We’re having a really hot summer here, and we decided to flee to the coast for a camping trip at Salt Point State Park. Coastal campgrounds fill up in the summer, and it’s not a slam-dunk to find anything at all, but Salt Point did have availability. This park doesn’t have hookups, showers, or a dump station, and that probably thins the herd.
Campgrounds at Salt Point
Online reviews recommended the upper campground, Woodside, over the lower one, Gerstle Cove. More than one person said that the campsites in Gerstle Cove were too exposed, and one person actually said that, “everyone can see what you’re doing.” We weren’t planning on doing anything interesting, but we booked a site at Woodside anyway. This campground doesn’t book specific sites; instead you’re asked to drive around and find a few that you like that are vacant. We found some we liked and were able to get our top choice, site 93. I highly recommend that site, since it has a large, reasonably level parking pad and a really nice table/sitting area in the back. When we tucked into that area, we were pretty much hidden from view.
Walk Along the Bluff, Complete With Tafoni
We had two full days in the park. The first day, we took the Huckleberry Trail to the North Trail and headed toward the ocean.
We did a nice walk along the bluff and admired the tafoni. This article on Wikipedia has some interesting information on tafoni.
The second day, we inspected Gerstle Cove Campground and then headed uphill on the North Trail. The park map showed a loop of the North Trail and Central trail that passed through a Pygmy Forest. We thought that sounded interesting, so we slogged up the very-steep North Trail, batting at mosquitos as we went.
