We wanted to spend a few days in Santa Barbara which is not an easy thing to do with just an RV and no tow car but the city is so pretty, the spring weather is excellent, and there are plenty of things to do. We decided it was worth the extra work and money.
The first obstacle are the city parking regulations which rule out parking on the city streets for most vans and RVs. There are five lots in the city that allow oversized vehicles. Each of the lots has five spaces marked with yellow lines where RVs are permitted to be parked. These spaces are also used by the Safe Parking program so they may be filled. We parked in the Garden Street Lot and two of the spaces were being used for Safe Parking. Fortunately May is not busy tourist season and the other spaces were open. Parking 34.41453, -119.68771
The next obstacle is the price for parking. We're used to free parking or paying just a few dollars so $40 for the day is high.
The third obstacle is the lack of places to camp. The city has a choice of a crowded RV park next to the freeway or the RV park at the fairgrounds which is basically a parking lot with hookups. We decided the trip up the mountain to the national forest campgrounds was a better choice. This is a 20 mile trip along good but curvy, steep, and heavily traveled roads.
There are four campgrounds along Paradise Road. We tried the first, Fremont, and found it too hilly with small, unlevel sites. We ended up at the next one, Paradise, which is flat with large oak trees. Campgrounds like everything else in southern California are expensive - $40 for a site without hookups. None of the sites are accessible but most are usable.
Campground 34.54243, -119.81132 We enjoyed visiting Santa Barbara and wouldn't hesitate to visit again even with the high prices and complicated planning that is necessary. More Santa Barbara posts coming up!
No comments:
Post a Comment