Big Sur Camping - Trip Report
Jun 5th, 2006, 09:43 AM
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Big Sur Camping - Trip Report
My husband and I just got back from a long weekend camping in Big Sur. Here are a few notes on the trip.
Limekiln State Park:
We camped at Limekiln state park, which is a small park about 50 or so miles south of Carmel between Lucia and Gorda. The park is really nice - goes inland from the ocean back into some redwood groves. There are 3 very picturesque creeks that merge into one and then flow into the ocean. The redwood groves are 2nd growth due to logging in the past, so you don't have the really large trees, but it is amazing to see how the forest regenerates it self in a relatively short amount of time. There are also lots of laurel trees, ferns, clovers completely blanketed the forest floor, wildflowers and other plants.
There are a few trails in the park, all of which go along the creeks. The main attractions are the 100 ft waterfall and the old limekilns.
The campground has about 35 camp sites split between 3 sections - ocean, river, and redwood. We camped in the redwood grove, which was wonderful. Tents only in that section, but RVs are allowed in the ocean and river sections of the camp.
Weather:
The weather was picture perfect the whole weekend - a little fog, but mostly sunshine and warm temps. We even saw a high of 80 one day. On the drive back to Carmel, we ran into some crazy fog - strong winds, fog bank rolling in, lots of swirling around. Then we'd come around a turn and be completely out of the fog again and have brilliant blue skies. Really neat.
Beaches:
We also explored a few of the beaches in the area. Sand dollar beach is really nice, although it is a bit of a hike down to it. It is situated in a nice cove with fairly well-behaved waves, so a pretty good place to do a little swiming. There is also a beach at Mill Creek picnic area that we really enjoyed. This is also a sea otter refuge and we saw quite a few hanging out in the kelp. We did a little wading there, although the beach is a bit steep, so we didn't go in past our knees. The undertoe looked to be a little wicked. Great beach for a picnic though.
Road conditions:
Overall, the road was in good shape, but there were a few spots where repairs are happening. Some spots with rough road or gravel. We drove south on Thursday and ran into 1-way traffic control at Lucia. We were delayed for about 30 minutes. We got out of the car, enjoyed the view and agreed that there are plenty worse places to have a traffic delay. When we headed north on Sunday we didn't have any delay - I think the crews are only out M-F. If anybody is heading down that way, allow extra time.
Gas:
Gas prices along the Big Sur coast seem to be running around $4.75/gallon, so gas up on either end if you go. We bought gas in Carmel for $3.40/gallon, which is just a little higher than we pay in San Jose.
Limekiln State Park:
We camped at Limekiln state park, which is a small park about 50 or so miles south of Carmel between Lucia and Gorda. The park is really nice - goes inland from the ocean back into some redwood groves. There are 3 very picturesque creeks that merge into one and then flow into the ocean. The redwood groves are 2nd growth due to logging in the past, so you don't have the really large trees, but it is amazing to see how the forest regenerates it self in a relatively short amount of time. There are also lots of laurel trees, ferns, clovers completely blanketed the forest floor, wildflowers and other plants.
There are a few trails in the park, all of which go along the creeks. The main attractions are the 100 ft waterfall and the old limekilns.
The campground has about 35 camp sites split between 3 sections - ocean, river, and redwood. We camped in the redwood grove, which was wonderful. Tents only in that section, but RVs are allowed in the ocean and river sections of the camp.
Weather:
The weather was picture perfect the whole weekend - a little fog, but mostly sunshine and warm temps. We even saw a high of 80 one day. On the drive back to Carmel, we ran into some crazy fog - strong winds, fog bank rolling in, lots of swirling around. Then we'd come around a turn and be completely out of the fog again and have brilliant blue skies. Really neat.
Beaches:
We also explored a few of the beaches in the area. Sand dollar beach is really nice, although it is a bit of a hike down to it. It is situated in a nice cove with fairly well-behaved waves, so a pretty good place to do a little swiming. There is also a beach at Mill Creek picnic area that we really enjoyed. This is also a sea otter refuge and we saw quite a few hanging out in the kelp. We did a little wading there, although the beach is a bit steep, so we didn't go in past our knees. The undertoe looked to be a little wicked. Great beach for a picnic though.
Road conditions:
Overall, the road was in good shape, but there were a few spots where repairs are happening. Some spots with rough road or gravel. We drove south on Thursday and ran into 1-way traffic control at Lucia. We were delayed for about 30 minutes. We got out of the car, enjoyed the view and agreed that there are plenty worse places to have a traffic delay. When we headed north on Sunday we didn't have any delay - I think the crews are only out M-F. If anybody is heading down that way, allow extra time.
Gas:
Gas prices along the Big Sur coast seem to be running around $4.75/gallon, so gas up on either end if you go. We bought gas in Carmel for $3.40/gallon, which is just a little higher than we pay in San Jose.
Jun 5th, 2006, 03:04 PM
#2
I am sooooo jealous - I spent the weekend holding a garage sale! . . .
Anyway - great report! I'm planning another trip to the north coast - but every Carmel/Big Sur trip report makes me want to go south instead. oh heck - I can do both trips.
Anyway - great report! I'm planning another trip to the north coast - but every Carmel/Big Sur trip report makes me want to go south instead. oh heck - I can do both trips.
Jun 5th, 2006, 03:31 PM
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The weekend before this one I spent putting down wood flooring in my house - which is not yet finished, so I will spend next weekend on it as well. This was a nice respite between all the work.
Jun 8th, 2006, 10:27 AM
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Hi -Are the sites you stayed at car camping or hike in camping? With kids under age 6 we can't do the hike in right now because they can't be left alone if we need to make more than one trip to schlep stuff, sigh. TIA!
Jun 8th, 2006, 11:28 AM
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All of the sites in the park are car camping (or RV). In the redwood grove, camping is limited to tents, but you can park your car right at your site. We don't backpack - I like the solidude of backpacking, I just don't like to schelp all my stuff through the woods - LOL. Plus I like my air mattress 
In the river and ocean sections of the camps, RVs and tents are allowed - the areas are more open with fewer trees, so the RVs will fit.
In the river and ocean sections of the camps, RVs and tents are allowed - the areas are more open with fewer trees, so the RVs will fit.
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