CA HWY 1 - Now. Help Us Trip Plan.

Okay friends, you'll be happy (for us) to know I got them thar reservations done up - including Hearst San Simeon for two nights and Big Sur for two, most likely due to cancellations again. AND we threw "cheap" out the window too. "When in Rome", as they say.

As time goes on we'll get those trip reports out. Should be fun. Guess I'll do them right here in "Roads and Routes".

And thanks again - all who gave such good advice. As was said, it's always nice to know where you're gonna sleep. ;)

Thanks all for excellent input. Kind of off grid right now. Got lucky and booked two nights at Jalama Beach premium sites (on the beach) due cancellation due SpaceX launch. Will move inland as needed, and wing it. Watch for the Lil' Queeny trip reports. Loving the surf breaking.

X2 on the anxiety. But what's life without a little adrenaline ;)

Check out free campsites.net Apart from our time in Santa Barbara and San Fran' we are dry camping without reservations from San Diego up to Napa Valley & St Helena.

Rest areas allowed max 8 hrs, but many report they have stayed in them 10 hrs or thereabouts without incident.

Some California state parks have "enroute" sites; a few of these parks are on the beach. List online: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21687 The sites are not reservable. Usually you have to arrive after 6 PM, pay full price for a regular campsite, and park in the day use area, which you must exit before 9 AM. Usually one night only and you cannot come back for a second night for a month or so. Policies vary from park to park.

I've stayed in the enroute sites at Carpinteria and felt like I was parked in a highway. El Capitan told me they didn't have such sites when I arrived, even though the state page says they do.

I am in the process of putting together a trip for myself on the northern part of Hwy 1 in May and many parks (not just state) are booked solid for the weekends. Some parks don't even open until Memorial Day. Boondocking opportunities are scarce to non-existent.

Having camped on the CA coast for well over 50 years, I have to say that I would not consider a trip there without reservations. Sometimes I do reservations for alternate nights and try to deal with the nights in between, but I do not enjoy all the anxieties which that method brings up. That's me. You may be bolder or luckier in finding places where a last-minute opportunity came up.

California and cheap are not compatible. X2 on what DE Bishop said.

Hwy 1 is closed at Ragged Point and will be for awhile(Sept). Stealth camping in Day Use is funny, why are they called Day Use if you can camp there? At $50 a night and up, if you try and stealth camp, you will be not only evicted but ticketed and fined.

Personally I would wait a year and plan out locals and get reservation now. Kirk Creek is a fantastic bluff top campground. Not all spots are view but short walks will have you at a view point.

Unfortunately, highway view areas and pullouts are not okay for overnight camping in CA. that is non existent.

At some rest areas it is okay to stop and I think either 6 or 8 hours is the max stay. Never CAMP in a rest area, resting for a few hours, yes, slides and chairs out never.

Back in the '50s and '60s, folks camped where ever and at that time a lot of RVs were without sanitary tanks and rest areas and pull outs didn't have facilities or trash cans, the messes left behind did, however, caused CALTRANS and ST Parks to initiate laws against that type of camping.

Good luck but to drive the whole thing, go next year.

older_fossil wrote:
I believe that CA-1 is still closed north of Ragged Point due to the huge landslide that buried the highway. From the Caltrans website it appears that the highway is scheduled to reopen at the end of September 2018.

This is important because once you get north of a certain area, I think it's Cambria, there are no roads to the interior. So plan your trip well. Have fun, that's a gorgeous area.

Overnighting in day use areas is unlikely to be cheap once you start getting ticketed for it.

jmtandem wrote:

Best camp advice for doing it cheap and with no reservations? All self contained, but want to do the must sees.

Start - Beyond Santa Barbara and up through Santa Rosa. Go slow enough to see what's great, and keep moving up the coast, on the coast HWY 1.

Any advice for this trip

End of March-April?

You definitely will want to know where you are sleeping each night. There is very little boondocking available on the Pacific Coast Highway; with the exception of the Monterey and San Francisco Bay area very few sizeable towns; and most campgrounds have been reserved for months by others. California Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, is arguably the most scenic highway in all of America. You will not be alone, you will go slow even if you don't want to, and you will see something new around every curve. And there are lots of curves. Plan well for this trip. It is worth it.
Nothing in California is 'cheap' and you will find that trying to secure a camp spot without reservations falls somewhere between impossible and 'not going to happen'.

X1 !!!!!!!

Best camp advice for doing it cheap and with no reservations? All self contained, but want to do the must sees.

Start - Beyond Santa Barbara and up through Santa Rosa. Go slow enough to see what's great, and keep moving up the coast, on the coast HWY 1.

Any advice for this trip

End of March-April?

You definitely will want to know where you are sleeping each night. There is very little boondocking available on the Pacific Coast Highway; with the exception of the Monterey and San Francisco Bay area very few sizeable towns; and most campgrounds have been reserved for months by others. California Highway 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, is arguably the most scenic highway in all of America. You will not be alone, you will go slow even if you don't want to, and you will see something new around every curve. And there are lots of curves. Plan well for this trip. It is worth it.
Nothing in California is 'cheap' and you will find that trying to secure a camp spot without reservations falls somewhere between impossible and 'not going to happen'.