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The Rainbow Junction

67%

· Livermore, Santa Clara, California

147 acres hosted by Molly M.

1 lodging site · 3 tent sites

The Rainbow Junction offers a unique camping experience at the intersection of Mines Road and HWY 130 in the San Antonio Valley. We operate a restaurant and we offer camping friendly meals for guests. We love the wildness of this property and do not allow cars or vehicles beyond the parking lot. All of our sites are hike in sites. It's about a 1/4 mile hike on a small foot path. We have a wagon available for guests to use and we are happy to help you carry your things. We host a communal fire pit in the evenings, weather permitting, for all guests to enjoy, we do not allow open fires on the property. Cal Fire has requested that all campers get a permit, even to operate a gas stove. The permit is free and takes just a few minutes. https://permit.preventwildfiresca.org/ Please pack your trash, food scraps can be place in our compost but please be prepared to take all other items with you when you leave. Our swimming pond is about a 3/4 mile hike through brush from the restaurant but is a great way to beat the heat during the day! Campsites have a picnic table. A dry toilet is a short walk from campsites and we equip sites with a water dispenser and a sealed container for trash. Water from our well is always available outside of the restaurant and bathrooms with running water are available during business hours. There is a fire trail along one of our ridge lines that offers stunning views of the San Antonio Valley as well as our abundant wildlife. We sometimes host speakers and educational workshops and guests are always welcome to participate in events. Campers, trailers, RVs and Vans are welcome to stay in our lot but we currently do not have hookups available. Have a large group? We are happy to reserve group sites.

Natural features

Mountainous

Field

67%

3 ratings · 3 reviews

Wayne L.doesn't recommend

October 13, 2024

Hike in Group Site

Be informed

We were in a bind one weekend because our original group campsite wasn’t available as the park was closed due to a brush fire, so we were grateful that Molly responded relatively quickly. When we arrived at our estimated time she was not available to greet us and open the gate as originally planned (car troubles?) and showed up maybe 6 hours later (midnight-ish) - a volunteer onsite opened the gate for us instead but didn’t know much about the site so couldn’t answer our questions with certainty. The listing says wagons available but there is only one wagon available, another only has three of four wheels and another is just the frame so it can’t carry much. There are rocks on the trail going to the site so the wagon kept falling over. The area we were directed to smelled terrible bc of the dry toilet and was located on a slope. We moved even farther to set up camp. Afterwards, one group discovered that there were fire ants all over their belongings and was forced to just pack up and leave in the middle of the night. Of 4 remaining tents, 2 woke also with fire ants inside and everyone packed and left. Although you walk a fair amount in to the “campsite” it is just their grassy backyard that actually is right next to a road, so we were woken up multiple times by cars driving by. There is no clearing and there are foxtails everywhere, so it’s not good for dogs at all. We were all exhausted and communicated after but weren’t refunded the second night.

Sarah W.recommends

September 1, 2024

Frog Pond Hike in Tent Site

Great for camping with dogs

We camped here at the end of August. The land is beautiful and very secluded. There is only one other campsite in eye sight and it’s still quite far and it feels private. We brought our 3 dogs (one of which is a barker) and they hardly noticed the other group. Molly is great. Her and her family live on the property as well and they were all very kind and accommodating. It was extremely hot the weekend that we stayed and they invited our family to swim with them to escape the heat. There is a cute little restaurant on the property that is open for lunch however we didn’t get a chance to try it other than to order a few cold drinks. This place is definitely worth checking out! I recommend visiting fall or spring to avoid the summer heat.

Catherine A.recommends

August 11, 2024

Frog Pond Hike in Tent Site

Peaceful campsite for Perseid show

My husband and I scored tickets to one of the "Music of the Spheres" concert nights at Lick Observatory and were happy to find this campsite about 30 minutes away. (It's a good hour and a half from the Observatory back to home, and that seemed like a lot in the middle of the night.) Bonus, it was the weekend of the peak of the Perseid meteor shower! We can't see meteors well at our house due to city light pollution and fog, but the campsite is located in a spot that is quite dark in comparison, and we did see some great fireballs shoot across the sky. The site we were in is in sight of Mines Road, but it still felt pretty secluded and was quiet all night and into the early morning. We were able to see or hear some wildlife around the campsite, too. Cottontail bunnies, a jackrabbit, a California toad, raptors, and heard owls and coyotes in the distance. Molly and her partner were very personable and accommodating in working with us with our initial arrival time and our middle of the night return from the observatory. We also enjoyed being able to take advantage of their cafe for brunch after we packed up our site. I had a good fried egg sandwich with avocado, and my husband was happy with his BLT. What you shouldn't miss, though, is the house made strawberry lemonade! So good on a hot day.

Location

Livermore, Santa Clara, California, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Tamien Nation and Muwekma First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking