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Post by woodshed on Oct 23, 2013 20:12:16 GMT -5
If anyone is traveling to the Los Angeles or San Diego area I would recommend 2 campgrounds that are our go to places for a weekend away. In Orange County I would recommend Canyon RV in Anaheim. It is in a county park so there is plenty of room at each site to spread out. The amenities aren't great but if you are self contained all the sites have full hook ups. It abuts the Santa Ana River and a wildlife refuge so us city folk actually feel like we are in the wilderness. It is about 30 minutes to Disneyland (depending on traffic) and 1 hour to either the mountains or beach. In San Diego we always go to San Diego Metro KOA. This is one of the premier KOAs in the US (2013 Campground of the year) and it lives up to the billing. The grounds are always well kept and the staff is extremely helpful and friendly. It is about 15 miles north of Mexico and conveniently located to all San Diego attractions. Both campground rates are around 60/night with full hook ups.
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Post by sandymelody on Dec 16, 2015 22:31:07 GMT -5
We just returned from a west coast trip and found two great spots in California. Half Moon Bay State Park just south of San Francisco is right on the ocean and an easy drive into the city since no one wants to pull a trailer through SF. It is beautiful! Further south Dockweiler State Park inside LA is also right on the ocean and an easy drive to all things LA but it is in the flight path of LAX. Outside San Diego don't pass up Sycuan Casino. Dry camp for free in a beautiful location in the mountains, very safe, great food, shuttle bus service, no charge! Free is always good especially when it's clean and safe.
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Post by shogunles on Dec 13, 2016 23:35:19 GMT -5
We spent the entirety of last Summer on the West Coast, traveling from New York City Area. From San Diego to Seattle. What a great time! The park we stayed in San Diego was very expensive, very tight, and the best park of the trip. Go figure. Campland in Mission Bay, was wonderful. The kids loved it, as well as my wife and I. Our site backed up to Mission Bay. Every night we were treated to fireworks from Sea World, directly across from us. Water sport rentals, pool, activities for the kids, huge store(rivals convenience store), coffee shop, night bike parades(they install lights on the wheels for a fee), playground, you name it they have it. On the weekends they have bands playing on their giant stage and dance floor, on their lawn. They even had a Van Halen cover band one night. They were great. Just note that this place is not for those seeking a quiet weekend. However, the rules are followed with an announcement made each night at quiet time and strictly enforced. It is also gated with 24 hour security. Very close to shopping and about 3 miles from Pacific Beach. Some of the best meals I have had in a while in PB as the locals call it. And about 1 mile from I-5.
We stayed outside of LA in a LA County Park in San Dimas. Which was about 40 miles from downtown. Which equals 4 hours driving time in LA traffic. I thought NYC had some bad traffic! East Shore RV Park in Frank Borelli County Park is the name of the park. It is in the San Gabriel Mountains. The scenery was fantastic. It overlooks a reservoir, which has beach access. This was the cheapest place we stayed at about $45 a night. This was a nice quiet park, with a pool that was not used as often as it should have been. Not too much for the kids to do here, as it is a county park. The sights reminded me, at night, of a movie scene when a boyfriend takes his lady up to Inspiration Point. Overlooking the city alight. We do not get scenery like that in the Northeast. It is close to I-10 and many state freeways, and to shopping. And it is gated with 24 hour park rangers and LA County Sherriff patrols through the park frequently. Although, if your mission is to travel to LA, Santa Monica, etc., each day, 40 miles out of town is a long way, considering the traffic.
In San Francisco, we stayed at North San Francisco KOA, in Petaluma, CA. Here you are about 40 miles from town. However, you are very close to the Napa Valley Region, which was beautiful just the same. So was San Fran. It is directly off US 101. About 4 miles from shopping and town. Again, great place for the kids with organized activities, pool, etc.. My wife liked it in Petaluma, and the Bay Area as a whole, she started to look for homes to buy! We all can dream, right? Gated, with sporadic security. It was very safe and the rules were followed. It can get loud during the day with the kids at play. They have many activities for the kids all day and night. Movies buy the pool, ice cream sundae during the movie, petting zoo, etc.. You can access San Fran by your own means. However, they offer a free shuttle from the KOA to I believe North Beach in the city. Leaves at 9 am and returns at 6pm. Probably a good idea to sign up for the shuttle when you check in. They do not let you reserve a seat prior to check in when we were there.
Beyond that, the Astoria KOA in Oregon was comparable to the one in Petaluma. I cannot recommend staying anywhere near Eureka, CA. This was a very run down, crime ridden city. The local paper stated that they took more guns off of the streets there then in Chicago! Only reason we stayed here was its close proximity to the Redwood Coast. Which you cannot pass up if you have never seen it. Truly amazing. The Park we stayed in was not very nice. We did not feel safe there due to the fact that it was 95% permanent residence. We cut our stay there by 4 days. When they tell you on check in to lock everything up, well that is an ominous sign! We still made the best of it. Mad River Rapids was the name of the park. We did not see the rapids nor the river there for that matter.
Just a note. If you are traveling up US 101 above Eureka, there were not many places to fill up on diesel fuel. And not too many to accommodate a 41' fiver and tow vehicle. We did pass through Crescent City, which had plenty of fuel choices. However, I though we had enough to make it to the next station. Little did I know that there was nothing for the next 70 miles or so. I was within 10 miles of running out of fuel before finally finding a station in the middle of nowhere! That was after using the 10 gallons of diesel in the portable cans I brought along(Had a SRW F-350 with 26 gal tank at the time). Do not take for granted, as I did, that there will always be plenty of fuel options. Do not make the same mistake I made.
With all of the negative points said, we had a great time. And we plan on making the trip again in five years or so. My apologies for this long post. Simply too many words to describe our great trip to the West Coast!
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