My husband and I are considering a camping trip to Big Sur in late May or early June. We have been through Big Sur several times, but never camped there. My semester ends in late May and I am thinking a few days hanging out in Big Sur might be just the ticket to decompress from school.

So I am looking for recommendations.

We like campgrounds with showers and toilets rather than totally roughing it. We like to be in the trees rather than on open bluffs, along the river or a creek would be fantastic. Prefer a campground with more tenters than RVers (or just tenters). Don't mind RVs, just would rather not be in the middle of a bunch of them. We also aren't big on campgrounds with a pool, playgrounds, and all that business. We sort of like to strike a balance between a wilderness experience with ammenities like showers

Looks like Limekiln and Pfeiffer-Big Sur state parks are good candidates. There are some private campgrounds like Ventana and Fernwood that look good too.

Any thoughts on which campgrounds would fit our needs? Any favorites?

Thanks.

I think Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park would be a great choice. It is set back in the trees. Website:http://www.parks.ca.gov/portal/images/banner.jpg

http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=578

sorry, that's the right link.

Julia Pfeiffer-Burns has only two campsites, they are beautiful, right above the waterfall and they are walk-in sites, about a quarter mile from where you park. Unfortunately they are generally reserved months in advance. Also, there are no showers, and the sites are screened by some cypress, but are fairly exposed to the ocean.

Pfeiffer-Big Sur is big and can be crowded, there will be lots of RVs there. Ventana sounds good, but I haven't been there, not sure if they allow RVs or not. Haven't been to Limekiln either.

Fernwood is kind of a party place, not a quiet wilderness experience.

Thanks for the heads up on Fernwood being more of a party place.

Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park is great, but doesn't appear to be what we are looking for on this trip.

It looks like Ventana would be a good choice since it is small and all the sites are spread out along the river. Also, it is more expensive than the state park campgrounds and Fernwood, so maybe the partiers will gravitate toward cheaper accomodations. That seems to be the way with hotels at least. It is also close to the other things in Big Sur, so if we wanted to eat at Nepenthe or whatever, it would be convinient.

Limekiln looks good too - more remote so it seems reasonable to expect it would be less crowded, at least not as many of the party people.

Hoping someone who has been to either of these will see this post and give me their impressions.

We have camped in Pfeiffer-Big Sur and enjoyed it. We had a site along the river (no RVs in our area) which was shaded in the trees. Nice clean bathrooms and warm showers (kids really liked that part). Some beautiful hikes in the area.

You might want to split it up between locations. Andrew Molera S.P. is a beautiful site but offers only primative campsites.

Andrew Molera is a really neat place...

Andrew Molera is a great place for hiking or horseback riding (there's a concession there), and the largest park on the ocean side at Big Sur. And the longest stretch of beach, but you have to hike to it, about two miles, then another five miles of beach. Pfeiffer Big Sur or Ventana are about five or seven miles from it. So vahiker's suggestion of a day or two at one place then another day farther south might be something you'd consider.

As for Fernwood, I don't want to give the impression that it's a particularly rowdy place, it's where I'd go if I were alone and wanted to meet some down to earth people, there's a bar with live music every few days, and people are generally interested in interacting with others who've come there. It's great if you want to stay up late drinking with newly met friends, but I don't think it's what J Correa is looking for.

like vahiker1 i used a river side campsite at pfeiffer and loved it, with some of the hikes in that area sometimes come rattlesnake warnings. but not at the campsites! my site had trees and was great.

Hi J_Correa

I have camped in "Big Sur" a few times over the years. Last April we stoped at Limekiln to hike to the falls. It seems to me that Limekiln will met your needs better than any other place in big sur

Have fun
GP

Thanks for all the suggestions. I am really leaning toward Limekiln as well.

In general, I like the idea of spliting the trip between 2 places to see and experience more, but for this trip I am thinking that plunking myself down in one spot for a few days will be just what I need. It's only February and I feel like a need a vacation!

We live in San Jose, so we can always go back for other weekends and experience more parks.

Fernwood does sound like a fun place if I were really looking to socialize with others. I might have to try that on another trip

I made reservations at Limekiln - they are non-site specific, but I chose the tent-only section back in the trees. I will be sure to give a full report upon my return

Thanks again.