Hello All Just found this site whilst starting initial plans for a 2017 trip starting in California travelling up to Seattle and then back to Las Vegas through Yosemite etc. Our media here puts a lot of rubbish up about US "Trailer Parks" so I decided to go to a good source to get some advice and ideas. It will be my wife and myself in a small RV we want to pick up in Los Angeles and then travel up to Seattle via San Francisco and the Oregon Coast. We have about 3 weeks planned. Just looking for your advice and thoughts. Here is our setup in Australia And we like to do a bit of beach camping And bush Camping We are members of a similar site here in Australia related to a particular type of van the Jayco Expanda http://www.expandasdownunder.com/ Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
and here is a link to our Family travel page that gives an idea of some of the places we have been. https://www.facebook.com/The-5-Goodwins-1459948607666998/?ref=hl
Welcome to RVPR. If you love beach camping then check out Pismo Beach, California or the multitude of parks along the Oregon Coast. RVPR has plenty of reviews you can check out. No doubt other members will be posting many other tips as well. Happy travels.
I can't be of much help relative to west coast camping, but I can offer a big "Welcome to the group!" to you! I hope you have a great trip!
Welcome aboard Jason! Another east coast camper here so sorry can't offer much help. Like your rig from down under, I have a Jayco expandable or hybrid (see my profile) as it's called here in the US. My guess you probably wouldn't be impressed with the construction vs what's available in Australia. Have a safe trip on the west coast and Happy New Year! Mike
Hi Jason and welcome to the forum. Been to your wonderful city of Brisbane a few times in the past and enjoyed the beaches just to the south on the Gold Coast. Love your Inner Circle rum, your wonderful Barramundi,and of course that "lovely and scrumptious" Vegemite..... . When you get closer to your trip let me know either on this forum or by email (terryo@suddenlink.net) and I'll point out some RV parks and other places you might consider staying at along the west coast. Sounds like a great trip you have planned. Reminds of of when I rented a car in Melbourne and drove the coast all the way to Brisbane (on the wrong side of the road), stopping in Coff's Harbor for lunch. What a neat little town that is................. Safe travels, BankShot
Welcome! I'm an Oregonian and I can tell you from camping here for over 50 years that Oregon State Parks are wonderful. You can reserve campsites at the state parks 9 months in advance through Reserve America - and you'll need to have reservations on the weekends from June thru August. From south to north, here are some of our favorites (all of them state parks): Harris Beach, Cape Blanco, Sunset Bay, Bullards Beach, Honeyman (check out the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area) Beverly Beach, Nehalem Bay and Fort Stevens. Plan for breezy, chilly weather along the Oregon coast compared to even a couple miles inland. Three weeks isn't much time. If you want to follow the California coast on highway 1 and U.S. 101 in N.California & Oregon you'll be driving 1500 miles from LA to Seattle. For your trip south, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon and Lassen National Park in N.California could be good stopping points on the way to Yosemite. RV Park Reviews is a good source for campgrounds and RV Parks. Just ask if you'd like specific information on Oregon. I'll do my best to give you pointers.
Heading off this morning for a little 2 night bush camp with my 2 sons. Camp Lakefire in the scenic Rim here we come!
Seattle!! How much time are you giving yourself for Seattle? Do you have time to go North? There is an archipelago of islands called, "The San Juan Islands", they are breath-taking and visited by ferry. Washington State has a world renown ferry system. In fact you can take a ferry from Seattle or Whidbey Island or the town of Anacortes, Washington. Get on the web and kind of bounce around, you'll find a lot of info about these jewels in Puget Sound. The ferries run frequently because the people that live on these islands depend on them for subsistence. Many folks get off, get on the next one, get off again, and so on, working their way around.
Just curious, what site do you use to look up campgrounds/RV parks down under? Is there a site similar to this one you can count on?
Welcome aboard. I am very sure you will enjoy your trip. The West Coast is spectacular and your route is full of things to see and do. Three weeks will give you just a small taste though. My only suggestion is...would you consider making your trip in reverse. I'm from Canada and I've made the trip down the coast a number of times. I find accessing points of interest and pull offs a lot easier to get to heading south. The coast is on the right side and so is most of the scenery. Making left turns against the traffic flow on highway 101 when it's busy is not fun. The only draw back to this is that if you have to make up for lost time at the end of the trip, 101 can be a slow go where as the inland route can be made quick using Interstate Highways. The Pacific Coast can be very rugged in places but there are also some beautiful beaches and fine scenery. Lots to do and see. A couple of my favorites... Long Beach, Washington. http://www.experiencewa.com/cities/long-beach Oregon Dunes. http://www.duneguide.com/sand_dune_guide_oregon_winchester_bay.htm The Astoria Bridge. http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/astoria_megler_bridge.html Crescent City. http://www.visitsequoia.com/redwoods-and-sequoias.aspx A little farther south and then 101 moves inland pretty much to San Francisco. I think you will really like this city. If you have time, and like good wine, a day trip to Napa might be in order. Monterey Bay. http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/?gclid=CKve9PXrjcoCFcRlfgodk5sAgQ Big Sur area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur Morro Bay beach. http://www.morrobay.org/ From Morro Bay until Santa Barbara you are inland again and you are almost back to LA. I don't really have any favorite RV parks to mention. When we do this type of trip, we are pretty much in sight see mode. We travel starting early in the morning and then just find a spot to stay around 2:00 PM at the latest. Then we have the rest of the afternoon and evening to see the local sights and review the next day's options. Some days we can travel great distances other days maybe only a hundred miles. Enjoy your trip and don't hesitate to ask questions. Darrell
Sure one of the best is one that uses this exact format @Fitzjohnfan and is for Expanda owners but there are others like wikicamps and another good one is Caravan Park Photos the links are below mate; Expandas Down Under http://www.expandasdownunder.com/ and Caravan Park Photos https://www.caravanparkphotos.com.au/
