Camping, hiking, site seeing in Northern CA. Need opinions

[Russpauly]

Ha! My wife and I are planning something incredibly similar. We were trying for something in the next two weeks but it's just too hot out there. Looks like we are postponing until probably Mid-October. We were going to do a drive up the 1/101 and camp/Surf, but it's tough going right now with some sites being reservation only & fully booked, others First come first serve.
_________________
1988 Wolfsburg Edition - TinTop
2.1L Watercooled
The Space man Van

[campism]

I did a solo loop of the west many years ago and one of the most memorable spots for me was the Lava Tubes National Monument near the Oregon border. Midweek in late winter I had the place to myself but that was a long time ago.

https://www.nps.gov/labe/planyourvisit/upload/park-map.pdf
_________________
'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic

[Russpauly]

We got ours booked. Going to do two nights at Lake Cachuma in Santa Barbara and then cruise up the 1 to Big Sur for a few nights and stay at a fancier campground. Will venture out and surf, hike, around there.

In October when it's a bit cooler and more schooling going on we'll do another trip maybe to the Sequoia's or Mammoth/June Lake. It's supposed to be 100* plus pretty much through to September.
_________________
1988 Wolfsburg Edition - TinTop
2.1L Watercooled
The Space man Van

[Igeo]

You got a reservation at a fancy campground eh? Don't forget the ridge road off Naciemento-Furgeson as an option. The view from up there is tremendous.
_________________
1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[davideric9]

And if possible stay home and don't spread your germs all over the state. Humboldt county still has a shelter in place order in effect and is currently recording expanding covid cases.
_________________
1987 Syncro Westfalia, stock (bought 1994)
1986 Syncro Westfalia SVX, 3 knob (bought 2008)
1987 Westfalia (bought 2010)
1988 Wolfsburg GL (bought 2012)

[Russpauly]

[dhaavers]

It's been years since I visited and it's probably not a surf spot, but is Pfeiffer Beach
still a thing...??? Our family enjoyed a beautiful quiet day there back in the day...

- Dave
_________________
86 White Wolfsburg Westy Weekender
"The WonderVan"
<EDITED TO PROTECT INNOCENT PIXELS>

[syncrodoka]

[Igeo]

Good call. I was indeed recommending that Cone Peak Road. Should have checked it or suggested that the OP check. Thanks.
_________________
1987 Westfalia 2.1 WBX Manual

[coqcitywesty]

[/quote] We are fervent mask wearer's, hand sanitizer and bar soapers. Most of our time is really going to be spent in our own space and on the beach surfing or cruising.

https://carmelcamping.com/

For those who *might* be interested. The price was steep, but there's not much out there right now in CA honestly. I believe only 33 State Parks are currently open and operating. Tahoe was an option, but ONLY if self contained.[/quote]

Hmmmm....we were booked into this same campsite in 2018 and were directed to a hillside space that our Westy barely made it up to that featured a broken picnic table and about an inch of fine powder dirt that covered your shoes and sock after a few steps. The 'site' overlooked what appeared to be a homeless camp with two large dogs that were fighting and barking the brief time we were there. I checked out the washrooms while my wife waited in the Westy and we made the executive decision that this was not going to work for us. They refunded us only 1/2 nights and we ended up hotel-ing it for a night and stealth camping the next. The photos on the website are definitely not all from the actual campsite..... I would suggest Veterans Park Campsite in Monterey, which you can secure by showing up first thing in the AM as it is a FCFS site. Best of luck.....
_________________
1991 Westfalia EJ251, 1972 Volvo 1800 ES

[Russpauly]

[coqcitywesty]

[Squidfish]

I live twenty five miles south of Prairie Creek Redwoods SP here in Humboldt.

On Saturday, we went dispersed FS camping up near Oregon and we counted 6 Westy Vanagons, 3 Eurovans and 2 Type2 buses between there and back. There were more RV's than I have ever seen.

Some of the locals here near Trinidad are not happy about the trash and lack of respect with masks in town, otherwise no one really minds at all IMO. It really is a double edged sword because our economy relies on tourism so much throughout the summer.
_________________
1985.5 - Vanagon Westfalia Weekender Wolfsburg Edition - LH8U - "Penny"
- 2.6i 5-Cylinder 10v (2004)

[campism]

[Russpauly]

Oh boy what a trip!

First two nights were at Lake Cachuma & were really just a stop over to get us on the road. It was ok. Campers were loud, rangers didn't bother to follow their own Covid Rules setup for campers and larger gatherings. The campers themselves were jerks and would just tramp through our campsite as a shortcut to the bathrooms. And the bathrooms were gross to say the least. It was toasty, but with the new awning out, sitting in the shade really really helped. True game changer for hotter weather camping for sure.

The next stop was the carmel campground. Much better experience, a whole lot quieter and VERY private. But oh boy that hill getting to the top / our campsite was a BEAST. The van handled it no problem though and was happy to do it in 2nd gear. We were here for 3 nights, drove to big sur but really couldn't do much because of the fires. A very large chunk of HWY 1 is closed in Big Sur because of them. The campgrounds there are all closed and are being used as bases for the firefighters currently. Our initial plan was to drive up most of the 1, but because it's closed we weren't able to. So we did a day trip out and drove as far down the 1 as we could, pulled over and had some lunch.

Great trip though! And one we will for sure do again in the future and really want to stay at some of the big sur campgrounds when they open back up.
_________________
1988 Wolfsburg Edition - TinTop
2.1L Watercooled
The Space man Van

[coqcitywesty]

Glad to hear your Monterey camping experience was a positive one. The area is such a special place to visit, one would hate to have it tempered by a bad experience as we unfortunately had. That said, we remain optimistic for a safe opening up the borders in 2021 and a return to one of my favorite areas in the state.

Fingers crossed for the firefighters and first responders in the area - hopefully they will get on top of the fires safely and in short order.
_________________
1991 Westfalia EJ251, 1972 Volvo 1800 ES