Go Back  Bike Forums > Community Connections > Regional Discussions > Southern California
Reload this Page >

(car) camping along the california coast

Notices
Southern California Southern California

(car) camping along the california coast

Old 03-04-13, 08:22 PM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
dddave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: los angeles
Posts: 2,147

Bikes: 2012 redline conquest pro / 2008 yeti 575 / motobecan fantom cross uno

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
(car) camping along the california coast

i figured some of you may have experience doing this and i was hoping to get some ideas. my girlfriend and i will be driving up the coast mid-august and hoping to camp along the way. we're leaving on a friday and most likely staying at figueroa mountain that night, maybe el capitan. then, saturday through tuesday, we will be at a ranch in santa ynez with her family. tuesday night we would like to camp in or near san simeon, wednesday night in the carmel/monterey area.

what i would like to know is if any of you know of good spots to camp in san simeon and carmel/monterey. we don't mind doing the coastal campground thing, but if anybody knows of any "secret" spots where we can drive a few miles out on a fire road (2WD truck, keep that in mind) and set up shop wherever we feel, that would be awesome. even any first-come first-served rural campground would be great. like i said, we don't really mind being in one of those spots where every campground is 15 feet apart, but the other options would be even better.

thanks for any suggestions!
dddave is offline  
Old 03-04-13, 08:34 PM
  #2  
well hello there
 
Nachoman's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Point Loma, CA
Posts: 15,430

Bikes: Bill Holland (Road-Ti), Fuji Roubaix Pro (back-up), Bike Friday (folder), Co-Motion (tandem) & Trek 750 (hybrid)

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 503 Post(s)
Liked 334 Times in 206 Posts
The Pfeiffer State Park in Big Sur has some very nice campgrounds.
__________________
.
.

Two wheels good. Four wheels bad.
Nachoman is offline  
Old 03-05-13, 01:16 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Lesper4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: So Cal - Fontana
Posts: 1,274

Bikes: 2008 Cannondale CAAD9 5, 1995 Cannondale CAD F300 hardtail

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
What he said, this is campsite #1 at Julia Pfeiffer State Park. It is on the West side of the why and there are only two spots on the west side. Not sure if it is still open as the State closed it down for a while. There is a water fall below this site that falls directly into the ocean.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mycranium/5704646709/
Lesper4 is offline  
Old 03-05-13, 06:24 AM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cowan Heights, CA
Posts: 977

Bikes: Wizard, Eisentraut, Paramount, Litton, Turner, Surley, Trek, Kona, Landshark, Hujsak, Masi, Tesch, Holland, Retrotec, Spectrum

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 1 Post
San Simeon Creek SP is great. Get a spot on the creek. Walk to the beach. Driving or riding up San Simeon Creek road is neat as well. You can't get anywhere as it ends at a locked gate.

A little south is Montana de Oro State Park. Spooner's Cove is a very nice CG. Just make sure you take out the trash and lock your food up as the racoons are very tenacious. Nice walk to the beach and point. Great mountain biking in the hills behind the campground.

There are also so Forest Service roads north of Ragged Point and south of Big Sur that I've stealth camped on. In August they would be no problem with 2WD. Can't give any specifics as to where as it's been a long time. I tend to do as much looking out the side windows when I drive as the windshield, so I see and good looking side road and I take it.

If you go up 101 you can take 58 inland and there is a lot of FS land which has designated and stealth spots to camp. Might be a bit toasty in August though.
PeregrineA1 is offline  
Old 03-05-13, 09:19 AM
  #5  
Senior Member
 
Flying Merkel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Costa Mesa CA
Posts: 2,638
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 11 Times in 10 Posts
Check out Plaskett Creek.
Flying Merkel is offline  
Old 03-05-13, 05:54 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
dddave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: los angeles
Posts: 2,147

Bikes: 2012 redline conquest pro / 2008 yeti 575 / motobecan fantom cross uno

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
thanks for the recommendations. as much as i love big sur, it's just too in-between our two destinations. maybe once we get closer to carmel/monterey i'll keep my eyes open for some fire roads. how far out do you recommend driving? do fire/service roads in that area get patrolled very often?

and on that 101/58 tip, how do you find these designated stealth camp spots?


Originally Posted by PeregrineA1
You can't get anywhere as it ends at a locked gate.
pfff, quitter!
dddave is offline  
Old 03-05-13, 06:10 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
dddave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: los angeles
Posts: 2,147

Bikes: 2012 redline conquest pro / 2008 yeti 575 / motobecan fantom cross uno

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
hmm... now that i'm looking at montana de oro, i think i might have to change our plans around... this place looks great! their environmental sites sound pretty cool and the surrounding wilderness sounds pretty dope. just might have to do

MDO tuesday night, drive to cambria/san simeon/hearst castle on wednesday, do our thing, then maybe stay at pfeiffer in big sur wednesday night, do our carmel/monterey thing on thursday. decisions, decisions...
dddave is offline  
Old 03-05-13, 07:13 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Oxnard, CA
Posts: 4,571

Bikes: 2009 Fuji Roubaix RC; 2011 Fuji Cross 2.0; '92 Diamond Back Ascent EX

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Liked 16 Times in 12 Posts
Montana de Oro is awesome. Walk on the bluffs and check out the tidepools. And when you pay for camping there, they let you in to Morro Bay State Park where you can use the coin-op showers. And La Parisienne Bakery on Front Street is a great place to grab pastries and breakfast sandwiches before heading north.
CACycling is offline  
Old 03-06-13, 06:26 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cowan Heights, CA
Posts: 977

Bikes: Wizard, Eisentraut, Paramount, Litton, Turner, Surley, Trek, Kona, Landshark, Hujsak, Masi, Tesch, Holland, Retrotec, Spectrum

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 1 Post
And the coin op showers often don't require coins.....

Forgot about the bakery, truely yummy!
PeregrineA1 is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
NomarsGirl
Southern California
6
09-24-19 12:45 PM
TakingMyTime
Southern California
15
06-10-19 03:07 AM
kilbour
Touring
14
01-27-15 02:25 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.