My buddy and I have been taking two- or three-week motocamping trips for a long time. In fact, 12 years ago was our first. We loaded up and headed to California without a clue. Things went remarkably well (no mechanical issues, not a drop of rain, etc.) so now we're addicted to riding and camping and have ridden in every one of the lower 48 (except the Dakotas for some reason) and are finally going back to California. After visiting family and friends in Pasadena, we'll be heading west with the goal of eventually finding the PCH and going as far north as we can get before our three weeks run out. We ride road bikes so while we aren't completely against using stretches of dirt roads to get where we're going, getting off the pavement is not part of the goal here. Maybe we aren't adventurers in some respects but we are travelers looking for a place to sleep on the ground and in need of advice. Long story short: we are looking for good places to camp in Los Padres National Forest, and then in the Big Sur/Ventana Wilderness area. In both locations we'd like to camp for a couple of nights so we'll have a day to ride the roads and see the sights. The northern location will hopefully include the chance to see the Hearst Mansion so camping in proximity to that or putting it in route with a short mileage day will be a huge plus. Any suggestions? We have come to appreciate state and national parks but are not averse to pitching camp at independent campgrounds as long as we don't have to live on an RV lot and listen to generators day and night. We don't mind paying for firewood, either. We also want to hear about roads that shouldn't be missed. We like them twisty, scenic and empty if possible. Thanks.
Try San Simeon State Park for Hearst Castle - there are 2 campgrounds, San Simeon Creek and Washburn. These isn't quite on your route, but Montana d'Oro State Park is very nice and Morro Bay State Park. In Big Sur, see if you can get reservations for Kirk Creek Campground (I've always wanted to stay there) If you like wine and good food - stop in Ojai. Then there are great routes in the mountains between Ojai and Interstate 5.
Thanks for the info, Little Bike. Until now I did not know that the huge green area on the map up there by San Simeon and Big Sur was also a part of Los Padres. I've always thought of Los Padres as just the area near Ojai and Santa Barbara. Now I see that both areas have that name. Out of Pasadena, we will be looking for a good route to and through Ojai into the forest and to camp in that area before getting to the northern area so we're looking for campgrounds in that area too.
And yes, Kirk Creek looks like a great place to pitch a tent. I imagine that it's really busy. It's only about 40 miles from San Simeon, over a very nice part of PCH so that looks like a great place to go. Unfortunately, it's very hard to project that far into a trip and be certain of an arrival time. By the time we'll know for sure about the riding schedule it may be too late to get a spot. But it looks like it would be worth risking the cash to get a chance to camp there.
The California coast is tough for camping in the summer - people make reservations months in advance (but sometimes you luck out!) It's all dirt, but I highly recommend riding old Route 1. It goes way up into the hills - I'm not sure how it's marked on maps, I'm sure you can figure it out. It's neat too because of the way the road goes along the hillsides and ducks in and out of drainages. When you go into a drainage you ride through redwoods, when you go around the hillside you're in grassland. My trips are the same for scheduling - I'm never sure when I'm going to be somewhere.
I checked the reservations site for Kirk Creek and it looks like they are already booked solid. The good news is that there are about 16 first- come first-served sites. If we can arrange to get there early on, say a Thursday, maybe we'll have a shot at it.
So I'm looking at the map and thinking about camping at Kirk Creek and making a day trip down to San Simeon. If we're riding north, that means riding that particular stretch of Hwy 1 at least twice. Now that's not a bad thing, but to mix it up some, I was thinking about making it a half-inland loop like this: https://goo.gl/maps/2sJDg My concern is, how likely is that inland route to be actually passable and public? Google is giving me this cryptic warning but I'm not sure what to do with it: This route has restricted usage or private roads. Edited to add: I would love to find and ride a lot of Old Rt. 1 and if I were riding my little dual-sport I'd be all over it. However, I'll be on my NT700V. It's really not designed for off road. That's why I'm concerned about that route I linked to above - how likely is a route like that to present more of a challenge than my poor little street bike can handle?
Hey Jerry! In the Ojai area, you might want to try Wheeler Canyon Campground, as it is just 8 mi up 33 from Ojai. I don't know if you are headed into the Ojai/Passadena area riding 33 from points NE, but there are 3 -4 other campgrounds up north of Santa Barbara in Paradise Valley that may interest you as well. Dusty
A wee bit further up the twisties on 33 above Ojai & Wheeler is the Rose Valley Campground. Smaller with (I think) only 6 sites first come first served. One thing about first come first served is that it doesn't mean they open up again every night, its uncommon to find people staying the time limit at a first come first served spot.
Two things about Rose Valley Campground is 1) there is no water available at camp 2) you need to purchase a Rose Valley Access Pass in order to camp there. No deal breakers, but hassles nonetheless.
The more I look into the area. the more campgrounds I see. I'm afraid that the time of year may work against us as far as finding a FCFS site. That is, unless school has started by August 14th or so. If it has, that may thin the crowd a little. Kirk Creek looks good enough to be a priority. When the time comes, we may make it a point to go further up the coast on the previous camping night, just to give us an early-as-possible arrival time there, in hopes of snagging a site. Wheeler Canyon looks pretty sweet too and currently has open spots. I'm sorely tempted to go ahead and reserve a spot but every time I've done that, it's come back to bite me. It's just not easy to see that far into the future. If I go ahead and reserve there, it'll be with the tough in the back of my mind that I may be donating $30 to the park system and that's not the worst way to waste a few bucks, I guess. Thanks for the help, guys. And thanks, Dusty. I'll see you in Tellico Plains next month and we'll discuss this some more.
Many campgrounds require an "Adventure Pass" http://www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/r5/passes-permits/recreation/?cid=stelprdb5208699&width=full, I personally have the interagency pass that works across the country. http://www.fs.fed.us/passespermits/annual.shtml BTW, Wheeler has water, but not potable.
