Kirk Creek Campground - Big Sur, CA

[alymorales]

Hello Fellow Airstreamers,

I am planning a camping trip to Kirk Creek Campground in Big Sur, CA. I'll be driving my 25 foot Airstream from San Francisco, CA to Big Sur, taking the 101 to Carmel then hopping on CA 1 HWY. I've driven to Pfieffer State Park before without any worries, but I've never driven further south on the CA 1. Can anyone provide details on the driving conditions? Does the HWY become more treacherous?

Thanks,
Lisa

[CDONA]

Hwy 1 around Big Sur isn't any worse than Hwy 1 in Marin county. The tight turns about the same and better pavement. I could drag my 40 footer thru there

[webspinner]

Lisa, I pulled our 25' Tradewind up Highway 1 from Morro Bay and stayed at Kirk Creek.

The road takes some care and if you're not used to hills could be a bit unnerving. Coming from San Francisco, you won't be able to see land out your passenger side windows, only ocean. It's a pretty steep drop down to the breakers. There are few guard rails. Drive it while well rested, don't go faster than you feel comfortable, pull over at the next turnout if you have 5 or more cars behind you (that's a California law) and you'll be fine.

Do you have a reservation at Kirk Creek? The sites on west side of the inside of the northern circle (14, 16, 18, 20) will *not* hold a 25' trailer. We stayed in site 24, which is long enough and quite level, but you have to cut the inside of the curve over grass and some brush to park it. I bent a stabilizer crank parking ours there last spring. Gorgeous spot, though. Pics in my blog.

Have a great trip.

[Ike T]

Realizing that you've driven it before ...

You'll want to exit Hwy 101 for CA Hwy 156 for the 4 or 5 mile trip over to Hwy 1 at Castroville or Hwy 68 for a bit longer trek over to Hwy 1. My favorite is Hwy 156 since you'll have more ocean views than Hwy 68. You'll be able to tow on good four-lane pavement from Castroville to Carmel along Hwy 1, at which point Hwy 1 reverts to two lanes.

The biggest challenges about Hwy 1 are the weather and the road conditions.

A beautifully clear day can become a white-out in just a few minutes with winds gusting on-shore at 30 knots or better. And it can change again just as quickly.

Each winter, usually at least one section of Hwy 1 between Carmel and Big Sur will slide down the hill. Caltrans will setup automated one-lane traffic operations, and those areas will be tight with no place to turn around. Sometimes, the road is blocked for several days while Caltrans does its magic. Then repairs can take months if not longer.

What I am saying is monitor the weather closely the day you plan to travel and monitor the road condition starting several weeks prior to your travel day.

It's a beautiful and rewarding trip. If you plan on staying a few days, explore the Los Padres National Forest by driving up and over an amazing climb right off Hwy 1. The road will take you to Fort Hunter Liggett through some amazing open range land. One of the California Missions is near the fort, too. The views of the Pacific on the return route are simply breathtaking.

Separately, there is turn-off on the north side of the Bixby Bridge that allows you to drive through some of the highlands, see the bridge from the inland side, transit through the El Sur Ranch cattle ranges, through some hidden redwoods stands, and returns you to Hwy 1 several miles south of the Bridge at Andrew Molera State Park. This is known as The Old Coast Road. Another amazing journey.

Enjoy your trip.