CA HWY 1 - Now. Help Us Trip Plan.
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 ...
Forum Discussion
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.
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.
