US West Coast Fall Trip Advice

[dfandrews]

Caveat re: San Francisco Bay. Bridges are free going clockwise, but have tolls going counter-clockwise.
E.G.: We just got back from camping along the Russian River in N.Calif.
We travelled North using US-101 from southern coastal Ventura County, and went north across the Golden Gate Bridge (no toll).
We returned South by using the San Rafael bridge (I-580) from San Rafael to Oakland on the east side of the Bay (no toll). We rejoined southbound US-101 at San Jose.

Tolls are based on # of axles, so we avoid the extra costs when we can.


Campground recommends: none. almost everything was full, our reservations (at a campground we would not recommend) were made months ago by friends from out of state that we frequently camp with.


If per chance you make it to the southern part of CA, and want an alternative return path home, we love camping on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mts., between the Mojave Desert north to Reno, using US-395 for access. There are county and forest service camp grounds, many with first come-first serve sites. Most are no hook-ups, but sites are readily available during the week. There is also BLM land dispersed camping areas. This is bear country, so follow campground instructions, & use the bear box.

[Beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Mark B1

1. We are leaving from Calgary to Seattle and headed slowly down the west coast (Washington, Oregon, California) this October. Any places we shouldn't miss? Any recommended camping spots? We are well set up for boondocking so we don't have to have sites with hookups but do need to fit our 19 and Ford Explorer tow vehicle.

2. While in California, any recommendations for a good camping spot in late Oct near Yosemite near Hwy 120? We've checked the National Park site and all campsites are reserved until Oct 23 when it becomes first come first serve (FF) - any experience of getting a FF site after Oct 23? We've checked Forest Service sites near Yosemite and they all seem to close before Oct 23.

3. Any recommended campsites around San Francisco?

We appreciate any advice.

A Detour to Silver falls State Park near Salem in Oregon is well worth the trip. !0 Falls that you can walk to and some you can walk behind. Drop dead gorgeous.
San Francisco area has several places. Not destinations themselves as you will be packed in but with access to the city. Marin RV Park is in Greenbrae north of the city. The Ferry is about a 1 mile walk from the park or you can take a bus or drive over the Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco RV Resort is south of the city in Pacifica. Also packed in but an easy drive or Bus ride up to the city. Parking in the city can be tough.
There is also a packed RV park in the city with very difficult sites to access.
Have a great trip!

[John in Santa Cruz]

locals secret, best time to visit the central coast and monterey bay is winter/spring, between storms. usual winter weather pattern is a few days to a week of bands of heavy rain, followed by several weeks of mostly sunshine. Summers are often very foggy.

[LarryLSB]

Originally Posted by Mark B1

1. We are leaving from Calgary to Seattle and headed slowly down the west coast (Washington, Oregon, California) this October. Any places we shouldn't miss? Any recommended camping spots? We are well set up for boondocking so we don't have to have sites with hookups but do need to fit our 19 and Ford Explorer tow vehicle.

2. While in California, any recommendations for a good camping spot in late Oct near Yosemite near Hwy 120? We've checked the National Park site and all campsites are reserved until Oct 23 when it becomes first come first serve (FF) - any experience of getting a FF site after Oct 23? We've checked Forest Service sites near Yosemite and they all seem to close before Oct 23.

3. Any recommended campsites around San Francisco?

We appreciate any advice.

If you are members of Harvest Hosts, there are quite a few one night stay places along the way. We are in Santa Cruz County, south of San Francisco. The State Parks in the area fill up on weekends, but usually there are spots during the week. If you are planning on Highway 1 south of Monterey, Big Sur has several private campgrounds along with car camping at Pfeiffer Big Sur. I don't think that Highway 1 is open though all the way to Morro Bay.

[Ellen]

There’s a beautiful little campground just minutes from downtown Monterey, CA, that we’ve been to often, Monterey Veteran’s Memorial Park. We’ve stayed there many times, usually just show up, find a site our ‘19 will fit in, and pay the nominal amount ($30 I think, but its in the heart of pricey Monterey). There are no hook-ups, but there is a dump station on your way out and water spigots if you need to schlep water. The bathrooms have nice hot showers and outlets. It’s quiet and right next door to the Presidio and a great jumping off spot to see the local sites of Monterey and beyond.

[John in Santa Cruz]

My wife joined the local Elks Lodge a few years ago, initially primarily to use their very nice swimming pool... But then we discovered many (but not all) Elks Lodges have inexpensive RV camping, and we've stayed at quite a few. Most are not a destination resort, most don't have full hookups, just water and power, with a dump station on site, but they are great places to spend a night or 3 when traveling. Many serve excellent dinners a few nights a week, and many have a full bar with great cocktails and lots of insider local gossip. Santa Maria (in north Santa Barbara County) has an awesome BBQ once a week, oak fired steaks, you cook your own steak that they provide, then they have a massively good and huge buffet for salad and sides.

[DT6]

Manzanita Beach (near Canon beach) in Oregon is a really nice one. While there, I highly recommend you have the French toast at "Yolks". I'm not a huge pancake/French toast person, but I sometimes consider making the 2+ hour drive from home to go there just for breakfast.

It has been a very long time, but we used to love Morro Bay. There is also a beach not too far from there where we used to rent ATV's to ride on the sand dunes. Again if interested, check on these in advance as it has been some time since we were there.

If you are military or retired military/retired DOD and get as far south as San Diego, check out the Coronado beach location that is run by MWR.

[John in Santa Cruz]

The OHV beach near Morro Bay is probably Pismo Beach or more specifically Oceano Dunes OHV.

The Navy MWR camp in Coronado is Fiddlers Cove, one of the nicest and cleanest campgrounds I've ever stayed at, with full hookup sites right on San Diego Bay.