Category: Campgrounds

7-9 Jun 2021: San Onofre Bluffs

by JamesCalifornia / Campgrounds / Camping / RVing / Southern California / State Parks

We drycamped at San Onofre State Beach, Bluffs Campground 30 miles north of Oceanside. Availability at this campground is pretty open since it is essentially a long parking lot next to the I-5 freeway just south of the retired San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. There are no hookups but sites do include an area for tents, picnic tables (in pretty poor shape but usable if covered) and fire rings. Restrooms have rv-style flushable toilets, outdoor beach-styled cold-water shower and sink. The RV campsites are wide asphalt parking spaces with adjacent dirt areas with fire rings & tables. The ranger-recommended tent site was on the bluff above our RV, on a wide hiking trail. But in other sections of the campground, most tents were pitched at parking level (quieter). Hikers & dog walkers use the trail so it’s not very private, although there wasn’t much foot traffic. Noise from the I-5 freeway and railroad is noticeable especially higher up where the tent was pitched.
Each section of the campground has a restroom & trail leading to the beach (see map below). We were next to Trail 5 which was closed due to an unstable cliff collapse. Next trail, Trail 6, is quite a ways down so if you are carrying beach gear, driving to the trailhead is a good idea. The beach at Trail 6 is not busy, rocky, and dog-friendly. If you prefer a sandy beach then drive N a couple miles to Trail 1. The hike to the beach on Trail 6 is longer but less steep than Trail 1. People with e-bikes had the best method to access Trail 6’s beach. Trail 1 was steeper and coming back uphill was shorter but more challenging.
The coastline & bluffs are beautiful here. But other than visiting the beach, surfing, or biking along the 3.5mi stretch of paved, level road, there is not much to do.
There were groups of people in RVs & tents gathered & enjoying getting together. So if you are having trouble finding a campsite, this campground usually has vacancies. For no hookups, rustic restrooms, and closed trails, paying $40/night is a bit pricey since it dry camping. We’ve stayed at other Ca state beaches with water & electric for the same rate. There is a dump station but there is a $10 fee, even for paying rv’ers. When talking to the ranger, he said it was something they recently implemented because non-paying rv’ers were dumping when the ranger station was closed.

16-17 May 2021: Flying Flags, Buellton

by JamesCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / Day Trips / RVing / Sightseeing

Our first 6 months of rv’ing on the West Coast have been short hops from one campground to another, on one tank of gas. Our Tacoma’s range is only ~200mi/tank and being new at towing a travel trailer. We’ve been conservative, only driving ~150-160 miles each day.
But traveling home from Monterey to Oceanside (~431mi), we decided to just make one overnight stop in Buellton, the halfway point. This required a fuel stop along the way towing Howie, something we’ve been putting off until gaining more experienced. But we want to start driving longer distances before stopping overnight to get further away from home. So finding rv-friendly gas stations every 200mi along our route has to be planned. Rest stops every few hours will still happen along with the fuel stops.
The California west coast does not have many Pilot/Flying J gas stations. There’s one off the 101 in Salinas CA but most are inland on the I-5 & further east. But there are a few other gas stations that cater to RVs & trucks off the 101 freeway. After researching a few places along the way using Google maps & street-view, we picked a few that were right off the 101. We stopped at the San Paso Truck Stop in Paso Robles, 118mi south, that was right off the freeway. It has CAT scales so before fueling, we weighed our tow vehicle (5680#) and 20ft travel trailer (3261#).

When planning this trip, we considered boondocking for the night but settled on stopping at Flying Flags RV Resort in Buellton, which is in town right off the 101. It’s another urban “glampground” with lots of amenities & full hookups. We booked two nights – I’ve read advice from experienced RV’ers that recommend when stopping, to stop for more than one night. Flying Flags has some very nice facilities: beautiful restrooms & showers, pool & hot tub, cafe & bar. But the Feather & Fire Cafe/Bar are closed Mon-Tues. Fortunately, since you are in town, there are plenty of places to eat nearby like the Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. a mile away.
Since we were not in a big hurry and never stayed in this area. We’d spend Monday checking out the area. Nearby Solvang is a great day-trip.

We drove to Solvang May 17th, first stopping at OstrichLand which is on the way. It’s a fun kitschy place to see & feed ostriches & emus (and squirrels). Solvang is a quaint Danish-styled town with local wineries, Danish bakeries, gift shops, and restaurants. Solvang is also home to the Santa Inés Mission, 19th of the 21 California Missions.
It’s a great place to have lunch, wine taste, or stop for coffee & danish after exploring the area.
Last, we hiked to a waterfall, Nojoqui Falls, located in a small 85 acre county park 7 miles south of Buellton. In May, the water flow was pretty slow but it’s a short, easy hike in a forested park.

13-16 May 2021: Monterey/Santa Cruz KOA

by JamesCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / Day Trips / Sightseeing

On our furthest trip north towing Howie, our third stop was the KOA campground in Watsonville. It’s 28mi north of Monterey, midway between Monterey & Santa Cruz. Carol was lucky enough to get us tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium the first Saturday they opened to non-members. We love Monterey Bay Aquarium & have missed visiting so we scheduled this entire trip around these tickets. Entries were by reservation and we had tickets for 3:30pm Sat May 15th, the last group of the day since it closes at 5pm.

The Monterey/Santa Cruz KOA is only our 2nd KOA but this one was definitely a tier above Ventura Ranch KOA. The campground was well laid out and included a tent-camping area, RV sites, and cabins. The RV sites were full hookup, fairly spacious, and level gravel pads with picnic table & fire ring. Pine trees surrounded the site but did not overhang our trailer or solar panel. The KOA is very family oriented and there were kids on bikes everywhere. They have scheduled activities and many play areas, closed at the Ventura KOA due to Covid, were open. Our grandkids would enjoy this campground so we will have to return when they are a bit older & able to travel this far from home.
The Friday-Saturday we were there happened to have a special rate – stay Friday at the regular rate & get Sat for $20. Needless to say we were happy for the price break BUT every RV site, tent, & cabin in the campground was occupied.

Our reservation listed driving directions that were different than Google Maps or Apple Maps. Be sure to follow the driving directions the KOA provides in their reservation confirmation or web site (reprinted bottom of this page), not Google or Apple Maps. On a day-trip back to the campground, we drove our truck (without trailer) on the route suggested by Google Maps, using Buena Vista Dr. It’s a very narrow winding road so even though it may be shorter, I would not have liked navigating it with our small trailer.

Since we arrived Thursday & our aquarium tickets were for Saturday, we had Friday open. We enjoy hiking in the Redwoods in Humboldt County so we looked for a place nearby. Unfortunately, nearby Big Basin and Henry Cowell Redwood State Parks were closed due to wildfires. They are scheduled to reopen the end of May but not while we are here. Fortunately, only 30mins away in Aptos, the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park was opened. There are some old growth redwoods so that was where we spent Friday. We were given a paper map by the park ranger but had trouble with judging direction & scale. Trail markers are few and far between and there is little to no cell service. We did an extra mile or two before getting back on the right trail. So be aware if it’s an unfamiliar park to not assume you can navigate using your cell phone. Pay particular attention to any trail marker because there are plenty of forks on the trail but not all are marked. Since we had an extra long hike, we rewarded ourselves with burgers and beer at Burger Aptos.

Saturday we drove to Monterey early and had lunch before our entry time into the aquarium. Cannery Row restaurants were packed with tourists and had long lines so we opted for Hula’s Island Grill on Lighthouse Ave, a few blocks away.
At 3pm, we headed to the aquarium and got into the socially-distanced queue. They let us in a few minutes early and it was even better than I remember. Although the 3:30 group of a few hundred entered the aquarium, people dispersed pretty quickly. There were people near popular tanks like the octopus (see photo) who was very active while we were there. Monterey Bay Aquarium is my favorite and I think they have the best presentations of aquatic life & educational material of any aquarium I’ve visited. Well worth the drive, the wait, and although we saw everything we wanted. It would have been even better if we had an extra hour.
Tomorrow we pack up and head to Flying Flags in Buellton, CA, about 212mi south. It will be the first time we’ve fueled the truck while towing. I’ve mapped out a few rv-friendly gas stations along our route. But Paso Robles has a truck stop with Cat Scale so that’s where we’ll stop.

09-13 May 2021: Pismo State Beach

by JamesCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / Day Trips / RVing / Sightseeing / State Parks

We camped here in February and enjoyed the location so much we wanted to come back during warmer weather. Unfortunately, we returned during a cold spell which was very much like February. The day we arrived was beautiful sunny and warm but the “May Grey” hovered over the campground the next few days. Pismo State Beach Campground is small with pull-through sites providing water & electricity. They have private restrooms & showers which require tokens.
Pismo Preserve is a popular hiking area just east of the 101. We noticed it last trip but did not stop so this time we stopped & hiked the Lone Oak trail. Wildflowers were in bloom so the hillsides were covered in yellow flowers. The “May Grey” burned off and it was a warm afternoon. There is a beautiful oak-forested area on the Vamonos Canyon trail with birds such as hawks, turkey vultures and woodpeckers flying about. There are several trails of different elevation changes and lengths. You have to share the trails with runners and mountain bikers (some on e-bikes) who may attach a bell so you can hear them coming. When we were there, there were people hiking & biking but overall uncrowded.


The next day we drove up Highway 1 to San Simeon & the elephant seal rookery. It was along the coast so the marine layer kept it cool. It’s a great drive and even the RV could easily make it north this far on Highway 1. The road gets less rv-friendly, narrow & winding, further north though.
There were thousand of elephant seal along the coastline at every pullout. We stopped at Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery which is a great spot to view & photograph them. Hearst Castle is nearby but closed due to Covid.

To get away from the cool grey coastline, on Day 3 we drove inland to Lopez Lake in hopes of boating on the lake. Inland skies were clear and blue and Lopez Lake is only 13mi inland. But by early afternoon, the winds on the lake were so strong wind surfers were enjoying catching air. We decided against renting a boat & fighting the strong breezes chopping the lake. The lake level is (at least) 15-20ft below its high water mark but there were people fishing from boats & docks. I’ll add a fishing pole in my truck inventory for such fishing opportunities.
We drove around the Lopez Lake campgrounds – seems like every hillside has sites, most primitive. Hiking trails were plentiful but the dry rolling hills on a windy afternoon were not calling. Since Lopez Lake was a short mid-day detour, we visited Dinosaur Caves in north Pismo Beach. Breaking out the bikes, we had a short ride around this scenic area. Next day – heading north to Monterey.


07-09 May 2021: Ventura Ranch KOA

by JamesCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / RVing

Our first stop northward was the Ventura Ranch KOA, our first stay at a KOA campground since becoming members. We had a back-in site, fairly wide, with electric and water. The campground is ~17mi inland from Ventura so warm and sunny during our stay. We’ve been using InRoute RV navigation app on my iPhone for directions. It works well but I thought the directions seemed off so we double-checked our track with Google Maps. Google Maps recommended a quicker route, taking highway 23. That was a mistake. The route was shorter but wound through the canyons. There were tight turns, guardrail-less sections of road, high cliffs, and a busy two-way two lane road – not recommended.
Most of the campground’s public areas were closed due to Covid. The pool, zipline course, and kids activity area were quiet but all campsite were occupied. What isn’t quiet are the many peacocks roaming freely around. They take some getting used to but while we were there, their loud calls could be heard far & wide. They also roam through the campsite – they are a beautiful bird but noisy and unexpected.
We did not spend much time in the campground since it was Mother’s Day weekend and our son Matthew wanted to have lunch in Camarillo with his mom. Matthew’s wedding which was postponed from Sept 2020 was rescheduled to May 28 2021. With it only weeks away, once we had lunch, we hit the premium outlet stores for wedding wares (wears?).
After two noisy nights (peacocks & a barking dog next door) we’re headed to Pismo State Beach Campground.

Indio “Glamping”+Joshua Tree Day Trip

by JRWilkinsonCalifornia / Campgrounds / Day Trips / Indio/Palm Springs / Joshua Tree National Park / National Parks / RVing / Sightseeing / Trips

For our third trip of 2021, we wanted to visit family in Desert Hot Springs & Indio Mar 14-18th. Shadow Hills RV Resort in Indio, CA was a great location to stay since it’s less than a mile from family. This RV park has all the amenities allowed by Covid-19 restrictions.
Fortunately we arrived Sunday because Monday the winds were fierce – blowing steady 35mph with gusts to 60+. By Tuesday morning the winds has dropped & weather warm & beautiful.

Full hookups, cable tv, laundry, pool, dog parks (tiny fenced areas), daily trash pickup at each site, showers and restrooms scattered throughout the park. The RV sites are level, wide concrete slabs with hedges separating you from your nearest neighbor. Being close to Coachella (annual music festival, canceled this year), there are many tent sites which were unoccupied.

Indio is ~40mins from Joshua Tree’s Cottonwood Springs Road south entrance. So after visiting family, I did an afternoon excursion to Joshua Tree. The topography of the southern entrance is quite different from the northern 29 Palms entrance. Most of the rock formation points-of-interest are in the northern side of the park. The Ocatillo Patch and Cholla Cactus Gardens features are in the central valley so I focused my photography efforts there. The 40mi drive to the Cottonwood Springs entrance has a much longer incline that the 29 Palms. If I were towing our trailer, I would definitely use the 29 Palms entrance.

Desert X 2021 Art Festival was also underway with 9 environmental art installations. The number of installations is greatly reduced this year due to Covid-19 but still worthwhile. The weather in March is near perfect (~70degF) except for the occasional wind storm like a day ago. The short hikes to the various installations, which are scattered throughout the area, were pretty easy. Although ParaPivot is quite a steep climb up a winding concrete driveway. We went on Wednesday so no tickets were required. Thurs-Sun tickets are required to keep the crowds down.
We saw 4 of the 9 installations. We were trying to find the fifth, The Art of Taming Horses, which ended up being a scavenger hunt without success. Turns out the installation will not be viewable until after April 9th. The Women’s Qualities installation is in the Sunnylands Center & Gardens which closes at 4pm so we missed it by 20mins. Check the Desert X website for ticket & exhibit information: https://desertx.org. You can download the DesertX app for detailed descriptions about the art & artists plus locations.

Dry-camping at Joshua Tree

by JRWilkinsonCalifornia / Campgrounds / Camping / Day Trips / Hikes / Joshua Tree National Park / RVing / Sightseeing / Trips

Feb 23-24 2021: Our grandson Ronan wanted to go camping to celebrate his 5th birthday. His Mom & Dad booked a site at Indian Cove Campground for a tent & trailer, without hookups. There are fewer sites available at Indian Cove because their Covid-19 strategy is to closed every other site. There is an empty campsite separating the occupied sites. This made for a less crowded and much quieter camp-out.
This was our first campground without electricity or water but we knew our Geo Pro is well equipped for dry camping. Before leaving home, we added ~12gals to our fresh water tank since we were only there for one night & wanted to keep out tow weight manageable. This was plenty of water for our washing & flushing needs. We also brought a couple gallons of bottled water for drinking & cooking.
Since our Geo Pro has 190w of solar and two deep cycle 225ah 6v batteries, we had no issues using the interior or awning lights. We used our propane griddle to cook burgers for dinner, bacon & pancakes for breakfast. We’ve been debating about whether to keep the relatively heavy 17″ Suburban griddle or replace it with a propane bbq. Weight-wise there isn’t much gain and the grill does work really well if kinda a pain to clean. I guess a bbq grill could be a messy cleanup as well.

18 Feb 2021, Leg 3: Carpinteria State Beach

by JRWilkinsonCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / RVing / Sightseeing

Since towing Howie is still new to us and stressful, we prefer not to drive more than a tankful of gas. As we gain more experience and fuel at rv-friendly stations, we’ll consider driving longer distances. For now, keeping our drives under 200mi is good. Since Pismo State Beach campground did not have full hookups, we reserved a full hookup site at Carpinteria State Beach. We only stopped for one night to break up the drive home. We considered boondocking since there are no Harvest Hosts in this region. But having a full hookup site allowed us to bypass the dump station at Pismo Beach campground.

Carpinteria State Beach campground has sites right on the beach and we reserved one of the few sites available. Since our trailer is only 20ft, there was one site available. If you want a campground with full hookups right on the beach then this is the place. We were only here one night but we made the most of our 24hrs. There are natural tar sands, resembling black lava flows, oozing throughout the beach front.

15-18 Feb 2021 Leg 2: Pismo Beach

by JRWilkinsonCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / State Parks

After 3 nights at Ventura Beach RV Resort, we headed ~110mi north to Pismo Beach State Beach in Oceano. This is a California State Beach campground with electrical & water hookups. It’s adjacent to Oceano Dunes beach, where you can drive your vehicle on the beach (may be banned soon). At the campground, there is a lagoon to hike around with a variety of waterfowl. We considered staying at Morro Bay State Beach but none of the available sites had hookups. Being RV-newbies, we are still trying to gauge our dry-camping capabilities. Morro Bay is 25mi away so we made it a day-trip. Avila Beach is also nearby so we spent our third day exploring it. I had disembarked an oceanographic cruise in Avila Beach many years ago & always wanted to revisit this coastal town.

12-15 Feb 2021, Leg 1: Ventura Beach RV Resort

by JRWilkinsonCalifornia / Campgrounds / Central California / E-Biking / Hikes

Our first trip of 2021 was a one week trip up the West Coast of California from Oceanside to Ventura Feb 12-15th. We’ve been wanting to visit family that live & work at Ventura Beach RV Resort since Oct 2020. It’s about 161mi from home and our first outing since our short shakedown trip in San Diego. A Tacoma’s estimated towing gas mileage is ~10mpg. So we wanted to keep the first leg of our first trip under 200mi until we have a better idea of our range.


Our mileage turned out to be ~11.5mpg, driving in S4 with ECT Power on. The elevation changes along the coast were minor so we were not tested towing up any serious inclines.

Ventura Beach RV Resort is urban camping near Emma Wood State Beach. They have full hookups, tight spaces, and the continual drone of the nearby 101 highway which ends up being white-noise similar to ocean waves. The RV resort is north of Ventura proper & the Ventura Pier. Having a bike is highly recommended & makes getting around more convenient. There is a bike rental place (Ventura Bike Depot) within walking distance with a great selection of bikes & e-bikes to rent. The coast is scenic, flat and very bike-friendly. At the base of the pier, there is an excellent taco stand with outdoor seating.