Seacliff State Beach, Aptos, CA

[B_and_D]

Reserveamerica.com will now let you reserve some of the formerly "first-come first-served" overflow spots, with reservation dates starting July 15th. Not everyone knows about it, so there is a lot of availabilty right now. No hookups, but it's right on the beach, and it is so nice down there. The weather has been fabulous. We stayed there for 3 days last weekend and had a wonderful time (in the hookup area) watching the dolphins, sea lions and pelicans, fishing on the pier, and visiting with friends who dropped by. I made two reservations for the later in the year this morning. Not cheap at $35 a night, but it's right on the beach in Aptos.

[B_and_D]

We came home today from 2 nights in the overflow area at Seacliff. It was the first time we've stayed in the overflow. It was nice except for a lot of the reservable sites (I think #'s B7 through B12 or B13, we were in B9) are under a couple of huge eucalyptus trees, and if it's foggy at night (which it usually is, during the late spring, summer and early fall), you get these huge drops of water on top of your trailer from condensation on the trees. We woke up about 3 am from the irregular, loud sounds of huge drops of water (plus eucalyptus nuts crashing down on the roof randomly) and had a hard time going back to sleep. I put some earplugs in and that helped, but I would avoid staying in those sites again in the future. Plus, it made a mess out of the TM and the truck (dark stains, we had just washed the truck :( ). We're kind of spoiled in CA because during the summer (in most of the state) you don't get any rain. I enjoy the sound of a light rain on the TM roof, but this was hard to deal with. The people next to us (in a big 5th wheel) said that it woke them up too.

[B_and_D]

Seacliff used to be $44 or $45 for the hookup sites, now they're $65 according to Reserve America. Wow. That's like a 44% increase.

Here is a list of the new camping fees for the CA state parks: http://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/737/files/august%2017%20web_camping.pdf

Ouch.

Reserveamerica is still showing the non-hookup sites at $35, but the sheet shows them at $55, so I don't know what's going on. This morning I could have sworn that the hookup sites were going for $70. I like staying down there, but that's getting pretty pricey.

[PopBeavers]

The campground we will be going to this weekend is more than doubling their rates next year. It will increase from 5 to 12. No hookups. Pit toilets. Water is a spring at the entrance. Take your garbage home with you. Works for me.

[B_and_D]

We'll have to find some of those places. Maybe you can share your favorites at the TM rally in October.

The one nice thing about going to Seacliff is that it only takes about $4 in gas to get there and back....

[B_and_D]

but haven't been able to get reservations, for some weird reason the very end site, #26, has a lot of availability for the next few months, even some weekends. This is our favorite site, it's right on the beach, with full hookups, at the end of the campground next to the 5 million dollar + beach houses. I just booked a weekend for us last night.

They will be gone soon, so if you want them, book them asap.

Happy camping!

D

PS if you book during the winter months sometimes they kick you out when the tide & storm swell gets high, but you can stay in the upper parking lot w/o hookups.