of the prettiest sites we've ever seen. The site is separated into 2 distinct areas: (1) The main area with the fire pit, large picnic table (canopied), freestanding wood burning container with a cooking grate, and a pizza oven (a large, freestanding pizza oven!) and (2) a wooded, secluded area about 50 yards away upon which the Tentrr tent sat on a wooden platform with the 2 Adirondack chairs, a wooden table with cabinets, an empty water container and a Weber grill.
As we brought our own wood from home to build the fire, my son and I were delighted to see that the fire pit was so big and nicely surrounded by big rocks for safety. We were even more delighted to see that there was log stacked nicely in a small clearing that contained even more stacked wood.
When you first enter the campsite, you see a big clearing framed by large stones. The entire area is covered by sand, which is great to keep the dirt and dust to a minimum. The area includes a large stone fire pit with 10 chairs neatly arranged around it. There is a stand-alone pizza oven on top of a sturdy concrete base, under which are 2 areas that contain wood - for the wood-burning pizza oven and the stand-alone metal fixture with a cooking grate - presumably to cook on.
My husband, our 12-year old son, Hope, our 15-pound poodle, and something mix (she's a rescue) and I had a wonderful time exploring the woods and floating hand made wooden rafts down the creek.
We experienced some challenges going back and forth from our car to the site. As the parking area is not adjacent to the site, you have to lug your equipment by walking down narrow wooden stairs (5 steps) and a narrow wooden plank (about 18 inches in width) to cross the creek to the site. As we arrived during the day, it wasn't too much of a challenge, but when we had to bring our foodstuff back to our car in the dark (because of Racoons) because the area was not lit, it was a bit of a hazard.
Not having any water was also a bit of a challenge. In order to clean up, we had to get water from the creek and boil it before we could use it to clear our dishes and pots/pans. Knowing that we had to take our garbage with us was a bit disconcerting as we've never had to do this before and there were no instructions on where to dispose of the garbage.
The owner came over the morning after our arrival. After introducing himself, the first thing he did was to ask if I had read the instructions (which we did) and to scan the area, presumably to determine that we hadn't damaged anything yet. Once he was done with his scan, he mentioned was that we used his wood. I apologized and told him that we didnt' realize the wood was off-limits because there were no signs nor anything written in the instructions, but that was fine because we had brought our own.
He mentioned once more before he left that his wood was not to be used and I repeated my apology and offered to replenish it with ours. Because we didn't know this little bit of information, we had used 3 or 4 of his logs the night before to start our fire until we brought our own logs down. As an aside, during this conversation that we got a great rate (we paid $130 per night) because he had just started taking guests and that he would be raising the rate significantly. But since he had arranged to have bigger garbage containers, future guests would not have to take the garbage with them.
The following morning (we stayed 2 nights), he came by again while we were cleaning up. As the previous day, he scanned the area, which is obviously his prerogative since we were encroaching on his personal property, albeit as paid guests. Immediately after, he said again that we used his wood. My husband responded that since I was informed of that last night, we did not touch his wood. In response, the owner became almost combative. He raised his hand about 4 feet to show that there was that much wood there originally. That would have been nearly impossible since the original pile is only 2 feet (by 6 feet wide) and we would not have been able to use the number of logs he was accusing us of burning had we burned the logs non-stop both days. My husband responded that we had only used 3 or 4 of his logs -- again as there were no instructions that we were not to touch the wood. After that exchange, he stomped off.
That exchange negated the positive experience we had the 2 days that we stayed there and we left feeling very frustrated and to the point of being angry. Yes, the site was very beautiful, to the point that compensated for the negatives - no water, no place to leave the garbage, and no shower (although the Tentrr advertisement advertised that there would be a sun shower).
But the negative interaction we had with the owner had the following effect:
(1) We agreed that we would NEVER go back.
(2) We would NEVER refer any friends and family to the site.
(3) We would be hesitant to use Tentrr again, and
(4) We would not refer Tentrr to anyone.”
