Lost Lake Recreation Area

We spent five days at Lost Lake Campground while were waiting for Tioga Road to open so that we could go over the mountains to Mammoth Lakes, California. The campground is pretty with large trees and access to the San Joaquin River. The picnic area is a popular local spot, but the campground doesn't get busy even on the weekends, most likely because the campsites are not reservable. Anyone over 62 is eligible for a substantial discount. There isn't a fee box and the camp host works during the day. She pounded on our door at 6:00 in the morning so try to catch her when she comes home in the afternoon. One of the regulars told us that he puts his payment in an envelope and throws it in her yard which is fenced to keep the free roaming dog contained. It's all a bit strange but we enjoyed staying there. 

The campsites are roomy but there's little privacy because of the lack of vegetation. Most of the sites are usable for wheelchairs. The sites designated as accessible have large parking pads with concrete under the table, the fire ring and the water faucet. 

We spent a few hours every day exploring the park. The road through the picnic area makes a nice walking trail.

A sandy trail at the south end of the park makes a loop through boulders with grinding holes made by the Native Americans. The trail is not accessible due to the loose sand.

A paved trail at the north end of the park leads to the San Joaquin Fish Hatchery. The Salmon Conservation and Research Facility is not open to the public but trout hatchery building and the outdoor trout tanks are all open to the public. Fish food is supplied for visitors to feed the trout in the outdoor tanks.  

A short trail for kids with facts about trout and play equipment branches off the main trail. Native California plants line the trail near the hatchery. 

The trout hatchery building is accessible, but the tanks are too high to see into from a seated position. The outdoor tanks are easy to see into and feed the fish. The kid's trail is accessible.  Park   36.98276, -119.72553

Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument and Mansion

William Randolph Hearst, publishing tycoon,  was a hoarder but instead of hoarding miscellaneous trash and flea market finds, he hoarded European antiques and entire rooms from estates and castles. All of this was stored in two huge New York warehouses and several smaller ones. The largest warehouse, in the Bronx, was five stores and spanned five square blocks. 

Many of his treasures found a home in his sprawling mansion over looking the ocean on a hill above San Simeon, California. For over 20 years Hearst collaborated with Julia Morgan, the first female architect licensed in California and a pioneer in the use reinforced concrete as a building material, to create the 115-room mansion. 

Hearst fell deeply in debt during the 1930s due to overextending his credit to buy newspaper outlets, magazines, and radio stations and more antiques. His treasures had to go! Over 15,000 pieces were put on display on the fifth floor of Gimbles in New York - tapestries, silverware, Egyptian antiques, pottery, china, terra-cotta, Roman objects, guns, frescoes, swords, jewelry, rugs, flags, and more.

Fortunately most of the items sold were the extras stored in the warehouses and his mansion is still an example of the excesses that are possible with extreme wealth. Five tours were listed on the website when we visited but all of them except for the Accessibly Designed Grand Rooms Tour have hundreds of steps. The Accessibility Tour is almost the same as the Grand Rooms Tour but goes in a round about way that skips the stairs. It also skips the gardens. We did get to go through the kitchen which isn't part of the Grand Rooms Tour.

Shuttles take visitors from the parking lot up the hill to the mansion. The shuttles can accommodate two wheelchairs. Visitors who need to use a wheelchair must fill that information in on the form when reserving their tickets. Because of the limited wheelchair spaces, the tour groups may be small. Our tour only had two people besides us so we had an almost private tour. 

Both the bus drivers and our tour guide were very nice and accommodating. The road going up the hill is twisty but the tie downs kept my wheelchair secure. After departing the bus we boarded an electric cart to travel from one accessible entrance to another. The tour through the rooms of the mansion is accessible. 

The visitor center located at the parking lot has a small museum that doesn't require a ticket to visit. The museum is accessible. There's also a theater that shows “Hearst Castle – Building the Dream.”  A tour ticket is required to enter the theater. The accessible seats are in the top tier and the view is good.

The parking lot has long spaces for RVs.  Mansion  35.64891, -121.18458

 

Moonstone Beach Boardwalk

 This is a great boardwalk - two miles out and back with ocean views, lots of flowers, birds on the shore, and, maybe if you're lucky, whales and dolphins out in the sea. We didn't see any but we enjoyed everything else about the walk.

The boardwalk is in good condition with multiple accessible entrances from the parking lots and parking along the street. It has a few slight grades but is mostly level. The last section, south of the Santa Rosa Creek parking lot, is a little overgrown and the boardwalk is rougher. 

 

We parked in the lot at  Leffingwell Landing Park and walked/rolled over the bridge to get to the north end of the boardwalk. Leffingwell Landing lot is large enough for any vehicle. Long vehicles can also be parked along the street. Boardwalk  35.58187, -121.12015

 

 

Hearst San Simeon State Park Washburn Campground

San Simeon State Park has two campgrounds, Creek and Washburn. Creek Campground, with sites nestled in the trees and shrubbery, has restrooms and showers plus a dump station. Washburn Campground is located on a knoll and the sites are more open and sunny. The showers and dump station are shared by both campgrounds. 

We camped in site 266 in Washburn. We did not check out the accessible sites. Most of the other sites are narrow but usable.   Campground   35.59527, -121.11017

 

Morro Bay Maritime Museum

The small museum building houses exhibits on Morro Bay's commercial and sport fishing industries, the abalone diving industry, and a Native American tule boat replica. Several boats and other water craft on the grounds outside. A couple of the boats have steps to the boat decks so visitors can get a closer look.

                   The museum and grounds are accessible. The boat decks are not. 

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle.  Museum 35.37038, -120.85546