Camping in Big Sur
One of my (Kim) favorite aspects of our adventures is the spontaneity of them and how a very well thought out plan can be turned on its head in a moment. We had planned on spending the weekend after Christmas in Joshua Tree. Because it is so convenient and close to us, we tend to choose it over everything else for our quick overnight weekend trips when we just have that itch to camp and get away from it all. We haven't spent multiple nights out there, so this was the plan - a few nights in our favorite park for some extra hiking time. Checking the forecast on Christmas night, while heading home from the holiday with family, we decided we didn't want to be freezing cold on this trip. One thing led to another and we decided to head north along the coast to Big Sur!
Of course, Big Sur campgrounds are almost all by reservation. And you can't reserve them the night before. We adjusted our packed gear for the possibility of not finding an available campsite and having to hike to a walk-in campsite.
The first campground we checked out was Plaskett Creek Campground. We drove through it and it was very crowded on the east side of the road with some nice tree coverage. Hoping for a quieter, not so crowded, weekend of camping, we continued on to Kirk Creek Campground. This had been our first choice of campgrounds, so we held out hope for an empty site. The benefit of this campground is that it is on the west side of Highway 1, so you don't have the highway between you and the ocean.
There are few trees at Kirk Creek, so its not as private as Plaskett could be, but the sites are pretty well spaced out. We totally lucked out and were able to get a site for our first night. This was site 24. Tucked on the bottom corner, easy access to the bathroom, and an amazing view of the ocean! Only negative of this site I would say is that the trash cans and recycle bins are right on the edge of your space - but maybe you can call that convenient. We had a few critters attempting to get into the cans, as well as our tub of firewood, but we slept right through the slight ruckus they appeared to have caused.
Our second day in Big Sur began with some delicious breakfast burritos cooked over a small campfire.
We had hoped to stay put for one more night, but after chatting with the camp host, we learned our site was reserved. The host pointed us to a couple of options around the loop, and we went to find the best option. Conveniently, one site that was open for this night was site 20. We got even closer to the ocean!
Little did we know, a rainstorm was moving in right from the ocean. Things got super windy towards evening, and we gave up fairly early and just got in our tent. Going to sleep a tad early paid off, as we were under a fair amount of rain for most of the early morning hours. Bravo to our Marmot Limelight for keeping us dry!
Some Quick Tips:
There is poison oak everywhere. Look it up, learn to identify it, and then avoid it while you are there!
We recommend not leaving any food out, as you can bet the friendly resident raccoons will enjoy it while you are not nearby.
There is trail access to a rocky beach below. Again, avoid the poison oak! It's well worth the trek down. The beach here is gorgeous.
