En-Route Camping

[nrody]

En-route Camping
i just discovered a new (to me) category of California state parks called ''en-route campsites''. it looks like you park in a regular car parking (day use parking) lot most of the time. you park in the evening, leave by 9 am the next morning. most of the parking is $6-8 nightly. there is supposed to be a $1 discount for seniors over 62.
I googled "en-route campgrounds in california"
I plan to try this on our way up to the IRG. Wish me luck

http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21687

http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/737/files ... %20use.pdf

[Midget]

I saw that too when I was planning our trip to IRG. Was planning to break up the drive to IRG but now plan to go straight through on Wednesday. Probably better than camping out at Wal Mart.

[S. Heisley]

Because overnight use of day-camp CA state parks is little known, you might be lonely when you stay there...dunno....
But, yes, that has been available for many years and is a nice-to-know feature. You aren't supposed to put out chairs or awnings or anything like that overnight. It's just for a quick break/night's sleep.

It'll probably be a lot quieter than a Walmart.

Reminder: If you can avoid Hwy 299, do! There's a lot of construction going on that road. The added wait can be more than 2 hours.
From S. Calif.: If you're coming from the south, it would be better to drive over to 101 and take that up.
From the North: If you're coming down from above California on I-5, it might be better to cut over onto US 199 at Grants Pass, Oregon. That'll take your into Crescent City, where it joins up to 101.

[cdfnchico]

Has anyone tried this with a tear? When I clicked through the link made reference to "self-contained" vehicles only. Some places to not consider us to be self-contained so was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this.

[quote="S. Heisley"

Reminder: If you can avoid Hwy 299, do! There's a lot of construction going on that road. The added wait can be more than 2 hours.
From S. Calif.: If you're coming from the south, it would be better to drive over to 101 and take that up.
From the North: If you're coming down from above California on I-5, it might be better to cut over onto US 199 at Grants Pass, Oregon. That'll take your into Crescent City, where it joins up to 101.[/quote]

Sooo...which way are YOU going?

[S. Heisley]

I'm not certain which comment you are referring to; so, I'll address both:

I think that what they (state parks) are referring to when they say "self-contained" is that there may not be any water or bathroom facilities available at night at the day-use parks. Note that you are not allowed to put up tents or awnings for your overnight stay at them, which means that you could not put up your potty/shower/changing room tent. Bring a jar, just in case, and practice putting your pants on while in bed.

As to the wait times on Route 299, I took it from Redding to just above Willow Creek (about 2/3's the way). I had to go slow through several of the areas and had 3 wait-for-Caltrans-escort stops of about 20 minutes each. I didn't check the time when I turned off to go the 37 miles up Hwy 96 to the Bigfoot gathering but the entire trip to the campground took 4 hours. There are 15 different construction sites for the route from Redding to Eureka and I went through 11 of them, getting to Willow Creek. How long it takes to get from Redding at the I-5 interchange to the US 101 interchange will vary, depending on what Caltrans is working on at the time. The maximum delay is said to be 2 hours 20 minutes, over-all. The "probable" delay is 1 hour 30 minutes.

I hope the above helps clarify everything.

[nrody]

While on previous road trips, sometimes I tend to drive too late to find a safe and accessible overnight stop, not necessarily a camping spot, just somewhere to tuck into the teardrop for the night and hit the road again in the morning. If I knew about the en-route camping previously it would have been a blessing many times. We plan on stooping to see the Winchester Mystery House on our way north from LA to the IRG, and most of the campgrounds towards the coast are booked solid for this weekend. I found some open campgrounds inland and within 50 or so miles from San Jose that had space but I chose not to make reservations and try the en-route option because we just need to overnight on our way to the IRG. Hope it works

[nrody]

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[S. Heisley]

Nancy,

Joseph D Grant County Park is about 12 miles from the San Jose Alum Rock Ave exit off the I-680.

http://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkf ... Grant.aspx

While reservations are required, that's kind of an advantage because I could check for availability. For July 1, 2, & 3, there are sites available:

http://gooutsideandplay.org/Index.asp?a ... ype_idno=0

There are a couple caveats, though. If I'm not mistaken, tent sites are $24 a night, probably okay for our style of camping but maybe more than some want to pay. The road narrows on last 4 miles and is not recommended for big RV's....probably a piece of cake for your teardrop, though. And, the big one for you is that you have to be there by sunset (The gate locks then.); so, with driving about 360 miles in one day, that may not work for you. Still, others may be interested.

The advantages? Close to downtown San Jose; a safe place to camp; and....Free Hot Showers!

I couldn't find any CA State day parks in the nearby area. Once you start getting close to San Francisco and the ocean, parks of all types become harder to find. Campsite vacancies are even more difficult to find. Benicia State Park, just off I-680, has 3 en-route spots but they are first-come, first-served. So, arriving late may mean last-come, no-served.

[nrody]

Thank you for the links. That is one of the campgrounds I was looking at. If we choose that one we will secure a spot or wait until morning before we go into San Jose to the Winchester Mystery house.

[deleted]

Nancy there is also a Camping World in San Martine off HWY 101 that I believe allows free overnight parking. It's before San Jose but on the way if you're taking 101.

If you're spending an entire day in the Bay Area Saratoga Springs Campground and RV park is gorgeous and conveniently located to visit The Mountain Winery (formerly Paul Masson), Villa Montalvo, and Hakone Gardens. They're all on the same road as Saratoga Springs which in good traffic is around 20 minutes from the Winchester Mystery House.