Camping in Big Sur

Northern California has so much to offer in beauty. If you enjoy camping among the Redwoods and the Pacific ocean, then Big Sur is for you. Off of Highway 1 it is full of beauty. Amazing sights all around you.

We took the grandkids and brought our 5 bedroom tent. We stayed at Pfeiffer Big Sur state park. This is a state park and so there were showers that made it accommodating for us all. Among the beauty of the trees and the river that runs through the park it is something to take in. At night, you can see a billion stars among the trees.

Our first night, we were woken by the sound of a bobcat making mating sounds. That is what the park ranger told us it was when we asked the next day. Approximately 45 miles north is Monterey. What a scenic route that is. A must do. It is one of my favorite areas in California for its beauty. We took a day trip away from our camp site and drove to Monterey. We took the kids to the pier and then over to the Monterey Aquarium. Then we stopped for a late lunch at Bubba Gumps. After that we headed back to camp. It was a great way to enjoy our grandkids and enjoy northern California.

We mostly stayed around the camp area the rest of the time. We hiked and drove down the road to other places to hike. One of our favorites was the Julia Pfeiffer Falls. It is where the river meets the ocean. What beauty it beholds. You can't hike down to it. It sort of looks like your own private island of beach. It is a private area. Not open to visitors, but you can see it from above on the trail.

Of course the kids loved the ocean. Much of our time was spent there. Even in August, the northern California beaches are cold. But that did not stop the kids from staying out of the water. It's rocks and caves are just amazing. the water has so many colors of blues and greens. It is breath taking.

If you do not like tent camping you can rent out a cabin or stay in the lodge there. Yes, they do have hook ups for RV's. We actually had made our reservations a month before, and then a fire broke out in the area in 2008. We were lucky enough as they opened the park back up the day before our reservations. So many of the trails were not opened at the time. We did hike on the ones that we could. Since we had our grandkids, it was enough for us.

We also brought rafts so we could play in the Big Sur river. We never got around to doing so. We were having fun at the beaches and hiking and on our Monterey trip, that it was time to head back. Our 5 days had gone too quick.

The kids loved it up there and so did we. I think the Redwoods are the most beautiful trees. If you can even go up north by Willits and Eureka you really need to see them. Willits has a Skunk train that takes you on half day or full day trips through the Redwoods to Fort Bragg and back. It stops midway at an area they have set up so you can rest, buy food etc. But that is another trip to take.

Big Sur has so much to offer. I highly recommend it for all its beauty!