Ca. trip in Feb looking for beach and wine country RV parks

[deputybubba]

Hello all,
We are planning a week or so trip in Feb. to Ca. from Az.
DW would like to stay a few days near the ocean, I was thinking around Santa Barbara ? then on to wine country, here I was thinking near Paso Robles.

Any park suggestions ?

Also any good half way points from Phx to coast, and then from wine country back to Phx ?? nothing fancy... walmarts would even work.

Thanks
Bruce

[TyroneandGladys]

deputybubba wrote:
So we made reservations at the Jalama beach campground... Space 86
Does anyone know if a 35' rig will fit in there ?
From the pics it would seem like no problem... the description is 28 X 34 I 'hope' the 28 is width 🙂

Thanks for all the replies
Bruce

Usually that is pad size and your motorhome can hang over the back of the motorhome. I did say usually IMHO I would call the park and confirm that better to know yes or no now than to find out no when you arrive.

[aerbus32]

Or . . .
Temecula.
Fantastic Boutique Wineries. South Coast Winery is second to none in the country. Stay at Pechanga RV. One of the nicest parks in California and much cheaper than the Paso parks last time I checked. After a couple of days, head from there down to San Diego. Our personal favorite is Bernardo Shores. Adult park backs up to the estuary area of San Diego Bay. Make a right turn out of the park and Silver Strand State Beach is across the street. There is a huge parking lot RV park right there. Coronado is right there, also. Our second choice is Chula Vista RV, also on the bay. Very good resturant a very short walk from the park overlooking the marina. And look at how much closer Temecula is than Paso.

[JT]

Comments on Jalama: Not saying that Jalama is a bad choice, but it's a "destination" in itself; one goes for the beach and the hamburgers! If one is looking for a "base camp" to explore the area, this is not it, IMO. The road out to the beach from Lompoc - watch carefully for the turn-off; the sign says "Santa Barbara", as I recall - is not really bad (all sorts of rigs camp at Jalama) but it *is* curvy and a bit narrow in several stretches.

The beach is accessible and allows long walks (at lower tides) in both directions, but the wind can be pretty strong, and depending on the time of year, it can be very foggy. Campsites are close together and, depending on the season (and on weekends), Jalama can be very crowded.

I'm not a fan of the place, but many, many are; hope the choice works out for the OP.

[Ron3rd]

deputybubba wrote:
So we made reservations at the Jalama beach campground... Space 86
Does anyone know if a 35' rig will fit in there ?
From the pics it would seem like no problem... the description is 28 X 34 I 'hope' the 28 is width 🙂

Thanks for all the replies
Bruce

Can't answer your question, but you picked an awesome campground! Hope to visit Jalama some day.

[deputybubba]

So we made reservations at the Jalama beach campground... Space 86
Does anyone know if a 35' rig will fit in there ?
From the pics it would seem like no problem... the description is 28 X 34 I 'hope' the 28 is width 🙂

Thanks for all the replies
Bruce

[Ron3rd]

JT wrote:
"...the Swiss town of Solvang."

Solvang is "Danish", not "Swiss": 😉

http://www.solvangusa.com/

X2, used to visit Solvang back in the '60's with my sister and husband. The husband was from Denmark and it was quite different then. All the merchants were Danish and spoke the language. Very few people had heard for Solvang in those days and a lot of Danes would make the visit.

[JT]

"...the Swiss town of Solvang."

Solvang is "Danish", not "Swiss": 😉

http://www.solvangusa.com/

[Gonzo42]

I went to High School in Paso and at that time there was ONE (count 'em) ONE winery. So far we have visited only about 12 of them on the west side.

I personally don't know of even one winery that has a shuttle, but there is at least one Wine Tour company in the area of Buellton/Solvang. We avoid things of that nature as we prefer to tour on our own. Hope to have a toad in the near future. We have had no problems so far driving the Mother Ship to tasting rooms. One or two had driveways to worry about, but we made it OK.

Never can go wrong with Anderson's Pea Soup. Other recommendation include Industrial Eats and the Hitching Post, featured in the movie Sideways. Also there is the Red Barn - excellent.

One of the things that make the wine so good in the Buellton/Solvang area is that that region has a climate very similar to the Rhone Valley in the Mediterranean area of France. For the money, these wines beat the dickens out of French wines.

[mileshuff]

We just returned from a wine trip to the area and live in Phoenix as well. We stayed a few nights at Vines RV Park in Paso Robles and then headed south to Flying Flags RV in Buellton.

Paso Robles has over 250 wineries. The town is rather small but has some excellent one of a kind restaurants and pubs. We prefer Vines RV over Wine Country RV. Vines is rather new and very nice but Wine Country is also decent.

Buellton area also has numerous wineries especially Pinot Noir. Between Paso and Buellton near Pismo Beach and San Luis Obisbo is Edna Valley wine region with some excellent wineries. Also in the area just north of Buellton is the Foxen wine trail with more wineries such as Cambria and Fess Parker.

Just down the road from Buellton is the Swiss town of Solvang. Very fun place to visit. The Wineries around Buellton and Solvang were featured in the movie Sideways.

[TyroneandGladys]

Welcome to Jalama Beach County Park - County of Santa Barbara

[oldcat1]

deputybubba

I looked at both El Capitan and Refiguo State Parks for Feb. and they are listed as "walk-up only". That means they don't take reservations in the off season = first come first served. If you arrive in early afternoon during the week you should not have a problem. Safe travels.

[IAMICHABOD]

deputybubba wrote:
So lots of Flying Flags recommendations...
I should have stated that we don't have a toad, so hopefully wherever we stay will be walking distance to town/stuff to see...

There is some things close by,
In walking distance to Pea Soup Andersons and Ellen's Danish Pancake House

Flying Flags also offer wine tours that you can go on and a free shuttle to the Chumash Casino

A short drive up HWY 246 you find Solvang with a lot to do and a few wine tasting spots thrown in too.

There is a large RV parking lot on HWY 246 just pass Alisal RD on the left, it is large enough for most any size rig and is free and short walking distance to everything.

Solvang Map

[JT]

This site may be helpful for winery visits in SLO County:

http://www.slocountywineries.com/

[JT]

It's about 45 miles from Pismo to Paso Robles. You could look at RV Park Reviews for listing of RV parks in Pismo; many like Pismo Coast Village. You might also check the websites of individual wineries that interest you to see what, if any, "shuttle" options they might offer.

And, Enterprise Rent is everywhere; check their website for locations and availability.