Camping on California’s 840 miles of biodiverse shoreline offers the chance to have the road trip of your life without breaking the bank. Select your area– from rugged and untamed in California’s north to moderate environments, desert flowers and the dreamiest sundowns you’ve ever seen in the south.
Wherever you land, you’ll pitch up and drop off to sleep under the stars to the noise of crashing waves. However strategy your pajama parties carefully– camping on California’s coast is clear, and positions book up months ahead of time.
For miles of empty golden sand, head to Silver Hair State Beach in Coronado
The most southern beach-camping area in California is also the warmest area on this list. The deserted Silver Hair State Beach– with some 10 miles of golden sand to explore and limitless, uncrowded waves to browse– is simply 20 minutes from the Mexican border to the south and a short drive from main San Diego to the north.
There’s only a beach and ocean in the direct vicinity, but all the city’s huge tourist attractions are within driving range. Dine with San Diego’s hoi polloi in close-by Coronado, which has lots of excellent dining establishments.
It’s strictly Recreational vehicles just at Silver Strand; no tents allowed. There are more than 100 camping areas offered, plus bathrooms, picnic tables, fire rings, potable water, a dump station and electrical connections on website.
Top suggestion: Schedule as much as six months ahead of time through the California Department of Parks and Entertainment.
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the tidy camping site positioned on the cliff above San Elijo State Beach © Marcel Fuentes/ Shutterstock Admire skyrocketing views of the Pacific Ocean at San Elijo State Beach Camping Site Surfers like this tidy campground positioned on the top of the cliff above San Elijo State Beach, with stair access to the sand. It’s 1 mile south of the famous Swami’s surf break, which influenced the song “Surfin’ USA” by the Beach Boys, and nearby Encinitas is the embodiment of a laid-back Southern California browse town, total with meditation gardens, burrito shacks, juice bars and vegan coffee shops.
Camping tent and RV camping is enabled on San Elijo State Beach Camping site’s large dirt pitches, many of which are separated by trees. There are restrooms with flush toilets on site, plus piped water, a camp store and fire rings.
Top Idea: Reservable as much as six months ahead via California Parks; pets welcome on leaches.
San Mateo Camping site is a little inland from San Onofre
State Beach and Trestles, among the best surf areas in the world © Cavan Images/ Getty Images Surf at dawn after sleeping on the beach at San Mateo Campground Not strictly on the beach, this remote camping area is a little inland from the world well-known San Onofre State Beach and Trestles– considered by numerous to be the very best browse spot on the planet.
A 1.5-mile nature path links campers to the traditional point break, with peeling left and right-handers and easy paddle-outs. Together with riding waves, there’s rugged bluff-top walking routes and wildlife finding (keep an eye out for pelicans and migratory waterfowl) and lots of swimming chances on the three-mile stretch of beach.
San Mateo Campground has more than 150 pitches with fire pits, barbecues and picnic tables, plus there is water, restrooms (with showers and flush toilets) and laundry facilities on website. Some sites have electric connection points. A little camp shop sell essentials and there’s a dump station for waste. Reserve ahead of time via California Parks.
Hike, scuba dive and snorkel at Crystal Cove State Park
Located north of the coastal city of Laguna Beach, high up on a bluff ignoring the Pacific Ocean, you get the best of park and beach at Crystal Cove State Park Camping Area, where there’s a focus on lower-impact outdoor camping (or standard tent outdoor camping).
Plots have easy access to the nearby Crystal Cove, a big undersea park with excellent scuba diving and snorkeling– keep an eye out for the two historic anchors dating from the 1800s, and parts of a Navy plane that went down in the 1940s– plus, there are numerous desert plants to check out in the state park’s 2400 acres of undeveloped woodland.
Facilities consist of restrooms and showers, and a small number of recreational vehicle hookups. Campfires are not allowed in the area. Skilled campers may op for the ‘primitive’ camping areas (no drinking water or showers) available by means of three-mile hike from the parking area.
Reserve through ReserveCalifornia.com; park-entry fees apply, and authorizations are needed for over night camping.
Families and wildlife lovers will enjoy Carpinteria State Beach Camping Area
One of the most popular household camping spots in Southern California, Carpinteria State Beach Camping Site has more than 150 plots facing calm waters. Kids can wallow with lifeguards on task, go tide-pooling, and area harbor seals and sea lions bathing on the sand. The Tomol Interpretive Backyard is just a couple of minutes walk inland. Do not miss the mile-long bluff-top walking with sweeping ocean views.
There are flush toilets at the campground, which has a number of connections offered, plus hot showers, picnic tables and barbecue grills.
Enjoy your solitude at Gaviota State Park Camping Site
Situated in wild and pristine Gaviota State Park, some 40 pitches sit in the shadow of an excellent old railroad trestle. Trails lead down to the beach and its nearby pier (a popular fishing spot) and approximately the Gaviota Wind Caves– surreal sandstone developments with peculiar twists, turns and cavities, only a mile away.
Campers can also raise the 1325ft Gaviota Peak for scenic high cliff views of the Pacific Ocean. Watch out for mountain lions in the location.
Pitches come with a fire ring and picnic table. There are toilets on site, plus showers and drinking water. Tents and RVs welcome, but there are no electric hookups.
Bring your dog along to Jalama Beach County Park Camping Site
Midway in between Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach at the end of a hilly, twisting roadway is the secluded Jalama Beach County Park, with more than 100 campgrounds for camping tents, trailers and RVs overlooking the ocean and beach to the west and the mountains to the east.
Hikes in the location weave along towering cliffs– it’s a prime location for whale spotting throughout migration season, while kite-boarders enjoy the strong winds.
A lot of the tidy pitches are flanked by personal privacy hedges, and all have a picnic table and barbecue pit. There are also seven cabins for lucky early bookers, plus electrical hookups, hot showers, washrooms and drinkable water. Pets are welcome. The Jalama Beach Store and Grill serves warming clam chowder and homemade apple pie, and offers most things you may have forgotten.
Reserve via countyofsb.org.
The camp areas
at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park sit above the iconic 80ft-tall McWay Falls © PictureLake/ Getty Images Camp
beside a personal waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Campground Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park Campground has just 2 camp spots, both of which sit above the renowned 80ft-tall McWay Falls, spilling directly into the azure Pacific Ocean below. This stop is a highlight on any Huge Sur Coast or Rte 1 journey– however campers get it all to themselves when the day trippers have gone home.
It’s a half-mile hike through tropical forests and 300ft redwoods to get to the environmental pitches, where there are fire rings, picnic tables and bathrooms readily available, but no water or fire wood (bring your own).
Schedule at ReserveCalifornia.
For a last-minute connect shot Pillar Point recreational vehicle Park
Found 20 miles south of San Francisco, Pillar Point Recreational Vehicle Park does not take bookings for its 49 sites, so those with a recreational vehicle can merely rock up and try their luck.
The main draw is Mavericks– a monster wave that soars as high as an apartment. Daredevils train to ride these moving mountains for a life time, and watching them is just as thrilling. Camping areas are scarce when Mavericks is “on.”
It’s a location where browsing legends are made, but it’s a gorgeous area to hang out regardless of the waves. Activities in the location include white wine tasting, fishing, a 6-mile walking and biking trail beside the campsite and boating from the next-door marina, where you can also buy the catch of the day.
Facilities for RV campers consist of electrical energy and water connections, plus complimentary cable television and wifi. All Recreational vehicles need to have their own completely operating toilet to park up. There are no restrooms, showers or laundry facilities.
Shipman Creek camping area is an off-grid outdoor camping adventure
The wilderness outdoor camping areas on California’s Lost Coast Trail are not for the faint of heart– they’re only reachable on foot by means of a difficult walking along wild, tortured beaches, rocks and coastline. The total trail is 25 miles long, and completing it suggests spending around 3 days in the wild, bring all your food and devices with you.
The daring will be rewarded with mountain views, wild meadows, old-growth redwood forest and thrilling rivers and tides to navigate. Bring a tide table so you don’t get caught or purged to sea, and look out for sea lions and Roosevelt elks en route.
At the beach-side Shipman Creek campsite there are no facilities, but camping is totally free with a backcountry permit.
How to arrive: The Lost Coast Trail begins near the mouth of the Mattole River at Mattole Beach, where there is a car park, an automobile camping area, drinkable water and pit toilets, and ends at Black Sands Beach. The path start at Mattole Beach at 3750 Lighthouse Rd, Petrolia. Permits are needed.
Steep Ravine Beach has warm springs and cabins
An hour north from main San Francisco at Steep Gorge Beach, a cluster of primitive cabins with no running water, electricity or plumbed-in toilets sits neglecting the Pacific Ocean and a small rocky beach.
Come here to avoid the world and soak your bones in the concealed Steep Gorge Hot Springs at low tide. There’s also a clothing-optional bathing grotto nearby, preserved by residents.
Book through ReserveCalifornia.
These are the very best places in California to pitch up and go to sleep under the stars to the sound of crashing waves.