Monterey Bay area camping
 

Have 2 to 3 days to spend in area first week of August. All state campgrounds full Monterey down to San Simeon. Suggestions going North? Are Santa Cruz or San Jose to far away to use as a base camp to visit area? What is it like along coast north of Santa Cruz? Any redwoods and hiking like around Big Sur?

Have you tried the private camp grounds? Here's a list of state and private:

http://www.bigsurcalifornia.org/camping.html

Yes but will keep checking. Only finding 1 night availability. Found New Brighton and Sunset state beach camping north of Monterey - How is that area as a base? Not finding many private campgrounds for tents.

Both those beaches are near Capitola. New Brighton is closer.

It's a beautiful stretch of beach and is quite safe. Although I've only been there in the daytime and that was some years ago.

The only thing is that if the fog comes in, it can get to be quite cold. I'd be prepared for cold weather as well as sunny - layering is the best. A good lightweight, all-seasons windbreaker could do wonders.

I'd go for New Brighton if you can get a site. It is a nice campground on a bluff above a beautiful beach. It is also quite centrally located. Easy to use as a base for exploring the Monterey Bay area.

Seacliff is a nice beach, but I am not sure if they have tent sites. I think the campground is RV only in sort of a parking lot type of set up. Double check though.

Another nice park on the coast is Manresa state beach, and I think Sunset state beach also has a campground. There is also a KOA campground in the area, but I don't know what it is like.

Mount Madonna county park (Santa Clara County) has a couple good campgrounds - it is at the summit between Watsonville and Gilroy.

Other state parks to try, which are a bit further out, but have plenty of redwoods: Henry Cowell, Big Basin, Butano, and Portola Redwoods.

If you want to go inland a bit, Uvas Canyon is another county park in Santa Clara county that has camping.

I'll check these out. I was told to try and get on a wait list for a campground...how do you do that???

I've never done a wait list, but I assume you would contact whoever does the reservations for that campground.

Hi,
We stayed last year at a campground 10 mins from Santa Cruz in Felton called Cotillion Gardens. I think they allow tents as well as RVs?? We found it nice and near to a few shops, steam railway and the coast etc.
We also stayed at Marina Dunes 5 mins from Monterey by the big sand dunes. It was a very convenient campground for Monterey area but not as scenic as some others.
We also stayed at Big Sur Campground and Cabins which was right in Big Sur near to lots of hiking, and also Half Moon Bay state park right on the beach but that was further north near to SF.
We came from UK and loved then all!!

Cotillion Gardens is really nice - I thought they were RV only, but if they have tent spaces, then that would be a good choice too.

I like Half Moon Bay state park too. Since the campground is just above the beach and there isn't much tree cover, it can get windy, but it is a beautiful spot. It is a longer drive to the Monterey area, but not too bad for going to Santa Cruz. And unlike the Big Sur coast, Hwy 1 north of Santa Cruz is fairly straight so you can drive faster.

Have you tried Veteran's Park in Monterey? It's the town's best kept secret. It's in the woods, but only a mile from downtown. Great home base for exploring Monterey. It's run by the city, not the state.

Another great base (that I didn't think of before): Laguna Seca recreation area.

http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/parks/lagunaseca_camp.html

Run by the county, not the state, so it probably didn't turn up on your search. It's inland, but a very reasonable drive to everything in Monterey County. It's right next to the Fort Ord Public Lands (literally; several trailheads are there).

Warning: second week in August, Monterey County is likely to be booked up. That's Monterey Auto Week, which includes the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance and many other auto shows. It's one of the biggest events of the year.

checked all the suggestions - Veterans Park is first come first serve as is Kirk Creek Campground on Hwy 1 50 miles south of Monterey and 38 miles north of Hearst Castle. Sunset beach had a site avail Aug 2 & 3. Laguana Seca Recreation area need to call for availabity. Everything else was full unless went much closer to Santa Cruz which now I think is to far north.

Plans have changed a bit. Coming from Kings Canyon on Sunday 8/1.
For the central coast we wanted to tour Hearst castle, do a couple hikes along hwy 1, see the aquarium in Monterey and maybe bkie the trail to Seaside.
Heading to San Fran sometime on Wed 8/4 for a quick look at the town and then heading back to Iowa on Friday 8/6.

what to do...Kings to Hearst to 4.30 hrs and Kings to Laguan Sec is 4.30 hrs drive. Laguan Sec to Hearst is 2.15 hr drive.
Go Kings, Hearst (camp), hwy 1 to Laguan and day trip
or Kings, Laguan and day trip out to Hearst - Hwy 1

Laguana Seca has plenty of availablity. What is the campground like? I found ratings in travel life on the low side for the campground.

I don't know anything about Laguna Seca so hopefully someone else has some information. Given the lack of availability in most places though, I might just take it regardless of the reviews so that you have a place. Then maybe keep a look out for cancellations at places you'd rather stay.

For your choice of itinerary, I'd go from Kings Canyon to Hearst, then up to Laguna Seca. The reason being that Hearst as a day trip from the Monterey area makes for a long day. It might only be 2.25 hours of driving each way, but the road is curvey and takes a lot of concentration. 4.5 hours total driving through Big Sur will feel a lot different than 4.5 hours between Kings Canyon and Hearst Castle.

If this is near the Laguna Seca Racetrack on Route 68, then it's about 10 miles inland from Monterey and in a low-lying area. I can't imagine there's much of a view there, and I'm almost certain you can't see the ocean because of the surrounding hills/mountains. Hope you can find something else.

I can't remember this entire thread, but have you tried Pfeiffer Big Sur? There's usually quite a bit of camping available there.


Definitely go in one direction and go Kings to Hearst to Monterey.

Yes it is the racetrack. Can't see an ocean. They described it as a nice valley. Everything by Big Sur if full. If we want a reservation Laguana Seca is only choice at this late date.

Camping by Hearst is full too as far as reservations. Another county park Lake San Antioncia by Bradley 70 miles from Hearst Castle has availability. First week of August offers temperatures over 100 there. Maybe we should consider a hotel for 1 night from Kings to Hearst - any recommendations on a town to check out hotels other than Cambria?

For hotels, check San Simeon, San Luis Obispo, and Morro Bay. Further inland, Paso Robles is a good choice too.

jkr - What did you end up doing?