[Chas]

If I were to revisit CA there are things we would definitely include. San Francisco would be at the top of the list. There used to be a downtown camground, but it is no more so I cannot recommend where to stay, but SF has an abundance of places to see and visit. I would include a drive up through the redwoods. I would head north and at least get to drive a little along the coast and as long as you are there it would be well worthwhile to get into OR and see how our coaches are built with a visit to Marathon.

Southern CA, not my cup of tea.

[Jerry]

Don’t forget Yosemite (although I understand big-rig parking is a no-no anywhere nearby), plus Death Valley, Monterey/Carmel/Pebble Beach, a trip down HW One (in the TOAD of course) and, if you haven’t been, LA just for the experience!

[Davy]

Karl,

There are a lot of campgrounds out there, but for some reason they don’t really go after the RV Resort concept? There is the Napa Valley Expo that has a nice facility and it in-town to Napa. From Napa, day trips into Calistoga, Sonoma and SF are easy drives. I stayed in a nice state park in Napa once. Think it was Bothe-Napa Valley State Park. No hook-ups, but it’s close to some of the big Wineries along Hwy 29 (almost across the street from Sterling, which is a very impressive winery with a gondola ride up to the main building).

If you are thinking to also check out Monterey, there are a couple places down in that area. Marina Dunes RV Resort being just north of Monterey. Also Saddle Mountain Ranch in Carmel Valley. You could also check out Sea Cliff State Park in Aptos (just south of Santa Cruz, home of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, where “The Lost Boys” was filmed). It’s a state park that has RV spots on the beach (kind of like Camptown USA in Beverly Beach FL). Ive driven the road down into there many times, but never in a 45′ coach so it may be tight (it’s short, like .5 miles but has two switch backs to get from the cliffs down to the beach). Santa Cruz Mountains have some really good wineries as well, just smaller and not as many. Even from Santa Cruz, I could make it into SF in about 1.5 hours on a good day, so it’s still a good day trip even from that area.

Monterey and Carmel Valley have some really good Wineries. Also going further south into Paso Robles will get you into some other really nice wineries. Oh and from Paso Robles, it’s a quick drive over to San Simeon (Hearst Castle)

For pretty much anything, you will want to make reservations now for next summer. Things fill up fast out there.

[Archived]

I read Napa Valley first, so I will start there. Not many places to stay with a bus, the best over all is the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga. Very nice oak treed setting with all of the needed things, 50 amps etc. Short walk to downtown Calistoga which, being at the northern tip of Napa Valley, is loaded with fine restaurants, hot springs, mud baths and more. Fills up quickly so reservations are a must. Use the Silverado Trail to bisect the Napa Valley as Highway 29 is way too crowded and takes your through the bowels of St. Helena…to be avoided.

There is Boothe State Park but, even though they may let you in, your not going to fit very well, aside from the fact that it is just north of St. Helena on 29. There are a couple of places along the Silverado Trail (aka Highway121) but I would avoid them, old and small. Also, another Napa Fairground is located in Napa proper on the Silverado Trail however is is dry camping all the way and quite a ways from any of the attractions.

As a precautionary note, at all costs avoid Highway 29 north of Calistoga for your exit strategy from the Napa Valley. It is a steep, winding, narrow two lane road that may well be on the illegal list for 45’s…whatever, do not use it besides it leads to Clear Lake which is pretty much the end of the line destination in California, next to the Salton Sea that is!

San Francisco. The old downtown RV Park is gone, made way for AT@T Park. There was a KOA adjacent to Candlestick Park just south of San Francisco on 101 (Bayshore Freeway) however Candlestick is scheduled for demolition so that may require more reasearch, aside from the fact that Candlestick is not in the best of neighborhoods. Also there is/was one on the ocean near Daly City, a real dump, but fairly close to the action of San Francisco located right off The Great Highway (Highway 1)….probably OK for a day or two.

[Glenn]

We spend our summers in California.

Some of our favorites are:

Marin RV Park – Greenbrae, CA – We found Napa is nice, but it is
hot there in the summer. From the Marin Park you can easily walk to the
ferry for trips to San Francisco. The sites are tight so we get two
sites. It is very close to great restaurants, shopping, etc.
We can be in Napa in 45 minutes. Park is cean and safe. Location is superb.

Carmel: We like Carmel By
the River RV Park. Great small park with
3 nice premium sites. Fog is a problem
at Monterey/Carmel. You need to be 5-6
miles east of the coast to be in the sun.
This is the location of this park.
I cannot imagine anyone not lioking this park. Previous poster mentioned Saddle back
Mountain park. I would pass on
Saddleback. The road in requires
navigating at least a 15% grade in and out.
I would not have the nerve for it.

Santa Barbara: We like
Ocean Mesa RV Resort. It is located on
the 101 overlooking the ocean about 10 miles north of Santa Barbara. Well maintained park in great location

Hope this helps.

Dave

[Archived]

Good advice carguy, and everyone else too. Knowing where not to go is as valuable as the specifics on where to go.

I am going to discuss this with Natalie some today as we try to get this trip planned. Hopefully we are in time to make some reservations!

Where does one find this list of roads closed to large vehicles?

Please, if you have any other ideas for places to visit in the big rig, especially in Souther Cali, keep this thread alive by posting them. My son is the one who wants to go to Hollywood and such. I figured we can take a tour company around, but want a good place to stay and not to miss anything I shouldn’t while we make this once-in-a-very-long-time trip.

[Larry & Diane]

Karl, there is a Caltrans website with a link to all length limited roads. I can’t attach a link or photos anymore but google “caltrans 45′ motorhome” and you will find it.

There are not a lot of great options to stay near LA if you want to do Hollywood. The best I know of is Valencia Travel Village, which is OK but not great. It is about 35 miles north of LA on Highway 126 just west of I-5 near Magic Mountain. The park has a fair number of semi-permanent residents and is pretty noisy due to proximity to highway 126, but there a number of pretty, shaded spots in the rear that are away from the full timers. They will probably put you there if they have space, so I would reserve in advance.

If you want to be ON the beach, literally 30 or 40 feet from the surf, you can try Emma Woods State Beach. It is just north of Ventura on highway 101. The campground is totally primative other than a paved parking pad about 25 feet too short for your bus. It is wedged between a railroad, the nearby freeway and the ocean, but the sound of the surf drowns out most of the noise. Despite how unattractive it must sound, the view is spectacular. We consider Emma Woods our “beach house” and frequently spend weekends there. It has good access to bike trails if that is your thing. Reserve early through Reserve America because only about a dozen spaces are long enough for your bus. You will have to wash the spray off your windshield before you leave. I like that, but I know not everyone does. It’s a cool place. I would post a picture if I could, but since I changed setttings to allow me to type on this site I can no longer post pictures.

Malibu Beach RV Resort is OK, but also not great. The sites are tightly packed in the hills across PCH from the ocean. The beach is a long walk away. Don’t be fooled by the website which shows an RV on a raised peninsula with unobstructed views. There is just one of those. The rest are more like a parking lot. Also, despite the apparent proximity, Malibu is at least an hour drive from LA in the summer and sometimes much longer.

There is a former Outdoor Resorts property near Temecula called Rancho California RV Resort. It is pretty nice, but not on par with other Outdoor Resorts we have stayed at. We’ve not been there since it changed names, so it may be better now. It is pretty distant from LA anyway, and it is hot there in the summer.

If you want to do a Walmart overnight, which I’m not really recommending, there are two in Santa Clarita that appear nice and safe, and also one in Porter Ranch. One of the the Santa Clarita WMs is next door to Camping World. You will not want to overnight at a Walmart any closer to LA than those.

p.s.: someone mentioned Death Valley, which as you know is awfully hot in summer. I would skip that and stick with the mountains and beaches. If you want sugesstions for the Eastern Sierras, let me know.

Hope this helps!

[Corey]

Excellent, Bryan. I will forward this to my wife to review as she is typically in charge of planning. The one in Malibu particularly, as I was looking at that. Hopefully we get some more input too. This is a huge trip for us, since we never get to have the time to go that far.

[Corey]

Karl I just want to chip in that Bryan’s advice is spot on. He took time for me earlier this year or our trip out west and was very helpful. If he recommends it -do it -if he says the opposite- you best listen.

[Archived]

Thanks for the props, Roger! I’ve been hoping you would post a travelogue or highlights of your trip. There has been grumbling that the left side of the Prev-Comm Users map is sorta vacant. Hope your trip was great!

[Archived]

Bryan,

Should you punch into CA at San Diego (I-8) I would advise the RV Resort at Chula Vista, a few miles south of San Diego on the 5 (rather off the 5) that is a combo marina and very nice rv park, good restaurant there and not to far from Coronado and the Zoo. Towards LA is a very nice place on a lake (sort of) in Orange County (Bryan help me out here) that is not too far from Disneyland, a bit of a reach for Hollywood but certainly a very nice place. NB out of LA on the 5 at Santa Clartia is a very nice rv park (highway 126) which is a good transition towards the beach…should you want to use 101 North thru Ventura, Santa Barbara and the like. A days drive North of LA is Pismo coast Village in Pismo Beach, right on the water and lots to do….including Hearst Castle about 70 miles north. Should you want an alternative there is an RV resort in Buelton (home of Anderson Split Pea soup)…got a bunch of flags, can’t miss it. The travelers special (all you can eat pea soup, is a must) unless you are prone to gas, nuff said! Kind of a drag thru central Ca north of San Luis Obispo although there are Missions and that kind of stuff (the Santa Barbara Mission is a must see), although a lunch at Kiefers in King City is kind of a tradition….Betebel Resort just north of Salinas is a good stop, clean and nice. Next stop San Fran….

[Charles]

Karl, I think FlyU is referring to Vail Lake RV Resort, southeast of LA about 75 miles. I did not mention it because I’ve never been there and don’t know anyone who has. I defer to FlyU about whether it is nice. It is near the Rancho California place I mentioned. The place north of LA that FlyU refers to is Valencia Travel Village, which I described.

If you will be travelling between SF and LA on the west side of the Sierras I recommend that you head for the mountains and plan overnights or longer so that you can visit Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. If you have the time, they are not to be missed. They are, however, a long way from the beaches and neither can accomodate a bus inside the park, but there are good campgrounds nearby.

Unfortunately, driving SF to LA along the ocean is not really possible in the bus. Highway 1 is length limited from San Simeon to Monterey through Big Sur. It’s a breathtaking drive, but must be done via toad. You can get your beach fix from around Pismo and south.

[Archived]

Looked it up, Newport Dunes in Newport Beach. Pretty close to everything in South and Orange County. http://www.newportdunes.com/ Very nice place! Also the sort of, kind of OK place in San Francisco is just South on Highway 1 in Pacifica/Daly City called San Francisco RV Resort which in my opinion is a stretch on the word “resort”. As said, OK for a day or two and it does overlook the ocean and in the summer, fog. Also San Francisco RV Park still shows open, at Candlestick Park, not much more than a parking lot with hook ups they do offer a shuttle to downtown San Francisco. Not in the best neighborhood, Bay View-Hunters Point.

[Tom]

Karl, this is what you get at Emma Woods State Beach just north of Ventura. I parked this way to make the picture more dramatic but then turned around for the better windsheild view. It’s a great spot for kids.

p.s.: For those having trouble with slow typing and inabiltiy to post picture using Internet Explorer, all problems were solved for me when I switched to Google Chrome.

[Archived]

Hey this is Natalie, I am still trying to organize our trip this summer. Yosemite is a big problem. I have found at least one RV park and maybe two that can accomodate our coach but I am worried about driving on 120. Looking on the DOT site we are able to drive on it I just don’t know if I want to drive on it. There are several miles of some pretty intense driving. It is also called New Priest Grade Road. Has anyone driven this route with their coach? And has anyone stayed at Yosemite Lakes RV resort?