US West Trip Suggestions - Between Monterey and Bodega Bay

[VirajH2]

Any suggestion for dispersed camping near the beach between Monterey to Bodega Bay. Most of the inland is closed or smoky due to the fire. Im in Vacaville and can head in any direction with a 3 hour range. Larsons Landing and few other spots are all booked. Thank you.

 

[genocache]

There is really nothing around here, too much private land. If you can stealth camp you might find some rural road up by Pescadero. No overnight on Beachfront parking.

 

[VirajH2]

Thank you. I will look for something around there...

 

[static]

If you’re willing to go a bit farther, you could head up to King Range National Conservation Area. Maps estimate it’s about 4.5hrs from Vacaville.

I’ve not been personally, but it’s on my list. It’s BLM land so dispersed camping should be fine, and there are a number of FCFS campsites that look a bit tougher to get to (i.e. less likely to be occupied).

Be aware that all national forests in CA are currently closed to preserve resources for fighting wildfires, so they are not an option right now :(

Hope this helps…
Kris

 

[David C Gibbs]

It's probably too late to get campground Reservations - since the State and National Forests are closed. Here are two links. When we lived in the Bay Area, we spent lots of time in the Mountains between I-280 and the One. We spent many a night at Butano, by ourselves, but that was 30 years ago.

Butano State Park

California State Parks

www.parks.ca.gov

https://parks.smcgov.org/sites/parks.smcgov.org/files/documents/files/Pescadero-McDonaldBrochure-Nov2018-FINAL-web-formatted.pdf

DG

 

[genocache]

Last year the CZU fire came real close(into?) Butano, I'm not sure the camping is open and not disbursed. Further South, Big Sur has disbursed options. Carrizzo Plains if they are open.

Carrizo Plain National Monument | Bureau of Land Management

www.blm.gov

 

[2G4R]

2nd Kings Range. Used to live in cowtown, go thru napa take the 128 up to the 101 is a nice drive. Usal beach and Kings range are worth exploring. Also, east towards yosemite/ stanislaus there are cool spots

 

[VirajH2]

Hello All thank you so much for replying.. planning something this quick is a bit difficult on a long weekend where most of the places i would go to is closed or smoky. and my rig is not setup for recovery yet. So i saved the money and bought winch and cradle for it. Today will go in installing it. Tomorrow im planning to go Indian Valley Reservoir. All the destinations recommended around monterey and south is going into my Winter destinations spots. 1st week of Oct i want to do the Usal Beach. attached is few pics of Indian Valley res if anyone wants to check it out.

 

[genocache]

Indian Valley Res could be nice!

 

[RangerBill]

Definitely not dispersed camping, but HipCamp is a good resource for access to private land. I have used it a few times with generally good results. You can almost always find something, even on short notice.

Camp your way | Discover the best camping near you

From public parks to private land, we're the most comprehensive guide to camping across the US. Camp on ranches, farms, vineyards and land preserves.

www.hipcamp.com

 

[VirajH2]

Thank you all for your reply. This is what we ended up doing. We started around 6pm from Vacaville and stayed the night at Cowboy Camp on Hwy16 Close to Hwy20 junction. Sunday Morning went to Indian Valley Reservoir via Bear Valley Rd and Brim Rd. The lake on North Side is dry dry and dry... Saw a few side by side and quads running the bed. i was able to take the hummer out on the bed. The Tacoma with me is 2wd and had a hard shell kayak at back so we turned around the 1st place it got stuck. We were still able to make it a long way in... Sunday evening came back to Vacaville. its a 2 hour ride from Vacaville. attaching few pics. We didn't want to play with it but right now its an awesome place to test out your recovery equipment... I want to order a Pull pal to use with my Winch and once i order/receive i will surely take it out there for a test...

 

[static]

Thanks for sharing - it looks like a good time was had by all!

Kris

Thank you all for your reply. This is what we ended up doing. We started around 6pm from Vacaville and stayed the night at Cowboy Camp on Hwy16 Close to Hwy20 junction. Sunday Morning went to Indian Valley Reservoir via Bear Valley Rd and Brim Rd. The lake on North Side is dry dry and dry... Saw a few side by side and quads running the bed. i was able to take the hummer out on the bed. The Tacoma with me is 2wd and had a hard shell kayak at back so we turned around the 1st place it got stuck. We were still able to make it a long way in... Sunday evening came back to Vacaville. its a 2 hour ride from Vacaville. attaching few pics. We didn't want to play with it but right now its an awesome place to test out your recovery equipment... I want to order a Pull pal to use with my Winch and once i order/receive i will surely take it out there for a test...