RV Rental Near Shollenberger Park in Petaluma, CA

I run a delivery-first RV rental business right here in Petaluma, and I get a lot of calls about Shollenberger Park RV rental options. So let me be straight with you up front: Shollenberger Park is a day-use wetlands preserve on the south edge of Petaluma — there are no overnight RV hookup sites here. You can’t park a motorhome and camp by the water overnight. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be the centerpiece of a great RV trip. The way I help folks do it is simple: I deliver and set up a rented RV at a nearby full-hookup campground, you base there, and then you spend your days walking the levee trails and watching the egrets and pelicans at Shollenberger. Below I’ll walk you through exactly how that works in this corner of Sonoma County.

Why Shollenberger Park is worth building a trip around

Shollenberger sits along the Petaluma River just off Lakeville Highway, only a few minutes from Highway 101. It’s a 165-acre tidal marsh with a flat, packed-gravel loop that’s easy on the knees and great for a slow morning stroll. What makes it special is the birds — this is part of the Pacific Flyway, so depending on the season you’ll see white pelicans, herons, avocets, and migrating waterfowl resting on the open water. It’s quiet, it’s free to enter, and it’s the kind of spot you can visit in an hour or linger at all afternoon. Because it’s so close to town, I tell people it pairs perfectly with a walk through Petaluma’s historic downtown and a stop at a local brewery the same day. You won’t sleep at Shollenberger, but you’ll absolutely want it on your itinerary.

Where you’ll actually camp: nearby full-hookup options

Since Shollenberger is day-use only, the closest place I deliver to for an overnight base is the San Francisco North/Petaluma KOA, which sits up on the north side of town off Stony Point Road. It’s a short hop back down 101 to the park, so you can roll out in the morning, do your Shollenberger walk, and be back at your site for lunch. If you want to spread out across the region, I also set up rentals at Spring Lake Regional Park Campground over in Santa Rosa, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park up in the hills above Sonoma Valley, and Westside or Doran Regional Park out toward Bodega Bay if you want to chase the coast for a day. Each one has a different feel, so when you call I’ll help you match the campground to the kind of trip you’re after.

How my RV delivery and setup works

This is the part that makes a Shollenberger-area trip easy, especially if you’ve never towed anything in your life. You don’t pick up the RV, hitch it, or back it into a site. I deliver it to your campground, level it, connect the water and power and sewer where the site allows, and walk you through how everything runs before I leave. When your trip ends, I come back and take it away. That means you can fly into Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa or come up from SFO or Oakland, rent a regular car, and have a fully set-up RV waiting at your site. For a lot of my guests visiting the Petaluma area, that hands-off delivery is the whole reason they can do an RV trip at all.

Making the most of a Petaluma RV base

One of the best things about basing near Petaluma is how much sits within an easy drive. Once you’ve had your morning at Shollenberger, here are the day trips I point people toward:

• Petaluma Historic Downtown and the Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park, both just minutes from your campground for an easy first day.
• Sonoma Plaza and the Sonoma Valley wineries along Highway 12 — about a 30 to 40 minute drive east, a relaxed afternoon if you’ve got a designated driver.
• Point Reyes National Seashore and Tomales Bay, roughly an hour west on winding coastal roads, for tide pools, oysters, and big ocean views.
• Bodega Bay and Sonoma Coast State Park, an hour or so out CA-116, when you want fog, dunes, and seafood.
• The Charles M. Schulz Museum and more trails at Spring Lake up in Santa Rosa, an easy run north on 101.
• Helen Putnam Regional Park and Tolay Lake Regional Park right around Petaluma when you’d rather keep things close and local.

Honest notes on seasons and weather

Living and working here, I’ll give you the real picture. Summer in Petaluma is dry and warm inland, but the marine layer pushes in off the coast most mornings and evenings, so it can be genuinely chilly at Shollenberger at sunrise even in July — bring a layer. Late spring and early fall are my favorite windows: long daylight, less fog, and comfortable nights for sleeping in the RV. Winters are mild but wet; the rains green everything up and the bird activity at Shollenberger is excellent, just expect muddy stretches on the trail. Whatever season you pick, book your dates with me early — summer weekends and harvest season in wine country fill up fast, and the closest campgrounds to Petaluma go first.

A few practical RV tips before you book

Because I’m delivering to a specific site, the size of RV I can set up depends on that campground’s site length and hookup type, so tell me where you want to stay when you call and I’ll make sure the rig fits. Hookups vary site to site — some are full, some are water-and-electric only — and that affects how you’ll manage your tanks for the trip. As for what comes with each RV, inclusions vary by rental, so please contact me directly rather than assuming any particular item or appliance is on board. The earlier you reach out, the more flexibility we have with delivery timing around the campground’s check-in window.

When you’re ready, give me a call at707-753-5000 or email [email protected], and you can browse the fleet to see what I run throughout the North Bay / Sonoma County Wine Country area. If you’re still deciding where to stay, take a look at my guide to local campgrounds and RV parks and we’ll get your Shollenberger Park trip set up the easy way.