Planning a big road trip to the west

[CraigBean7672]

Also on whether to travel the coastal highway from San Diego to Bodega pulling a 37' unit?

Here is some additional info on your question here for San Diego to Paso Robles area. As others have explained you don't want to travel the entire distance on the coast but for sure see some of it.

From San Diego I'd go the 405 north to 10 west spend a night or more in Ventura, I prefer the beach although there is a full service RV park on Main St. On the beach is Hobson, Rincon, Faria. Rincon has no hookups, or dump but a truck comes around that will pump you out and fill your water. Most of time I don't even turn the generator on. Hobson and Faria have more amenities you can check online about. Go to http://venturaparks.org click on 'All reservable areas'. From this location you can continue north on the 101 and depending on how much ground you want to cover in a day your next stop could be Pismo, Morro Bay or Paso Robles.

For Pismo we stayed at Pismo Coast Village RV Resort. It was nice since we could walk out onto the beach or walk into town.

For Morro Bay take Hwy 1 off the 101 to get there. For RV parks there's Morro Strand RV Park and Morro Dunes RV Park both are walking distance to the beach and close to the harbor which is a great place to eat, last time I was there a guy singing and playing guitar in the pavillion area.

Further north is Paso Robles, where there are many wineries you can go to if you like, there's also Lake Nacimiento where you can rent a boat if the water level is high enough - it varies from season to season.

If you find yourself entering California on Hwy 10 there's a RV park at the CA/AZ border. Not much there other than to stop over for the night but you can swim in the river and the sites all have grass which is nice for that area - https://www.riverbreezerv.com/

[Steveinthehills]

I have stayed at Porto Bodega Marina RV park in Bodega Bay a couple of times. The good thing is it's right on the bay with a small harbor. The bad thing is the park is basically a gravel parking lot with full hookups. I did look up Bodega Bay RV Park on the internet and it looks to be pretty good. You might want to consider staying at the KOA campground in Petaluma, Ca. From there you are about a 45 minute drive to Bodega Bay, and a one hour drive to San Francisco. The KOA even has a van to take you to the city for the day. This KOA is rather pricy as it is a popular park close to the city. I highly suggest considering Fort Bragg, Ca. and the Pomo RV Park. Fort Bragg is a great little fishing village with good restaurants and friendly people. The campground has fairly secluded sites with full hookups. Pomo takes only cash or check, no credit cards.I have driven north from Bodega Bay to Fort Bragg on Highway 1, and it took me about 4 hours. I'm pulling a 24 foot TT and the road was not a problem. If you are interested in visiting California's Gold Country, I suggest the Jackson Rancheria RV park in Jackson, Ca. It is a top rated park with really great staff (gambling is optional). The Ranchera is tough to get into during the weekends, however you shouldn't have a much difficulty during the weekdays. Have a great trip, I hope I was of some help to you.

[nayther]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Yep, Lawson's Landing is a unique place to camp. They have been fighting for years to stay open, due to efforts by environmentalists to close it down.
I grew up in Sonoma County and we went there often, along with Bodega Bay.

That's BS, the landing predates the Coastal Commission even. But then again they shut down the age old oyster farm a couple of years ago, damn tree huggers.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by nayther

That's BS, the landing predates the Coastal Commission even. But then again they shut down the age old oyster farm a couple of years ago, damn tree huggers.

Growing up in Sonoma County, during the 60's, was an idyllic experience.
But very little is idyllic there anymore. Of course, Marin County is WAY worse.

[nayther]

Originally Posted by bikendan

Growing up in Sonoma County, during the 60's, was an idyllic experience.
But very little is idyllic there anymore. Of course, Marin County is WAY worse.

yep the state has changed a LOT since the 60's-70's and not for the good IMHO.


Spent a few short summers up there on the ranch, helping haul hay, feeding cows, etc. At that time the ranch was a self-sustaining full working cattle ranch, even helped portion up an entire cow they had butchered and ground up (it was a cow so no "good" cuts, only hamburger). That was one BIG pile of ground beef!


Also caught my first and only salmon right outside the bay on my cousin's charter boat. Had not idea what I was doing and fouled the reel, cousin brought in a 22lb. salmon hand over hand, I was so embarrassed.

[EYEMAN]

Don't slow down going through Memphis or your wheels will be gone off your RV.

[Andy R]

A sister site to this forum is www.RVTripWizard.com. It allows you to identify logics stops on a route and easily research great camping options.



I personally like to zoom in and then sort by number of reviews. This quickly surfaces the campgrounds that have been most popular with the RVers who have left reviews on CampgroundReviews.com (formerly known as RV Park Reviews.com).

I then scan for the highest rated among the most popular and it's pretty fast to find a campground you will enjoy.



I also like the filters so you can filter your result based on types of parks like private, state/national parks, by discount club like Good Sam, Passport America, etc.

I must admit I'm bias though being as we brought RV Trip Wizard into the family of sites we now call the RV LIFE Network (which runs this site).

[doc73]

Originally Posted by Andy R

A sister site to this forum is www.RVTripWizard.com. It allows you to identify logics stops on a route and easily research great camping options.



I personally like to zoom in and then sort by number of reviews. This quickly surfaces the campgrounds that have been most popular with the RVers who have left reviews on CampgroundReviews.com (formerly known as RV Park Reviews.com).

I then scan for the highest rated among the most popular and it's pretty fast to find a campground you will enjoy.



I also like the filters so you can filter your result based on types of parks like private, state/national parks, by discount club like Good Sam, Passport America, etc.

I must admit I'm bias though being as we brought RV Trip Wizard into the family of sites we now call the RV LIFE Network (which runs this site).

Use a online page called furkot for my planning. It works pretty well and is free.

[Andy R]

Originally Posted by doc73

Use a online page called furkot for my planning. It works pretty well and is free.

I've played around with Furkot. Like all these systems it takes a while to get the hang of it. What I enjoy most about RV Trip Wizard is that it's RV specific and gets the data from crowdsourced data from RVers via Campground Reviews - Trusted Reviews of Campgrounds & RV Parks (the reviews are simply more detailed).

Since I work with RV Trip Wizard I can also drop a few hints about what's to come. Soon it will be an end-to-end system allowing you to plan and also take the app with you on the road and get RV specific routing based on your rigs length and weight (ie. avoid dead ends, dangerously low overpasses and mountain passes with steep grades).

The downside is that RV Trip Wizard also has a learning curve but for those to take the time to learn, they enjoy it. Our reviews speak for themselves!
https://www.rvtripwizard.com/testimonials.php

[Jakieboy]

Born and raised outside Philly, but after my Navy days in S. Vietnam, was accepted into the graduate Engineering program at Stanford University. Met and married my DW, who was a native of San Francisco. She spent her summers at her Uncle's Ranch on Geyser Road just outside Healdsburg, then a quiet little farm town with acres and acres of prune orchards in the Alexander River Valley. Married on the front lawn of the ranch, and my parents were so impressed they thought I had married a millionairess!!

Many fond memories of visits to the Ranch, which is now almost 100% wine grape vineyards. Healdsburg is now a bustling "Yuppie" community. How times change. Fortunately for me, there are dozens of terrific Micro-Breweries in the area.

[doc73]

Originally Posted by Andy R

I've played around with Furkot. Like all these systems it takes a while to get the hang of it. What I enjoy most about RV Trip Wizard is that it's RV specific and gets the data from crowdsourced data from RVers via Campground Reviews - Trusted Reviews of Campgrounds & RV Parks (the reviews are simply more detailed).



Since I work with RV Trip Wizard I can also drop a few hints about what's to come. Soon it will be an end-to-end system allowing you to plan and also take the app with you on the road and get RV specific routing based on your rigs length and weight (ie. avoid dead ends, dangerously low overpasses and mountain passes with steep grades).



The downside is that RV Trip Wizard also has a learning curve but for those to take the time to learn, they enjoy it. Our reviews speak for themselves!

https://www.rvtripwizard.com/testimonials.php

I'll have to look at the demo. Give it a try, why not. Have a long trip planned out for the summer. I'd be curious to compare the two results.

[tucson]

if Tombstone doesn't work out Kartchner Caverns has a rv park, need to drive to Tombstone

[BBC Cobra]

If you are coming down I-75 into Tennessee, Anchor Down RV Park is about 35 miles east of Knoxville Tennessee in Sevierville Tennessee, and worth going to, if you can get in. They are only about three years old and are selling out a good share of the time.

[flycaster]

We like the Nashville KOA. They have a free shuttle to the downtown area. It also has band events occasionally at the RV Park.
We stayed at the Graceland CG in Memphis. It is located right next to Graceland so you can walk to Graceland if that is what you want to visit. Both of these are on RVPARKREVIEW.com so you can check out more information there.

[doc73]

There must be 2 KOA Nashvilles, we just stayed at one this past summer. It was about 30 minutes North if Nashville and was $10 per person for the shuttle.

[oldxr]

I you don’t have to be on the California coast in the summer time I would pick a different time .+ the desert is very hot in the summer . I live in central California and use the trailer more in the winter . It’s too hot to use it in the summer . This time of year you can pretty much get into any rv park . I would leave soon .

[Camper Al]

If you are family orientated, I recommend staying at Campland on the Bay in San Diego . Large spaces with plenty of room.