Pismo Beach Oceano Campground

We were a little concerned about staying at the Oceano Campground because of it's proximity to the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area.  It's the only California state park where driving on the beach and the dunes is permitted. We were excepting a noisy stay but lucky for us the area was temporarily closed. 

Oceano Dunes has two loops. The sites in the hook up loop are lined up side by side. Short parking pads branch off the road in the other loop. The sites in both loops are close together with no vegetation for privacy. Both loops have restrooms, pay operated hot-showers, picnic tables and camp fire rings.

All the sites have tables with extended tops and high fire rings. The  accessible sites have wide parking pads and gravel around the fire ring.

A ramp near the accessible site provides access to the Guiton Trail.   Campground  35.11016, -120.62661

 

 

 

Oso Flaco Lake Boardwalk

The trail starts as a closed-off, paved road, shaded by arroyo willows and wax myrtles, then becomes a wooden boardwalk for a short distance before transitioning to a plastic boardwalk as it travels over the lake and across the dunes. A few interpretive signs and benches are located along the boardwalk. After about a mile the boardwalk ends at an overlook of the beach and ocean. Able bodied visitors can walk over the dunes to the beach. 

The plastic section of the boardwalk hasn't stood up to the summer heat and is warped and wavy in places. Wheelchair users may need assistance. 

 

The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. There are vault toilets and picnic tables under shade shelters.  Boardwalk  35.02909, -120.61718

 

Lompoc Murals Parking

The first mural in Lompoc was painted in 1990 on the side of the Odd Fellows Building. It was the beginning of a successful campaign to revitalize the historic old section of town and promote tourism. There are now about thirty large murals and dozens of smaller ones.

 

The murals are painted by professional artists and the detail work is outstanding.  

 

We parked in a city lot on Cypress Ave and I Street. The lot is large enough for any vehicle. Most of the murals are within a few blocks of the lot and the sidewalks and curb cuts are in good condition. Murals   34.63765, -120.45883

Refugio State Beach

This is what the coastal campgrounds look like on the weekends in the spring. In the summer they look like this all the time! We were happy to get a site even though it was just for one night. The trailer in the site behind our RV was delivered to the campgrounds by 101 RV Rentals. There are five beach campgrounds that allow people to reserve a campsite then have the rental company deliver a trailer.

The group campsites were full too. 

 The main reason we wanted to visit this park was to walk/roll along the Aniso Trail that goes from Refugio Beach to El Capitan Beach about 5.5 miles out and back. The trail is not in very good condition. Just a short way in we came to this spot where the trail was sliding down the hill. We skirted around it like everyone else.

The trail was a little overgrown but the wildflowers were abundant.

 

Reports say the trail is washed out at the 2 mile mark. We turned at the beginning of a very steep downhill so we never came to the washed out spot but we must have been very close to it. 

 

Due to the steepness of the hills most wheelchair users will need assistance. Campground   34.46316, -120.07013  Trail

 

Gaviota State Park Campground

Gaviota is small with 39 campsites in one loop. The layout is unusual because the parking areas, except four of them, are shared. Cars or RVs are parked side by side with the picnic tables at the ends of the parking spaces. 

The park was fairly empty in the middle of the week but by Friday large family and friend groups had set up tents everywhere. The change was pretty dramatic. Two cars squeezed into the space beside us. We found this was the case at most of the coastal campgrounds. It's not very hard to get sites on the weekdays but weekends can be booked solid. 

 A small sandy beach is a short walk from the campground. There's also a pier that's been closed since 2014 due to storm damage.  California State Parks and the California Coastal Commission haven't been able to form a plan for a safe repair that also protects the environment. Another interesting sight, at the south end of the campground, is the 80 foot high, 811 foot long train trestle that spans the canyon cut by Gaviota Creek.

 

None of the sites are designated as accessible but most are usable.  Campground   34.47239, -120.2286