Vttraveler

Last April when we stayed at a campground in Death Valley there was some disagreement about whether we had to take an RV rather than a tent camping site. Other campgrounds had agreed we should/could be in the tent camping area but after the first night a DV a ranger told us we should move. I couldn't understand this since some of the vehicles that brought tent camper families were also large vans and we didn't want water or electric hook-up. He couldn't really defend the RV label
We decided to move on to Owens Valley for the second night anyway.

Patty

Here's a list of other areas to camp along the coast after Pfeiffer Big Sur (note Andrew Molera is still closed) CampingonCoastMap_101916.pdf You could also try Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

tomfuller

If you insist on a daily shower instead of washing up from a basin with water you heated on the stove, you can get a 5 gallon solar shower that you hang in the sunlight for several hours before you want to shower. Many of my fellow fire lookouts use them.

janisj

>>You should be able to shower at Half Dome Village in Yosemite.

AustinTraveler

For your last four days you could go to Morro Bay State Park (showers). There's plenty of opportunities there was kayaking, seal and otter viewing and hiking. Your wife would probably love running in nearby Montana de Oro State Park. If you're there on a weekend, the Buchon Trail will be open and it's definitely my favorite. If you can't get three consecutive nights at Morro, here are others nearby:

San Simeon State Park (showers)
Morro Strand State Beach (no showers)
Montana de Oro SP (no showers)

If you want to stay an additional day in the southern portion of Big Sur, try for a site at Plaskett Creek. Kirk Creek is nice too but always packed. Or you could try Limekiln State Park. Great hiking spot.

For your last day you could drive up Hwy 101 to Hayward.

Alternatively, if you don't want to spend three days on the Central Coast, you could stop at Pinnacles National Park (showers) for a night on your way to Hayward. Note that the only campground at Pinnacles is the east entrance (King City exit off 101). It's about 2 hours from Morro Bay.

Governator

Thanks for all the great tips.

Being as the last 4 nights falls on the (hard to reserve anywhere) weekend and then, also, on the night before my departure, I booked Chabot Lake Regional Park for 4 nights.

From Chabot, we'll take day trips to maybe, Napa, SF, Point Reyes.

Chabot is about 20 mins from Hayward. I'll have ample time to shower, return the van at 10 AM and head to the airport, on Tuesday.

On the drive to Chabot from Big Sur, We'll probably stop to see the Redwoods at Big Basin. Is that the best place to see Redwoods between Big Sur and Oakland?

If time permits maybe we can stop in one of the other parks mentioned above, or see some of those parks, on day trips from Pfeiffer. What's the best places to see between Big Sur and Oakland?

This is actually our second trip to Big Sur and we've seen Point Lobos and Hearst Castle already, but we haven't seen the Big Redwoods.

janisj

>>On the drive to Chabot from Big Sur, We'll probably stop to see the Redwoods at Big Basin. Is that the best place to see Redwoods between Big Sur and Oakland?

tomfuller

There is a nice HI hostel at Pigeon Point lighthouse where you can sleep in a dorm bed and get a shower. It is just north of Ano Nuevo State Park where you can hike on dunes and take a dip in the ocean.
On the east side of 1 is Butano SP which also has some nice Coast Redwoods.