Sweet and Salty

Camp on the Sonoma Coast at Salt Point State Park

11.03.2021
woman on rocks at Salt Point State Park Sonoma Coast

One of the most beautiful and cozy spots for coastal camping is on the Sonoma Coast at Salt Point State Park. Located on Highway 1 about 18 miles north of Jenner, Salt Point is wild and scenic. Inland is home to acres of grasslands and forests of bishop pines, mixed evergreens, and second-growth redwoods. On the coastal side, it’s rocky and rollicking. The thundering surf, especially in fall and winter, pounds against the rocks and sea stacks, making for some splash-tastic bluffside hiking. Reserve a campsite at Gerstle Cove, where 30 spots sit nicely spread apart in a forest area atop the coastal bluffs (Woodside Campground is on the east side of Highway 1 and has 79 sites, just note that it’s closed from November until the spring.)

woman camping at Salt Point State Park on Sonoma Coast

Instead of car camping you could call it car glamping for the overall quiet setting, sites with sturdy picnic tables and fire pits (call ahead to check about fire bans, see italics below), plentiful water spigots, and, yes, bathrooms kept in respectable shape (important)!

woman hiking at Salt Point State Park Sonoma Coast

waves crashing at Salt Point State park

woman hiking at Salt Point State Park Sonoma Coast

Sunsets here aren’t to be missed on clear days: walk the short half-mile trail that leaves from the lower parking area at Salt Point State Park. The hour before sunset is a bird bonanza of pelicans, cormorants, and gulls, gliding and diving and creating beautiful aerial formations not even the Blue Angels can compete with. (Gray whales migrate south from November through January, and then return again from February to April. So if you go during this season, keep an eye out for distant spouts!)

shell at Salt Point State Park Sonoma Coast

woman hiking at Salt Point State Park Sonoma Coast

During the day, hike the Salt Point Trail, a mostly flat trail hugging the coast for 1.5 miles from Salt Point’s lower parking area to Stump Beach. (You can also reach the trailhead from the campground, which adds about half a mile one-way.) Bring a picnic and blanket and enjoy the quiet of this classic Northern California pocket beach. Salty and sweet indeed!

Call ahead to find out if campfires are allowed (707-847-3221); don’t rely on website info, which isn’t updated regularly. The campground is dog-friendly, however surrounding hiking trails are not.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View

  3. Hike the Rainbow

    Catch all the colors of a rainbow at Calero County Park on this 10-mile hike currently showcasing the season’s best blooms.

    View
  4. Hike Purisima Creek Open Space Preserve

    Purisima Charisma

    Hundred-foot redwoods, a shaded canyon, and views overlooking Half Moon Bay. This 10-mile loop hike in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve is a roller-coaster of uphill and downhill along with easygoing stretches through some of the Bay Area’s most beautiful landscape.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. People on a guided horseback tour with Central Coast Trailrides at Santa Margarita Ranch near Paso Robles

    Saddle Up with Central Coast Trailrides

    Untouched and sweeping, the mountainous scenery and deep valleys of Santa Margarita near Paso Robles are just begging to be explored. So saddle up for a scenic adventure with Central Coast Trailrides (CCT) at the 14,000-acre Santa Margarita Ranch.

    View
  2. A woman on a hiking trail with huge open space and yellow flowers around her at Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks

    Going Wildwood

    Consider this your invitation to get a little untamed. In just one walk through Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, you can chase the sound of a cascading waterfall, duck into a shadowy cave, and soak in big hillside vistas. The mostly flat 4.25-mile loop makes wild feel wonderfully accessible.

    View
  3. Two people fly fishing on the Truckee River with guides from Reno Fly Shop

    Zen and the Art of Fly Fishing

    Learning to fly fish is one of the most fun and beautiful ways to connect with nature, family, friends, and yourself. It’s also a great way to truly experience the magic of a place. Make that place Reno Tahoe, where a fly fishing adventure with Reno Fly Shop is like being planted in a plein air painting of dreamy outdoors.

    View
  4. A woman on the overlook deck overlooking the Truckee River at Oxbow Nature Study Area in Reno

    This Way to Oxbow and Dickerson Road

    Just west of downtown Reno—tucked right alongside the Truckee River—is a nature haven for wildlife spotting and waterside relaxing. The 22-acre Oxbow Nature Study Area is ideal for those seeking solitude and a short hike. Afterwards, explore the creative hub of Dickerson Road.

    View