California Coast — A Summer Camping Road Trip

Four days up the coast and back. Hollywood → Santa Barbara beaches → Big Sur → the golden hills. Departing Thursday, July 30, 2026.

For Molly · planned in Eidolon · Late July 2026 · Subaru Forester + a tent off the back

The open road along California's Pacific Coast Highway

We point the Forester north, the Pacific opens up on the left, and for four days the plan is simple: beach, cliffs, a coast town, and a lake in the golden hills — a fire every night, dinner cooked at camp, and the two of us on the open road. Here's the trip.

The shape of it

A loop, never doubling back. A beach warm-up the first night, two nights where the coast turns cinematic, and a hill-and-water night to wind down before the drive home. There are two ways to run it — pick the spine that suits the mood.

Option A — The Big Sur “wow” loop

Kirk Creek Campground on the bluff above the Pacific, Highway 1

Hollywood → El Capitán Beach → Big Sur (Kirk Creek) → Morro Bay → Lake Cachuma → home. The cinematic one. Highway 1 is open through Big Sur for the first full summer since the landslides — so the edge-of-the-continent drive is back on the table. One big driving day (~4h of winding Hwy 1), rewarded with an ocean-bluff campsite where every site faces the sunset.

Open the full Option A route in Google Maps →

Option B — The reliable loop

Hollywood → El Capitán (or wild Jalama) → Montaña de Oro / Morro Bay → Lake Nacimiento → home. Easier to book on short notice, and it ends at Lake Nacimiento — the one lake on this trip you can actually swim in (Cachuma bans body contact). Warm inland water, hidden coves, wine country over the ridge.

Open the full Option B route in Google Maps →

Night 1 — El Capitán & Refugio State Beach

Palm-lined shoreline at Refugio State Beach

~2 hours north, on the wild Gaviota Coast. Two beloved beach campgrounds a couple of miles apart: El Capitán under sycamores above rocky tide pools, Refugio curled around a palm-fringed cove that feels almost tropical. Fall asleep to the surf, a fire in the ring, dinner as the sun goes down over the water.

  • Do: tide pools at low tide · swim/snorkel the palm cove · the bluff trail between the two beaches
  • Eat: Kyle's Kitchen (Goleta) · Corazón Cocina (a Michelin Bib seafood-Mexican counter in Santa Barbara)
  • Camp: fire ring + table every site, showers, camp store. First-come Loop A is your best shot on a Thursday arrival.

Nights 2–3 — Big Sur, the cliffs

Bixby Creek Bridge on Big Sur's Highway 1

Highway 1 on the edge of the world. Camp at Kirk Creek, a grassy ocean bluff where every site looks straight out over the Pacific and the waves roar below all night. By day: Bixby Bridge, redwoods and swimming holes along the Big Sur River, and the purple sand and sea-arch at Pfeiffer Beach.

McWay Falls tumbling onto the beach, Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park

  • Do: Sand Dollar Beach & Jade Cove · Pfeiffer Falls hike · the McWay Falls pullout (the overlook trail is closed for repair into 2026 — still visible from the road)
  • Eat: Nepenthe, for a cliff-top lunch you don't forget · stock the cooler in Cambria first — services are sparse up north
  • Camp: Kirk Creek bluff (no water — bring your own) · or Plaskett Creek in the pines across from the beach · or Pfeiffer Big Sur in the redwoods, if you want hot showers
  • Comfort swap for Molly: the redwood sites at Pfeiffer come with real bathrooms and hot showers.

Night 3 (alt) — Morro Bay & Montaña de Oro

Morro Rock rising over the harbor at Morro Bay

A great rock rising from the sea. Sea otters cracking clams in a glassy estuary, and just south, Montaña de Oro's mustard-gold bluffs dropping into churning coves. The more-available “wow” if Big Sur's booked out.

  • Do: the Bluff Trail & Corallina Cove tide pools · kayak the estuary (otters nearly guaranteed — go early) · Morro Rock at the water's edge
  • Eat: Giovanni's Fish Market — clam chowder in a bread bowl, on the Embarcadero
  • Camp: Morro Bay SP (developed, showers) or wild little Islay Creek in the canyon

Final night — the golden hills & a lake

Lake Cachuma in the Santa Barbara backcountry

Turn inland over the pass into the oak-studded Santa Ynez hills and a still blue lake — cicadas, warm evening air, wine country over the ridge. A quiet last night by the water before home.

  • Lake Cachuma (Option A) — big, easy, reliable; boating and fishing and its own pool (no lake swimming — it's a drinking-water reservoir). Cold Spring Tavern nearby for tri-tip and live music.
  • Lake Nacimiento (Option B) — the “Dragon Lake,” warm water you can swim in, hidden coves, Paso Robles wine country 30 minutes off.

Watch before you go

Real videos, jumped to the good bits:

Before we roll — the practical bit

  • Book Lake Cachuma now — it's the reliable, cheap anchor (~$35) and works for either loop. Everything else this coast books ~6 months out; for the marquee Big Sur sites we ride first-come walk-ups + cancellation alerts.
  • Fire: wood fires only in the site's ring — never on open sand. Grab a free California Campfire Permit (readyforwildfire.org) and pack the propane stove/BBQ, which stays legal even under a burn ban. It's fire season — re-check red-flag status 2 days out.
  • Road: check Caltrans QuickMap the morning of the Big Sur leg — Hwy 1 is open but weather-sensitive, with a few one-way signal controls up north.

Full booking phone numbers, prices, trail closures and the complete stop-by-stop live in the trip record.

Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons): Pacific Coast Highway — Pom' (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Kirk Creek — U.S. Forest Service (public domain) · Refugio Beach — ars5017 (CC BY 2.0) · Bixby Bridge & McWay Falls — King of Hearts (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Morro Rock — Sarah Stierch (CC BY 4.0) · Lake Cachuma — Tony Hisgett (CC BY 2.0).