Camping at California Beaches

Ok, I'm putting on my tour guide hat now. Beach camping on the coast of California is something we’ve spent a lot of time doing. And just to clarify, never go to the beach in California in the summer, it will be foggy. Spring, fall and winter are usually beautiful. Unless there is a storm moving through, it will be mostly sunny and warm.

Starting north of San Francisco, we camp at Wright’s Beach in Bodega Bay twice a year, every April and every October. In April, the grey whales migrate through there and they are very close to the beach. You can easily spot them from the campsites. In the fall, we just have campfires and watch the waves. The picture above is our RV and Jeep; you can see what I mean about being close to the water.

We recently drove into Half Moon Bay campground and were blown away by how cool it is. Crashing surf a few steps over the dunes. They have wi-fi now, if that matters to you. We really want to stay here sometime soon.

So, next stop Santa Cruz. Our personal favorite, New Brighton. Great campground on a cliff overlooking the sea. You walk down a path/stairway to get to the beach.

If you are RV camping only, you can stay at Sea Cliff, right on the beach. You can see photos here.

Or go a little more south to Sunsets. Real nice campground, but not close enough to walk to the ocean. We go there every Memorial Day for the Santa Cruz Blues Festival. One of the nice things about this that Pebble Beach is about only 35 minutes away. And Monterey. And Carmel.

When you leave that area, make a short stop at Point Lobos. Beautiful walk along the coast. We had a blast watching the otters play. Your state park pass from the night before gets you in for free.

In Big Sur the place to stay is Pfeiffer Big Sur (not Julia Pfeiffer). No beach access. Nice campground. Wi-fi.

As you drive south, you might want to see Hearst Castle or see the elephant seals in San Simeon. This is as good as Ano Nuevo reserve and it's right next to the highway for free.

We stayed at Pismo this last summer and it was great for my nieces and nephew to play in the surf. The North Beach campground is a very easy walk to the beach. It's on a first come, first serve basis in the winter. We stayed there for ski/skate week in February once and we were the only ones in the campground, because it rained and was flooded. Wi-fi.

When I was a kid, we spent two weeks at San Celemente State Park. I remember having so much fun with my cousins, getting very sunburnt, and endless stairs to the beach. Haven't been back as an adult though. Wi-fi too.

There's the overview. All of these are California State Parks and you should book at reserveamerica.com to make sure you have a place. The rule is that you can reserve a spot on the first day of the month, six months before you want to go. That puts us into September already. As long as the weather is good, you can soak up the sun and get wet in the surf. But also be prepared if it rains too. Have fun!