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Old 10-30-2018, 02:39 PM   #21
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San Fran & La Camping

We just finished that trip. I agree with one earlier, in San Fran we stay at Alameda County Fairgrounds. Its about 3-4 miles from the Bart Transit. If you get there after 10 am its $3 dollars to park in the parking garage (if you can find a spot) and $13 each for 2 way tickets in and out. If you can't find a spot in the garage there is a shopping center just down the street for free). If you decide to drive in its about $50 to park in town and you have to fight the traffic to get out. The town of Pleasanton is a nice little town to visit and you can walk there from the fairgrounds. My wife and I spent a day there. I loved Sa Fran, We bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus. You can spend at least 2 days doing that.

For LA we stayed at Chinos Hills State Park. If you stay here try to get a site with trees. We drove into LA which I regretted every day. If you go after the rush hour its not bad but you have to wait until 7-8pm to leave otherwise the traffic is horrendous. Both places were reasonably priced with full hook ups.
Have fun.
In Las Vegas we stayed Boulder City (lake Mead RV Village) make sure you take your National Park Pass. f you stay there try to get a place facing the water. We were a short drive to the dam and 30-40 minutes to Vegas.
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Old 10-30-2018, 02:57 PM   #22
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Check out Newport Dunes in Newport Beach, CA.We’ve stayed there many times and really nice.
http://www.newportdunes.com/
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Old 10-30-2018, 04:03 PM   #23
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If you want to spend some time in the Ventura area about an hour north of LA there are a couple county parks that are nice. And they used to be first come first served but now you can reserve. They are very close to the town of Ventura and an easy drive up to Santa Barabra. And they are on the water. Look up Ventura County RV parks. Faria is our favorite. Then there are state campgrounds like Emma Wood and Leo Carillo. If you want fancy/pricey there is a private park in Ventura that is more of a resort with a pool and hot tub but it's like $100/night.
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Old 10-30-2018, 10:37 PM   #24
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For San Diego look at the rv park near Chula Vista the trolley is close and makes it easier to go to the zoo etc. If you are military or retired military there are some campgrounds like at Admiral Baker field.
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Old 10-30-2018, 11:02 PM   #25
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For San Diego look at the rv park near Chula Vista the trolley is close and makes it easier to go to the zoo etc. If you are military or retired military there are some campgrounds like at Admiral Baker field.
You don't need to be military to stay at Admiral Baker. It's just a few extra dollars if not. We stayed there in Aug and it worked out well.
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Old 10-30-2018, 11:54 PM   #26
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As a local, I have to reiterate: you must make your reservations far in advance for any state park/beach. They allow online reservations at 8 am exactly 6 months in advance, and there are legions of folks reserving campsites with lightning speed internet connections at all the state beaches & National parks like Yosemite, etc...depending on your travel time, even private campgrounds like campland could require Devine intervention to get a spot. From big sur to San Diego, there are some fantastic state beach camping choices.

Like some said, if you are ex military, you have some great choices.

I agree with all the spots I know that were previously mentioned, and will add two I didn’t see: San Diego: silver strand state beach or fiddlers cove if military and in Malibu thorn hill broome

Note: many national, state and local parks have trailer and motor home size limits
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Old 10-31-2018, 12:49 AM   #27
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As a local, I have to reiterate: you must make your reservations far in advance for any state park/beach. They allow online reservations at 8 am exactly 6 months in advance, and there are legions of folks reserving campsites with lightning speed internet connections at all the state beaches & National parks like Yosemite, etc...depending on your travel time, even private campgrounds like campland could require Devine intervention to get a spot. From big sur to San Diego, there are some fantastic state beach camping choices.

Like some said, if you are ex military, you have some great choices.

I agree with all the spots I know that were previously mentioned, and will add two I didn’t see: San Diego: silver strand state beach or fiddlers cove if military and in Malibu thorn hill broome

Note: many national, state and local parks have trailer and motor home size limits
As a former 60 year resident of California, I echo Beachbourbon's post.
Since you can camp year-round in California, even in the off-season, it can be nearly impossible to get campsites in popular state parks and beaches. Even in February and March.
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Old 10-31-2018, 01:34 AM   #28
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San Clemente has 2 very nice campgrounds. In March, they are only 1/3 full during the week. Weekends are a different story.

Pismo Beach is also very nice and pretty available during the week. Not sure about weekends.
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Old 10-31-2018, 02:32 AM   #29
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San Clemente has 2 very nice campgrounds. In March, they are only 1/3 full during the week. Weekends are a different story.

Pismo Beach is also very nice and pretty available during the week. Not sure about weekends.
We couldn't get 4 consecutive nights at San Clemente in March, without having to change campsites twice.
San Mateo campground inland, was the only one that we could stay without having to move the RV.
And forget any other state beach if you haven't made reservations 6 months in advance.

Which campground in Pismo are you talking about?
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:09 AM   #30
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We are planning a trip West for a month and would like recommendations for campgrounds while visiting the following: Los Angles, San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas. We have never "camped" by a large city before. Would like to be relatively close so that we can make a daily trip to explore the urban delights. We're pulling a Forest River VIBE. It's about 34' long. So, I'll either need pull throughs or long/deep back ins. Thank you for any recommendations and advice.
Sam’s Casino and Resort in Las Vegas,They have wonderful food,Close to a lot of good things,They also have free shuttles to and from downtown
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:11 AM   #31
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Sam’s Casino and Resort,Wonderful campground,Plenty room,Good food,Free shuttles to and from downtown.
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:54 AM   #32
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We couldn't get 4 consecutive nights at San Clemente in March, without having to change campsites twice.
San Mateo campground inland, was the only one that we could stay without having to move the RV.
And forget any other state beach if you haven't made reservations 6 months in advance.

Which campground in Pismo are you talking about?
We were in San Clemente Sunday through Thursday this last March and only 1/3 of the campsites were taken. SanMateo was almost completely empty.

The Pismo campground was the state park.
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Old 10-31-2018, 11:45 AM   #33
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CA camping

I thought they were asking about Los Angeles, long ways from Sam Clemente, it is just difficult to get close to those big cities in CA. I have lived in CA all my life and avoid those cities like the plague. To each his own, crime, corruption and weirdos aren’t for me. I looked at the boondocks website and the closest I could find near LA was Rosamond. Over an hour away. The reason the RV parks are so busy is they have many full time residents. Property prices are not affordable in many of these locations for average workers. Another reason is the cost of building is too high so not many new homes or rentals either. They found that out when they built the new facility near Yosemite (Rush Creek Lodge) the owners had to buy homes in Groveland to have a place for their help, now they are like dorms in residential areas. People are still calling and looking for rental houses and they’re just not available. Sorry I couldn’t find anything closer for you. If you decide to go inland checkout Bodie State Park.
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Old 10-31-2018, 11:52 AM   #34
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I thought they were asking about Los Angeles.....
He asked about a few cities along that route.

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We are planning a trip West for a month and would like recommendations for campgrounds while visiting the following: Los Angles, San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas.
I am curious why you suggested Bodie. There is no camping at Bodie and it's up on the 395.
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Old 11-01-2018, 05:31 PM   #35
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As someone who lived in west LA (Malibu) for 30 years and still travel there multiple times per year to visit family. First off; you don’t want the east side of LA. The coast/beaches on the west side will give you only two choices for your trailer length. Dockweiler RV Park, is directly on the beach. It’s good for families, riding the bike path which runs along the sand for about 25 miles and firepits on the beach. The negative is the price ($55.-75. Per night) and directly under LAX flight path. I bring earplugs as I’m a light sleeper. Week days are relatively easy to get a site for a couple nights. The Fri.-Sat. of most coastal campgrounds are trickier to get in. They usually keep a couple “drive-up” sites available , or maybe a last minute cancellation. Your only other choice 30 min. west of this would be Malibu RV Park. It’s a private park across the street from the ocean, just north of Pepperdine University. Prices are steep( approx. $100-145. per night and the spaces are close together. It can be tricky getting in ‘n out. Good ocean vu’s, walk to Malibu Seafood next door( order at the walk up window;outside ocean vu dining.) Because it’s pricey, I’ve been able to get a weekend space when everywhere else is full. My favorite campground is 15 minutes north of there st Leo Carrillo State Campground and beach across the street; tunnel under hwy. This is a beautiful campground in the canyon surrounded by 500 year old Sycamore trees and Oaks. Spaces have plenty of privacy and it has the only dog friendly beach(north end of beach.) Unfortunately, it has a 31’ max. length. If you drive one hour north of LA, you will arrive at Ventura. Emma Woods State Beach is pretty easy to get a last minute space. 42’ max. and you’re camping right above the high tide line, on the water. Just north of there in Carpenteria is the State Beach( just south of Santa Barbara.) It’s a very nice camp ground and has a 42’ max. limit., wknds. are harder to get into.
Between Ventura County and San Francisco, I would suggest Cambria(San Simeon; 35’ max.) or Pismo Beach; famous for their sand dunes/atv’ing and clamming on the beach.

I would look up: parks.ca.gov for more info.
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Old 11-01-2018, 05:51 PM   #36
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Ps- another route to San Francisco from LA is following the Eastern Sierra,on the east side of Ca.There are many nice campgrounds along this beautiful north- south route of hwy. 395; it’s a dedicated scenic corridor from LA to Reno, NV. where you then catch the I-80 west straight across into San Francisco.
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Old 11-01-2018, 05:56 PM   #37
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Ps- another route to San Francisco from LA is following the Eastern Sierra,on the east side of Ca.There are many nice campgrounds along this beautiful north- south route of hwy. 395; it’s a dedicated scenic corridor from LA to Reno, NV. where you then catch the I-80 west straight across into San Francisco.
Better keep an eye on the weather. I own a home in Tahoe and I have been through 3 feet of snow this time of year. Better bring chains. I wouldn't do it with a trailer until next May.
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Old 11-01-2018, 06:41 PM   #38
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Thank You

Ok. We've got it all planned. A big Thank You to all who offered suggestions. Very helpful. Y'all have a great one.

Steve
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Old 11-05-2018, 09:35 PM   #39
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LA Camping

Dockweiler beach rv park, run by LA county. It's right on the beach. There's a nice bicycle/walking path. It is under the LAX airport flight path, but the planes stop early enough that it doesn’t interfer with sleep. It’s a bonus if you like airplanes. There's no services within walking distance. Book in advance. It is pricey.
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Old 11-05-2018, 09:45 PM   #40
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San Diego

Campland on the Bay is right on Mission Bay in San Diego. A great place to stay if you have kids. They have various prices for sites depending on how much space you need and how close you are to the beach. We make reservations one year in advance.
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