We embarked on this coastal journey with little or no research so we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. We’ve been doing this vanlife gig for quite a while and somehow have never explored the stretch of coast from Seaside, Oregon, to San Fransisco, California. We knew a few things before we embarked. One, being that we don't pay for overpriced state park campsites and two, that September/October usually delivers lots of seldom seen sunshine on this stretch of what some call the Rain Coast. If you are lucky enough to come across this post, you will not only learn where to camp for free all along this stretch but also, some hidden gems along the way. The journey began in the hipster capital of the world Portland, Oregon where we’re stocked up on organic veggies and grass fed meats. Once we overloaded the trucker fridge, we filled up with the last of the cheap diesel and hit the road.
We like to make it easy for you. So, here is a nice itinerary for those of you who like to plan their trips. We broke it into day spots and camping spots. The coordinates below are for the sleeping areas only. They are where we parked overnight.
Also check out the shorter version of this article here : 15 Free Campsites along the Oregon and Cali Coast
Short Sands Beach and Oswald West State Park (45.744721,-123.960908)
The first day brought us to one of our favorite gems on the north coast Short Sands Beach aka Smugglers Cove. This was a go to surf spot for us back in our Seattle days, and if you surf you could find yourself sliding across a green wedge where the pine trees meet the sand. This is also a great beach for a picnic or a day of exploring and relaxing. There are plenty of easy trails all throughout Oswald West S.P. and it is a great place to either begin or end your coastal journey. Once you have had your fair share of sun, sand, wind and rain, which can all happen in one day around here, head to the Neahkahnie Viewpoint for your first night right off the highway. Also, get used to these highway stop-over camping spots in Oregon, unless you want to fork over $35 to the State Parks. There are no toilets here but have no fear there are plenty of options for your #2’s in Manzanita just a few minutes down the hill.
Pacific City/Brain Booth State Park (44.520991,-124.069295)
Once you begin your journey south from here there are heaps of options on our two favorite camping apps iOverlander and WikiCamps. We recommend heading along the coast and cruise through the surf town of Pacific City. If the tide is working in your favor you can park your rig right on the beach and enjoy lunch on the sand and explore the Cape Kiawanda Headlands. If the swell is looking good have a surf or head to the Pelican Brewery and have a craft brew on the deck. From here you have plenty of options as you head south there are plenty of roadside vista points and cozy beach towns. We decided to head down a bit to Brian Booth State Park. Although this is a day use area you will have to use your best judgement on whether or not you wish to stay here. We camped on the east side of the park near the river access and had no trouble there are pit toilets here as well so that makes life easy in the morning.
Cruising the 101’s vista points / Whiskey Run Bike Trails (43.218854,-124.342054)
Waking up earlier is always a good idea when you are poaching the day use areas. We got on the road and headed down the 101 stoping at as many scenic overlooks as possible. Our first stop was Seal Rock. We spotted people collecting mussels so we grabbed a bag a knife and walked down to the tide pools. We grabbed around 20 mussels and headed down to the next day use area cooked them and headed on our way. There’s some fun stop overs along the way and a few day use spots where you could easily stealth camp. We were there in the low season and a lot of these areas seemed too remote and not very busy and seemed to have lower ranger activity so we felt they could be prime for a night. We checked out the sand dunes, and a few other beach areas. If you are into organic produce there is a Natural Grocers in Coos Bay and the fridge was restocked. We headed to the Whiskey Run Bike Trails up in the hills and per Oregon standards there was a no overnight parking sign but as usual we ignored it and stayed the night here. We rode the trails in the morning and had a blast if you have a mountain bike and want to ride some nice professional built flowy trails this is right off the 101 and you will be stoked you stoped.
Bandon Beach / Bandon Beach Streets (43.110550,-124.432711)
Just down the road is the majestic shores of Bandon Beach. Upon arrival you may think you have arrived to a beach on a far away land. the sun was shinning the weather was sweet so we decided to slow down the pace and explore the beach. We recommend taking a cruise along this beach and check out all the caves and rock formations. There is not a restroom at the main Bandon Beach parking area but just a bit down the way at Face Rock State Park there is a Restroom and a nice picnic table and beach access as well. We noticed while in Bandon that most of the homes are vacation rentals. So we thought no one would know that we are camping on their street. Since it seemed to be low season we just stealth parked the rig above the beach on a parking space with quite the overlook. In the morning we headed to Face Rock State Park to use the clean and nice bathrooms and headed out of town.
Samual H. Boardman / Indian Sands Trail (42.157399,-124.361562)
The Samual H. Boardman State Park is an incredible state park and a the most photographed area on the coast. We explored the area the whole day two short hikes that are wort checking out are Secret Beach and Indian Sands. We ended up staying in the Indian Sands Day Use parking lot and once again had zero issues.
Brookings / Smith River Camping (42.157399,-124.361562)
We headed into Brookings after seeing there was a farmers market on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Unfortunately this market was nothing to write home about so we headed to town to the local Grocery Outlet and Fred Meyer. We recommend gassing up at the Indian Casino south of Brookings before you get raped by the California gas prices. We went to the Oregon welcome center and the nice folks recommended checking out the Smith River. We found a nice spot via iOverlander right on the Smith River with access to a nice swimming hole. We made a fire met a Basque traveler @laidagoe who joined us for some kooky adventures.
Stout Grove / Lost Rocks (42.157399,-124.361562)
If you venture into the Smith River area we highly recommend checking out Stour Grove in Jedidiah Smith State Park. We drove the long way into Crescent City on the 8 mile dirt road and it was well worth it. From Crescent City we continued on down the wooded coast to Lost Rocks where we would spend the next 2 nights. There are picnic tables and fire pits on the beach and we really enjoyed our stay. We also went climbing in the Promontory just about 1/4 mile up the beach. It was an amazing setting for a climb and to be able to wrap it up with a day on the beach was magical. We gained another traveler this night and headed south after two relaxing nights at the beach.
Moonstone Beach (42.157399,-124.361562)
We heard about Moonstone Beach from our friends who live in Arcata so we went to see what the hype was all about. Upon arrival we were pretty stoked with the scenery of the beach with the Little River meeting the surging tide. It was a great place for a swim as well as top rope climbing. We ended up staying here two nights as well right in the parking lot. Although people told us that we cant camp there we did and had no issues. Just clean up your mess and be a good neighbor,
Avenue of the Giants / Big Tree Grove (40.350409,-123.991959)
We headed into Mckenlyville as soon as one of our new favorite grocery stores opened Eureka Natural Foods we piled the cart full of the freshest greens and produce we’ve seen in a while and plenty of Organ Meats to keep the mitochondria thriving. From here we headed to the Avenue of the Giants and on to the Big Tree Grove where we would stay for the night. Here in this grove is where you will find the tallest trees in the world. The redwoods are powerful and we soaked up as much of there energy as we could store and headed on our way.
Garberville Farmers Market / Roadside pull over HWY 1 (39.694736,-123.798595)
After a morning of mindfulness and good conversations we headed down the 101 to only accidentally stumble upon a farmers market this was the Gaberville market we bought some clams and some more greens and headed to HWY 1. Once we made it to HWY 1 we were ready to prepare some food so we pulled over on one of the first pullovers we saw that was empty and we cooked some dinner (chicken hearts) and passed out. We woke up to beautiful sunny weather the next day and tried not to launch our van off the road as we cruised the rig south.
Glass Beach / Point Arena Lighthouse (38.943371,-123.732553)
We spot our good buddy Niel’s van and pulled over and started a new caravan soon Van Jesus was there as well and the band was back together! We cruised down to Glass Beach where we hoarded as much of the pebbly sea glass that we could fit in our vans. In the parking lot we checked iOverlander and found a nice spot down the road. We stoped at some pull offs before arriving at Point Arena Lighthouse. Here we would stay 3 nights and enjoy the iconic view of a historic lighthouse erecting out of plateau where the land meets the sea. There is plenty of opportunities for whale watching here and if you look off the rocks the seals will be living the good life laying out absorbing some vitamin D.
Sonoma Coast Road Side Pull Off (38.489223,-123.189684)
From here south it’s going to get tricky on finding free campsites. The camping here is harder to find and is more likely to be roadside pullouts but there are some nice ones. Just North of Jenner we found an amazing hill side pull out where we spent a afternoon and night watching the wales migrate while the sunset did it’s thinning the Next day we headed down to Goat Rock Beach,
Goat Rock Beach / Jenner Roadside Camping (38.452503,-123.128298)
After a peaceful and amazing night overlooking the ocean high up on the bluffs we headed down to the small town of Jenner about 5 miles. We spent the day at the Goat Rock Beach Parking lot enjoying the sunshine and amenities at the beach. We did some yoga and then headed up to the upper parking lot for the night. Here we were asked to leave by the police around 8pm and we found a last second campsite just right outside of the town of Jenner on the side of the road. Not an ideal spot but we had no issues here.
Goat Rock Climbing / Palomarin Trailhead (37.930389,-122.742040)
We were able to find some fun and mellow rock climbing and bouldering at Goat Rock State Beach. While all these climbs are short we had a good time enjoying the views and sunshine wile we climbed around the small rocks here at the Park. Once we were done climbing we made the treck one of our longest rides of the trip down to the small quant beach town of Bolinas. Here you will find one of the most amazing organic farm stands on the coast. The Bolinas Farm Stand is an honor system produce stand with all the produce you could imagine. We stocked up on all kinds of organic treats and headed to the Palomarin Trailhead. This is not by any means a free campsite and you have to be a seasoned van lifer to pull this one off without getting in trouble with the authorities. Park Rangers came by about 3 times per day but no one patrolled the area at night. Just don't let them catch you in the morning they will give you a ticket. We just did the vanlife shuffle moving the van form one lot to the other to trick the park rangers. There are many trails here to enjoy. We enjoyed our bounty of organic food and stayed two nights here practicing Yoga and meditation while we enjoyed the silence that the Palomarin Nature had to offer us.
Stinson Beach / Roadside Pull off Hwy 1 Near Muir Beach (37.870438,-122.590238)
After two peaceful days at Palomarin we headed down to Stinson Beach for the day. Then that night we just found another road side pull over just a few minutes from Muir Beach which would be out destination the next day.
Muir Beach / Sausalito Parking Lot #3 (37.857649,-122.480807)
We woke up early and got to Muir Beach very early right after sunrise. This was a good thing because the parking lot packed out at about 9am. We got a premier spot right at the front of the beach. We enjoy the whole day we cooked gourmet food left over from the Bolinas Farm Stand and enjoyed an amazing sunset. From here we moved on to meet our good friend Phil aka @Sprinter_on_the_move. He showed us a promising spot to camp for the night. Not the most legal but we got away with it for the night. From here we headed back up to Auburn to the shop to finish our Sprinter Van project.
This was an amazing trip and the weather was great for us we only had 2 days of rainy weather and the rest of the trip was full of sunshine and tranquility. This is just an outline of our itinerary all in all I think it was an over three week trip and we linked up with multiple different vanlife friends along the way. It was a an amazing experience that we were glad to finally check off the bucket list. We hope this helps make your coastal trip easier as we found it very difficult to fins free campsites along this stretch. To keep places like these free and un paroled please clean up your mess and be a good neighbor.
The one bit of advice we can give you in most of these “campsites” since they are all day use only is to get up early and act as if you arrived in the morning then the authorities can’t really do anything unless they catch you in the act of sleeping at night. We only had the one issue at Goat Rock which we expected but we were feeling brave that night.
Happy Travels!
