Is this the proper forum to ask questions about a certain campground?
We are planning a trip to California,planning on arriving at El Capitan on Sep 22,and have made reservations for three nights.
I have never spent any time in the area,only driven through once in the car.
Looking online and at Google Eartn,I think I made a good choice.
I have a couple of day rides planned from there.
Any comments or suggestions?
Jeff in Ferndale,WA
White 2004 Honda Goldwing
Hoo Boy are you in for a surprise. A very, extremely pleasant one. That is one of the prettiest places on the face of the earth. The roads inside the park are great, as are the roads in the vicinity. I was there this June, and rode extensively in the area. Just a great spot.
I didn't stay in the campground that you are reserved in, I was up in the north west corner of the park. I understand that the campgrounds in 'the valley' are nicer than the perfectly adequate one that I stayed in. Brush up on your 'bear protocol'. They are near being a nuisance in Yosemite. All food and food products need to be stored in the bear boxes, which are provided at each site.
Originally Posted by bigTom
Tom,
El Capitan State Beach is on the coast,near Santa Barbara,I think you are talking about Yosemite?
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=601
We will be riding through Yosemite on the way home
Yep, I presumed "State Beach" was the name of one of the campgrounds in the valley....My extremely bad. You probably won't have near the bear population on the coast!
Obviously, I don't have a glimmer of a clue about the campground in question. Sorry!
Hey, big Tom
That's alright.Everybody has been there one time or another.
Jeff I have been Camping there since the 70's. You will not have any problems and it should be fairly quiet due to school not being in session. There is a small store there open on the weekends. Santa Barbara is 15min south with many sights to see there http://www.santabarbaraca.gov/ . It is a very cool city to tour and check out.
Just a half hour north on HWY 1 is the turn off to Jalama Beach. Well worth the 14mi. of twisties to get in and out of the area. http://www.jalamabeach.com/ Home of a world famous burger.
Now if you ever saw the movie Sideways the Los Olivos area is world renouned for wine tasteing. This is were a large part of the movie was filmed. Fess Parker (Daniel Boone fame) has a huge winery there on Foxen Canyon Rd. And if that don't blow your skirt up we can stop by the gate of Neverland Ranch and pay your respects to Michael Jackson. http://www.losolivosca.com/
A small touristy village called Solvage would be on your way to the Los Olivos area which would be my stop for breakfast one day. The whole town is done like a Dannish Village. It is home to a small but very nice motorcycle museum. http://www.solvangusa.com/ http://www.motosolvang.com/
Jeff drop me an email when it gets closer and I'll skip a days work and give a tour. cbhutch1@verizon.net
Been riding the roads of southern and central California for 40+ years let me know what you want to see. Remember you won't be but 1.5 hours from L.A......
So how did the campground work out for you??? I will be camping a bit further north at Lompoc in late Oct. but might take a quick run up to El Capitan before that. I have been up that way several times but never stopped there.
Ready for an update here......
Larry
STUFF - I need more Stuff.....
For some reason I never saw this post,sorry for not replying.So how did the campground work out for you??? I will be camping a bit further north at Lompoc in late Oct. but might take a quick run up to El Capitan before that. I have been up that way several times but never stopped there.
Ready for an update here......
I liked the campground.
Tent site was just big enough for our 6 person.
We sat on the beach with cocktails and watched two very nice sunsets.
There were camp hosts in the park selling firewood.
Pay showers were clean and had hot water.I could get a shower with three quarters,wife needed five! Restrooms were clean.
I have a hard time getting used to paying 35 bucks for a tent site in California,but that's life.
Had little paw prints all over the bike in the morning,even with the cover on it..I'm thinking raccoon.Fortunately,we had all of our food and garbage stowed away.
Did a couple of day rides from the park.First day as soon as we got into the mountains,it got to be almost 100 degrees.Ended up taking the wife to Solvang and hanging out in the air conditioned shops.
Second day drove 101 to Malibu Canyon,then hung around Malibu.Rode through Latigo Canyon on the recommendation of a young local kid who worked for me in Alaska.
Stayed there on July3rd with my 1800, my new Bunkhouse and my wife. We were in a high spot but still had ocean view. Though full, it was very quiet. Only 45 minutes from home so it was a great getaway. Lots of day trips can be planned from there
Reply With Quote
