Primative camping along Coast?

Hey Guys,

Popping over her from the Arizona forum. I'm meeting a friend out near Octillo Wells next friday Friday but was trying to plan something for thanksgiving Day. I was yearning for something more isolated but my girlfriend is all fired up to drive out to the coast for thursday and spend the night out there near/on water. I tried researching some primative camp sites/trails out in the San Diego area but everything looks paved and full of...people. Is there anywhere in socal along the coast that may require 4x4 to get to thats legal to spend the night at along/on the coast so i can kill two birds with one stone and keep the girlfirend happy? I dont necessarily have to be the only one in miles, I just have no interest in smashing myself between two drunken families or big RVs 3 feet apart.

Sorry for a super noob question, and totally understand if everyone wants to keep their spots on the low... just figured I'd ask since this is spur of the moment and don't have much time to plan

similarly, If anyone is doing any wheeling along the coast on thursday and doesn't mind being in a group, let me know, we are always down to meet new people

-Justin

 

@eccracer104 @YotaGurlIAm
You San Diegoians should be able to know some answers here.

 

Unfortunately I don't know of any places legal to camp along the water. There isn't much for camping in SD.
Fiesta island would be a cool spot to stop, eat and hangout for awhile though. You might be able to camp the night there, it technically isn't allowed but there's not always rangers patrolling the park.

 

I’m not from CA but have relatives down there. Isn’t there a place by Malibu or Santa Monica called Paradise Cove that charges to get in, with a restaurant and it’s own beach and is really chill? No idea if they’d allow camping though.

 

https://www.californiabeaches.com/map/beach-camping-san-diego/

You could get lucky but the campgrounds are most likely full for the holiday. 4x4 not necessary in sd near the coast. If you get to a day use area early you could get a good spot and spend the day then camp somewhere on the street.

 

I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life. Unfortunately, there are no spots in SD that meet your criteria. There are only paid camp grounds and they will all be sold out for that week.

The closest thing I can recommend would be Baja Mexico, which has many areas that you could do primitive camping right on the beach. However, you would have to deal with the border crossing which will have long waits crossing back into the US.

 

In CA yes. In Baja there are tons of spots. However, Baja has its own set of problems.

 

Honestly I would recommend going up to Big Sur and up nacimiento fergusson road to disperse camp, won't regret it.

 

It's not dispersed camping

 

^^^Great post and pics.

 

There are beach campgrounds off the 101 in Ventura, likely going to be crowded though over the holiday. McGraths is one of them.

CA is super strict with regulations on where 4x4/offroad vehicles can and cannot go, especially when it comes to the beaches. Like @dtaco06 said, the only place where you'll be able to drive and camp on the beach in CA (legally) is Pismo, and that place is going to be packed.

Definitley check out Big Sur for camping if you can venture that far north, but again....holiday crowds

 

Oh and stay far away from "Paradise" Cove unless you want to pay $100/day to park down there and deal with snobby, pretentious people all weekend. Sorry but I don't like that place lol. They definitley don't allow camping there.

 

Any driving over this next week around the beach add an hour to your commute. Anywhere on the 405 Wednesday, add 2-3 maybe 4 hours. Especially after 2pm on Wednesday.

 

Thanks for all the info you guys! I figured it'd be a 50/50 shot on thanksgiving day for crowds or not (if everyone was home with family. I'm definitely not going anywhere near there for the holiday weekend!

Big Sur looks awesome but will have to be a seperate trip for the future. Coming from Tucson, even leaving wednesday night, would be a stretch to get up there and then back down to Octillo Wells for Friday morning.

San Onofre looks like it may be just the ticket @tw0leftskis ! I'll try and give them a call today. I'm guessing they are probably packed and fully reserved but worth a shot. Their website makes it look like Military only?

Thank you so much for the help you guys!
-Justin

 

I’m going to be in the SoCal area the same time. After talking to friends out there we came to the same conclusion. Seal Beach for Thanksgiving, and we ended up with plans for Joshua Tree for the rest of the weekend.

 

Here was another thread on same topic
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/camping-near-shore.507065/