Originally Posted by
User1
I'm currently in Sacramento and plan on taking the train to Gilroy, CA and starting from there. I'll be mostly riding the coast and riding all the way to LA. Any state parks that had great HnB camp grounds that you could recommend?
New Brighton State Beach in Capitola has a nice H&B site on a bluff over the ocean. A new shower building was installed just a couple years ago across from the site (bring quarters).
Veterans Park in Monterey isn't a state park, but it does have a H&B area - nothing special as far as the site, but it does have free showers near to it. Monterey is a great place to spend some time, so I usually stay there and then do the 17-mile drive in the morning. (But there is a steep hill to climb to reach the park.)
Big Sur has a great H&B site in a heavily wooded site. As mentioned above, this park has lots of services: store, restaurant (excellent, but $$), laundromat, showers, a river, lots of hiking options.
Kirk Creek has a nice H&B site - site E is best with nice ocean views. But no showers and the last time I was there they recommended treating the water.
Morro Bay is a nice park - the H&B site wasn't anything too special but there are showers and it's close to town so easy to find services.
Refugio has an excellent H&B location right near the beach but with some tree shelter - much nicer than the nearby H&B sites at Gaviota and El Cap.