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Following the coast, I headed north to San Elijo State Beach.
I had heard that camping was very good at this park and soon found out why.
The 171 sites that make up San Elijo are situated near the beach, and visitors have access to
the coast by a series of wooden stairways.
Due to the park’s popularity, reservations are necessary to stay here.
Surfers were already heading down to the mist covered shore to catch some early morning
waves.
During the month of June in Southern California, coastal fog is common during the first part
of the day, but usually burns off around noon time.
I talked with the ranger Rob about the camping experience at San Elijo.
Are there any things that you would like campers or people headed to the campground to know
to make their stay a little more comfortable?
RANGER ROB: Yes, we like to have people know what the setting is here. This is ocean bluff
top camping, and the campsites are divided into individual sites unlike some of the other
campgrounds. They are divided with shrubbery.
There is a little privacy here in each of the campsites and the campsites are pretty
good sized.
The can accommodate about a 35 foot RV.
There are no hookups for RV’s so people that bring their RV’s are generally self-contained.
This is also a great place for tent campers because it is individual dirt campsites, so
they can set a tent up if they want to.
The beach below here is fabulous and is also why people come here.
And once you drop down below the bluff, the hustle and bustle of the city disappears,
and cares of their workaday lives kind of fades away and that’s why people come here
year after year.
You can set up a nice little campground here, and then head down to the beach with your
family and have time to get away from it all.
This is really a family campground which 99 percent of our users are families that come
back year after year.
Parents bring their kids, then their kids bring their kids, and so it gets to be a family
tradition kind of a place to come.
I decided to check out the day use area at San Onofre State Beach where it's said there
is great surfing.
More than three immaculate miles of beachfront at this park have been protected from commercial
development and offer visitors plenty of room to stretch out and relax.
The climate in this part of California is moderate.
Balmy sea breezes roll in from the coast cooling the air along the shoreline.
Their popularity and the recreational opportunities they afford, make southern California state
beaches one of the number one destinations for travelers and locals alike.
Besides beachcombing, picnicking, and swimming, visitors will find themselves entertained
by surfers riding the waves.
On weekends, both campgrounds fill up and reservations for it's 378 campsites is a good
idea. I checked out the Bluffs campground, formally a day use parking lot.
Overnighters can now pull in and set up camp. Sites are small and not very private...
but trails through the Chaparral coastal terrace offer some great views.