3 Day Sonoma Coast Camping Road Trip
It’s Summer of 2020, with pandemic lockdowns, road trips and camping were the best and safest ways to get outdoors. In California, especially along the Pacific Coast Highway, there are so many beautiful choices to camp any time of the year. We did not want to miss sleeping under the stars again this summer.
Deja vu! (we were there in 2018 too!) we were back at our favorite Salt Point State Park campground, situated about 100 miles north of San Francisco, along the beautiful Sonoma Coast. This place has it all. Coastal bluff hiking trails, tide pools, fascinating water-carved tafoni (sandstone formations), ocean-facing picnic tables, and plenty of open space (perfect for social-distancing in the pandemic).
There are two tent/RV campgrounds for over-night camping to choose from. Gerstle Cove Campground, on the ocean side on the bluff (can be windy and cold in summer evenings), and Woodside Campground located on the East side in a more wooded setting (less windy and slightly warmer).
Tip - On this 3 hour road trip, don't forget to make quick stops at beautiful coastal towns of Bodega Bay, Jenner and Timber Cove for some excellent roadside crabs and lobsters or just coffee. Remember, Check in time for campsite is 2PMTrip Highlights
Duration - 3 Days (2 nights)
Places - Salt Point State Park (near Jenner), Sonoma Coast, California
Best for - Overnight Tent Camping. Most campsites have 8 person max and 2 car occupancy.
Travel Pace - Easy
Season - Summer is best (May-June-July-Aug-Sep to early October).
Experiences - Tent Camping, Forest to Coast Hiking, Beach Picnic. Golden Hour Photo and Droning!
Trip Cost - $300/family of 4 for 2 nights. Includes campsite ($40/day) cost of gas, food, and drinks
Trip Route
Day 1 Drive from San Francisco to Sonoma Coast
Day 2 Camp @ Salt Point State Park, Sonoma
Day 3 Return to San Francisco
Itinerary
Day 1 San Francisco to Sonoma Coast (Salt Point SP)
Head to Sonoma Coast from San Francisco on US 101 North. Leave around mid-morning (10 or 11 AM), so you can enjoy the beautiful countryside and coastal towns of Bodega Bay and Jenner on the way. Perhaps stop for a quick coffee. Your campsite check-in is at 2 PM. So soak in nature, the famous bay area fog rolling over the bluffs. By 3 PM you will reach Salt Point SP. We camped this time at the pine-shaded Woodside Campground. Pitch your tents, settle in, go for stroll around the camp forest. By evening, gather around the fire pit, enjoy dinner, drinks, and marshmallows, gaze at the beautiful starry night sky before retiring into cozy sleeping bags.
Duration: 2.5 to 3 hours drive
Activity Level: Low (flat, highway, and coastal car drive)
Good To Know: 1. Firelogs from the camp host at check-in (open till 7 PM), 2. Campgrounds have clean toilets, water taps at each site, and food storage, 3. if you need any urgent groceries/sundries then head to Ocean Cove General Store, about 2-3 miles before the park entrance. Store closes by 5 PM
How to get there:
Drive for about 2.5 to 3 hours (100 miles with stops) on 101 North / CA-1(Pacific Coast Highway) from San Francisco to Salt Point State Park Entrance. You can also go all along CA-1, but that will take you 3+ hours.
Morning/Afternoon
Salt Point SP - Woodside Campground : Check-In
Arrive at Salt Point State Park. This campsite is on the East side of the CA-Highway 1. Check-in with the campground host get ready to pitch your tents and enjoy the forest grounds.
Eat lunch upon arrival - your pre-made sandwiches /wraps will go a long way!
Evening
BBQ + Drinks + Marshmallow Camp Dinner
By the time you pitch tents, stroll around the campgrounds, you need to start preparing the fire and to cook dinner. Trust me, when camping, one starts to feel hungry super early and at nightfall star gaze and fall asleep.
Note: there is no data or cell connection - so this can be a great off-the-grid setup for your family with teenagers!Day 2 Hiking + Beach Picnic + Sunset Coastal Hike
Start the morning with some fresh french press coffee and french toast (yes!). Today we have a couple of hours of hiking - forest to coast, picnic on the beach, soaking in tide pools, and “golden hour” hike along the beautiful coastal bluff trails.
Tip - Prepare brown bag lunch (chips + sandwiches) and lots of water before leaving the campsite. Duration: 4-6 hours
Activity Level: Moderate (walking/hiking on hills)
Good To Know: There is no food or water on forest or coastal trails.
How to get there: From Woodside Campground entrance take the forest trails to Gerstle Cove Reserve. About 1.5 miles (30min slow pace)
Morning and Afternoon
Gerstle Cove Hike
Take the marked trail from Woodside Campground to Gerstle Cove Reserve. It’s a nice forested easy downhill trail to the coast. Our group had two families with teenagers and a lovely dog, So frequently wandered away from the trail! Enjoy the mulberry bushes along the way.
Arrive at Gerstle Cove and hike down to the tide pools. Find a shaded spot on the rocks and eat your packed lunch (Yum!). Later, wander around and enjoy the extraordinary marine life before heading back to camp.
After lunch, hiked some more to get some great drone shots! (yes we also found a cell signal here!)
3 - 4 Hours
Evening
Golden Hour Coastal Hike
We decided to have an early dinner (5ish), as we had to head back to Gerstle Cove for our sunset coastal hike around 6 PM.
Take a quick 5 min drive back to Gerstle Cove area - our starting point for the Coastal Hike. This way you avoid having to hike back up in the dark!
This is a must-do hike just around sunset. It’s absolutely gorgeous and extraordinary. While the trails run a few miles, we chose to hike for 2 miles, stopping along the way to enjoy the “tafoni” (sandstone carved rocks)
Tip - Great place for golden hour photo ops and droning!2 Hours
Day 3 Salt Point SP to San Francisco (Return)
Today we drive back home to SF. Since Check out is 12noon, we decided to have a quick breakfast - scrambled eggs, salmon, coffee and then packed up our tents and gear and we ready to go by 11 AM.
The drive back was on a warm, sunny day. You could see tons of people on the beaches along the route. I guess it was also the last week before school re-opened, albeit online.
Tip - If you have time, stop at Jenner town for 1-2 hour kayaking on the Russian River.Duration: 2.5 hours
How to get there:
Take the same route back - drive for about 2.5 hours (100 miles) on 101 North / CA-1(Pacific Coast Highway) from Salt Point State Park Entrance to San Francisco. You can also go all along CA-1, but that will take you 3+ hours.
Before You Go
Food & Drinks - For the first day, take pre-packed sandwiches and dinner ready for grilling like burger patties, marinated chicken, veggie patties, etc.. in a cooler. For other days, canned food like chili and pasta is ideal.
Gear - Sleeping bags, Individual inflatable pillows, and mattresses, 3-4 Person Tent per family, Fleece Jacket, Hiking Shoes, Stove, Propane gas tanks, Ice cooler, trash bags, mosquito repellant, first aid kit, paper towels, phone charges, wireless speakers (yes music in evenings is soothing)
Online Reservation confirmation - take a picture as accessing email at the campsite is difficult - no signal!
Map It!
This map is day-by-day list of pins of experiences, campsite, hiking trails, places along the camping road trip route.
Download and use it for you trip. Have fun!
Recommended Additions
Here are some helpful alternatives to add /swap in this itinerary
Rent a Kayak in Jenner (Russian River)
Coastal Road Cycling (Bodega Bay to Jenner)
Timber Cove - Add a night in this beautiful upscale hotel situated on a cliff facing the Pacific Ocean.
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Plan Your Trip
Take this itinerary as is or if you like to make some tweaks you can consider swapping with the recommendation additions above. If you have questions on planning your trip or have feedback on this itinerary, leave us a comment below.
