Camping Along the South California Coast

[alevchuk]

I was surprised to find out that all the campgrounds in South California are reserved well in advance.

Can anyone suggest some "first come first serve" campgrounds near a nice beach?

The only one I found was: Gaviota State Park, Goleta, CA


There is also a thread for those who are living in North California:
Car camping along the north California coast

[Mark Sedenquist]

I was surprised to find out that all the campgrounds in South California are reserved well in advance.

That doesn't surprise me very much -- I am not a beach camper, per se, but I have found it relatively easy to find space in the Spring and Fall, but it involved a bit of driving. This is how the California's state parks reservation system works: On the first day of the month, seven months in advance, campsites may be booked for the entire month. So summer weekends at premium sites, such as along the Monterey Bay and Santa Barbara coasts, are usually fully locked up within hours The state parks that are nearly always booked are Doheny and San Elijo. The places I have found spaces are the county parks just north of Ventura. One of those is Hobson County Park.

I hope you let us know what you find.

mark