central california: car camping

Here’s the supplement piece for a deeper read. Stay here for the pics.

*Travel during Covid: restaurants have limited takeout menus, venues are closed, crowds are ideally avoided. Incredibly grateful we live in California with lots of outdoor recreation accessible by car

Day 1

Packed up the car with our backpacks, bikes, food and set off for Cayucos. The drive was about 4 hours from SF (took 101 there and scenic drive on way back)

It was relatively uneventful until we reached SLO driving through some mountain roads. We started to notice the air was quite smoky. Out of nowhere a firetruck with sirens blaring comes blazing up the mountain. Followed by another. And then another. All on super narrow switchbacks.

Luckily our drive only briefly cut through the mountains and we left the smoke behind. It was a firsthand look at this latest round of California wildfires that’ve since gotten worse this week.

Food! Brown Butter Cookie Company & Ruddell’s Smokehouse

These were the two places I had bookmarked for lunch in Cayucos. The cookies were overrated, but smoked fish was pretty unique. We got an albacore taco, an ahi taco and a smoked salmon sandwich.

Covid Travel Score: -20 (a completely made up scale. anti-maskers spotting downtown)



Hiking! Montana do Oro State Park: Bluff Trail

We then drove 40 min to Montana de Oro State Park and did the Bluff Trail hike for the afternoon. This was a seriously gorgeous easy trail along the ocean with beautiful flowers and waves. I’m not an avid forest hiker but show me a coastal hike and I’m in LOVE. It was nicely maintained with incredibly picturesque picnic tables and fun rocky enclaves to do some exploring.

Covid Travel Score: +40 (more people in the park had masks than downtown despite being in a more open space)

Beer! Figuroa Brewing Company

Picked up some beer and a bomb steak salad from this brewery. Have quarantine to thank for introducing me to crowlers.

Camping! Random land on Hipcamp

Off to the Hipcamp site we went. Ok it wasn’t a completely random plot of land. Turns out the spot was a normal retreat / campground so they had water hookups, a shared bathroom, just no fires allowed.

We picked a site on the edge overlooking a little ridge. It was over a city so there were lights, but the surrounding trees made it secluded and peaceful. There was another car at a site nearby, a family with a massive RV and 2 camper vans (ahh the #vanlife dream). The other campers were respectful and we didn’t interact much.

This was our first time sleeping in the car so had to do some Tetris with the bikes but got it to fit! It was cozy and relatively comfy, though we’re not very tall which helps.

I’d definitely pick out a rental car with a sunroof next time to look out at the sky and stars.

Day 2

Kitschy town! Solvang

If you’re pressed for time I’d actually skip Solvang but since it was a chill day we decided to check it out.

On the way we passed by Ostrichland - yes, this is a real thing - where you can view ostriches & emus and feed them!

Solvang is this “little Danish town” in Central California that’s known for its bakeries and European architecture. It was a bit touristy for my liking but cute for a stop by. The bakeries blended together but recommend The Bread Shop!

Covid Travel Score: +0 (mixed crowd. one store legit had a sign citing a scientific study about how wearing cloth masks causes illness. le sigh)

Plants! Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens

This was a last minute addition to the day’s itinerary after we spent less time in Solvang than expected. So I pulled up Google maps and this garden caught my eye! Entry was $16 / person and they focus on showcasing plants native to California. Pretty cool to see the different climates and settings - they had a forest section of redwoods, the desert with cacti and so on.

Covid Travel Score: +100 (someone in the parking lot stopped visitors to ensure mask compliance and they had one-way marked trails)

Beach! Refugio State Beach

Bookmarking Refugio State Beach for some beach camping next time! It was on my list but reservations were all booked through end of summer. It’s one of the few sites where you can literally wake up to the ocean and sand.

We had some beach time and watched kids frolic in the waters. Dinner was this Hawaiian bbq takeout joint which we ate back at the campsite.

Covid Travel Score: +40 (people were respectful and spread out)

Day 3

Cycling! Highway 1: Cambria to Ragged Point

I like biking in new places! So we brought the bikes down for this.

Started around 7:30am and followed this Ragged Point Route which gave us to a relatively flat stretch of Highway 1: Cambria to Ragged Point and back (~40 mi, 1872ft climbing but mostly flat).

The morning stretch was bliss. We had the road to ourselves and there were countless pullout spots where I wanted to just sit and gaze and take in the sea breeze. At one point we passed another cyclist who shouted, “Way to get out there!” with an enthusiastic fist pump.

Near the turnaround point we found a beautiful lookout spot off the road to break and eat our PBJ sandwiches (the best cycling snack!). Sitting on tree stump overlooking the sea, it struck me how rare moments of serenity are.

Coastal drive! Highway 1: Cambria to Big Sur

After the ride it was time to relax and look for food. We started the drive back up Highway 1 to soak in the coastal views.

I had two popular spots bookmarked on the drive, but were deterred by crowds / hunger to bother stopping. They’re supposed to be pretty scenic: McWay Falls (waterfall on a beach) and Partington Cove.

There’s a cafe on the way called The Coast where we grabbed some coffee & pizza. Its background is a repurposed art gallery (that was used as a refuge for artists & writers after WWII!) and it’s made out of these massive water tanks. Neat stuff. Sadly the art gallery was closed, but recommend as a unique stopping point.

Gated Community! Pebble Beach

17 Mile Drive is absolutely gorgeous and worth seeing. Even for someone who has zero knowledge about golf, the museum is pretty interesting.

I have mild issues with it being a gated community.

Upon $10.50 entry / vehicle for what should be a public beach, they handed us a slip of paper that said if you enter you accept risk of contracting Covid and they’re not liable. Oh and download the Pebble Beach App while you’re at it. (As if any visitor would have the money to sue them)

Look, props for preserving such a beautiful and important stretch of land. But if one round of golf costs $575 - let’s not herald the founder’s vision for maintaining a public golf course - and own up building a playground for the rich, shall we?

Pebble Beach Covid Score: +50 (because they’re rich enough to pay someone to dispense hand sanitizer for you when you enter the museum)

Sunset! Dunes

We stopped by this Vietnamese joint for noodles on the beach at Eolian Dunes Preserve. It was the perfect ending with the most magical sunset.

Looking back I’m surprised we fit all that in 3 days. It felt more like a vacation than just a weekend trip - nothing like the ocean and nature for a much needed reset.