Camping around Kings Canyon & Sequoia

[mobrownies]

We are planning a trip to California this spring and want to hit the National Parks before the summer crowds, if that is possible. We are not finding many camping options near the Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. We don't pack a generator, so our boondocking is very limited. We have also heard that most of the State Parks and National Forrest Service parks are nto big rig friendly.

Aside from the National Parks, any other "must see" places in CA?

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

[HamRad]

mobrownies,

A place NOT to miss is Yosemite. There are some parks about an hours drive or so from the Valley. Plan on about 3 days minimum.

Of course Sequoia and Kings Canyon are great places too. I do not know of any campgrounds around or in those areas. We need to do a "fact finding" tour to find out what would work.

If you come between now and the middle to end of May, Death Valley would be a place NOT to miss. Plenty of parking in the park. But limited FHUs.

In general the State and Federal parks are not big rig friendly that is for sure. And none of them have hookups. Well that is not exactly true. A great exception is the State Park at Morro Bay, CA. It is actually now big rig user friendly. Some of the sites have FHUs. Most have electric and water only. And about half have just a community water spout available. But it is one of our nicer parks.

How long and how far into CA are you talking about? If you're around the area at the end of May then you'd want to go to the various Rallies that are planned this year.

The first one is at Lake Siskiyou near Mt. Shasta, CA. Then we head north into southern OR for a couple of different stops. One at Coos Bay, OR. Another at Canyonville, OR at the Seven Feathers Casino and RV park and resort.

Up in the north of California the Redwoods are located. We would recommend you NOT miss them. They are located about 30 miles south of Eureka, CA.

If you need specific route questions answered just let me know. Or if you have questions about other parks or areas of the state just let us know.

Good luck.

HamRad

[mobrownies]

Thank you HamRad for your response. My wife found a church camp at Badger that rents cabins and RV sites, so we are going to give that a try since it is closer to the park.

It will probably be mid to late April before we leave Texas and head to CA. If all goes well we hope to have a couple of months in CA. We hope to be able to hit the National Parks before school get out and the parks get even busier. Not much of a plan yet, just starting to pull things together.

We have heard that Hwy 1 is a do not miss, but some have said that we don't want to take the trailer on it. What is your opinion?

Mike

[HamRad]

Mike,

Highway 1 is certainly a MUST see. Sections of it can be a challenge. But if you avoid the metro areas and stick with the rest of it you will probably be fine. If I were doing the route I'd start no further south than the Ventura area. I'd take hwy 126 and hit the hwy 1. Then just head north. Just north of the Santa Barbara area you'll have choice of highway 1 or 101. I'd take the 101. The 1 at this point is not along the coast anyway.

Stay on the 101 until you come to San Luis Obispo. Take the 1 at this point. Be sure and spend some time at the Morro Bay area and just north of there the Hearst Castle.

North of San Simeon there will be some 'interesting and somewhat challenging' twists and turns. But if you take your time (as you should just to enjoy) you will do fine.

Just remember this is a twisty turny somewhat narrow road. Take your time and make wide turns on those really sharp turns.

If you've not been to San Francisco you may want to stay on 1 all the way through the city. I wouldn't do it but then I've been there many times and would not enjoy doing that.

But you MUST see the Golden Date! It is awesome.

Just north of the City the highway is probably a place you will not want to drag your trailer. I'd stay on the 101 and head north. If I were doing this trip I'd cut across to highway 1 at Petaluma. Head north and enjoy.

Take hwy 20 back to highway 101. This is just south of Fort Bragg. The road north of Fort Bragg is a very twisty and narrow road. Some folks have taken this route but I would avoid it.

The rest of the way is on 101/1. Beautiful country.

The parks you are planning on are great parks. Did I mention that Death Valley is a good place to visit the time of year you are planning on visiting.

Don't miss the Redwood Parks up in northern California they are great.

Have fun.

Dennis

[mobrownies]

Dennis,

Thanks for taking time to leave such detailed feedback. I will print that for use on our trip. We appreciate your help.
So much to see, so little time.

Mike