Gage,
I'm not the one who proposed a SLO Gathering. I live in SLO, like the idea of having a local teardrop and DO gathering, and am doing what I can to help it come about. I came to Cal Poly SLO in '67 and stuck around. It's a beautiful part of California to call home.
Please share your preferred location for a SLO Gathering.
There seems to be a strong interest in having the gathering at Morro Bay State Park. I went by today to check it out including the group camp sites. Took some pictures of MBSP that need resizing before they can be posted.
1) Morro Bay State Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=594 $20-25/day. The camp ground at Morro Bay State Park was rebuilt recently. It's more RV oriented now with fewer tent campers. New bathrooms and showers are one nice new amenity. The park is just outside Morro Bay city limits close to the golf course, harbor, restaurants, shopping, etc. Two side by side group camp spots several hundred feet from the main campground...cost not known. Park brochure and map:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/594/files/MorroBaybrochureFINAL.pdf
More choices:
2) Morro Strand State Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=593
$20-25/day. A campground on the beach in north Morro Bay. It's not tree shaded and could be windy. A popular unofficial dog beach is just a little north between Morro Bay and Cayucos. Map:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/lat_long_map/default.asp?lvl_id=232
3) Morro Dunes.
http://www.morrodunes.com/
$23.10/day for partial hookups with elec. and water. Full hookups are more. A private RV oriented campground in the City of Morro Bay on the beach near Morro rock. It looks well maintained.
4) Montana de Oro State Park.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=592 $11-15/day. A large, uncrowded, beautiful, unspoiled, ocean front, park several miles south of Los Osos. The campground is above a sheltered beach and cove. It's a primitive campground. There are also two group campgrounds most often used by people with horses...cost $25-30/day. I haven't looked at what they have to offer. They're primitive campgrounds, so maybe pit toilets and no showers. Over a mile long ocean front bluff top walking trail and many hiking trails. What the California coast looked like prior to development. Map:
http://www.parks.ca.gov/lat_long_map/default.asp?lvl_id=231
5) El Chorro Regional Park.
http://www.slocountyparks.com/activities/el_chorro.htm $18-26/day. A county campground on Hwy. 1 midway between the City of SLO and Morro Bay. It's about 5 miles either way into town. There's little shade. Probably no showers...I'll check that out if there's interest in this location. There are good group picnic spots with tables below the campground. It's next to a golf course, a fenced dog park, and a botanical garden. Cuesta Jr. College is across Hwy. 1.
6) Avila Beach.
http://www.portsanluis.com/ $20/night with no hookups. A Teardrop Beach Party!? You can camp on Avila Road above Port San Luis beach. It's a dog friendly beach...I think. There's no group campground. Camping spots are first come first served. The beach has several fire rings DOer's could use. Free cold water showers are available in Avila Beach. Friday fisherman's and farmer's market in Avila. Sunday art shows. The best beach weather in the area...seldom foggy. Camping areas map:
http://www.portsanluis.com/services/camping.pdf Aerial photo:
http://www.portsanluis.com/pics/over1.htm
We're rich with camping spots on the California Central Coast. I could have suggested more, myself. If you have a favored location you like other than the ones above please share where, why, and when.
All the camping prices were obtained from websites and should be verified. They do not include reservation fees, if any.