camping in big sur

I was just there, camp in limekiln state park. They have hot showers and it's a-****ing-mazing if you get a creekside spot in the redwoods.

 

There really are not that many spots in Big Sur. There's tons of deep water and inaccessible areas. Sand Dollar Beach is the easiest, most accessible spot, and it's very close to Limekiln. There is a very infamous spot called Fullers up in Big Sur, the actual town, but that is about 45 minutes north. In all honesty, the place is so mind blowingly beautiful, surfing moved to the back of my mind (plus it was fairly flat when i went through), it really is an amazing place to explore and sight-see.

You can reserve spots through California state parks website, and just yelp or one of those sites the campground and it gives a nice rundown of the sickest spots to reserve. There really are some amazing campsites on the creekside, it's so quiet and beautiful it's surreal.

 

dude your going to have a great time! I did that years ago- before GPS... I rememeber just driving along with a map and finding camp sites as we went.... but in the winter I would look for hot showers.

Sand Dollar was the most memorable.... probably due the swell and the time... it was one of those times that you never forget... just out with your closest friends - super clear water- and beautiful scenery and waves where really fun- its like in a cove with a huge white rock.

Never heard of the river mouth... but then again, we only had an old map, so maybe we surfed it, idk...

 

Pretty hard to get out to the breaks. Unless you know where your going to be surfing every day and know the area, I would get more than a few days for a trip. Beautiful for sure. Just a bit more difficult to find spots and get to them than one might think. North of big sur the town has some cool spots in the state parks that are easily accessible.

 

I don't think it'll be flat in jan...in fact, it'll probably so big, you might not want to go out. Winter size in this part of the pacific is something that takes getting used to...plus the central coast is notorious for being a little on the junky side. Be in shape, bring a bigger board, keep your expectations low and start holding your breath, now.

 

Check out Andrew Molera State Park for surfing. It's a bit of a hike in but if the swell is good, it should be fun. there's a secret spot, too, that's too hard to explain how to get to. It's heavily localized so I wouldn't recommend it anyways. But Andrew Molera should be good for surf and camping. I'd definitely do Limekiln as well. Have fun, it should be awesome. If you head north, check out Asilomar near Monterey for surf and check out Moss landing.

 

jan weather should be perfect. Sunny all day, air temps in the 60s and water temp in the low 50's (water doesn't start getting really cold here until about feb). If el nino kicks in, it might be raining, but should still be warm.

 

+1 on Moss Landing if you make it up that far. Just make sure to keep your feet up and watch out, I don't know who is more dangerous, Whitey or the middle aged disgruntled vegetable pickers.

 

Moss landing has amazing waves but I would hesitate sending anyone to the Jetty unless you want your teeth kicked in. I have surfed all over the world and that is by far the worst localism I have ever seen. It's all good at the dunes though.....

 

Prepare yourself for alot of fog and moisture. There are a ton of places to camp: There are a bunch of access roads coming off the 101 that are free dispersed camping, usually on fire ban though. There are a handful of campgrounds, some on the cliff overlooking the water and some on the east side of the 101. I stayed near the willow creek/sand dollar area... caught it 10-12ft one morning... its a fun/eerie place to paddle out. Prepare yourself for bad weather, and blown out washing machine conditions... that way you might be graced with the best big sur can offer.

I suggest doing a bit of exploring up the coast and into the mountains. Have fun

 

Just lie and tell them you go to college in Santa Cruz, they respect people from the next city north.

 

what time of the year were you there? Winter is usually consistently clear...summer is always super foggy. Rest of the year is a crap-shoot.

 

probably wont find much on the internet bout the surf spots down there. I grew up farther north but road tripped it thru big sur on the long way to santa barbara. really pretty drive. tall cliffs, curvey roads, big waves throughout northern California in january. Big Sur is one end of the red triangle tho. I came from the northern tip, but good news is (well i dont know bout big sur, but where im from) by january the big sharks are pretty much gone, so you can breath a little easier on the occasional lonely solo sessions, yes this is the part of cali where sometimes you hope for someone to paddle out.

oh and the seals arent as cute as they look. the big bulls will chase you outta the water.

 

Plenty of fun spots...Local knowledge is key
If its not OH+...Check out P.V. maybe a mile or so north from Sand Dollar...sweet setup but cove closes out when big and more than 5 is a crowd

 

Late fall... I wasn't saying it would be that way, just advising him to prepare for it. Being unprepared camping in total moisture sucks, Big Sur is notorious for the crap shoot weather you speak of.