By:
Submission
One- to six-person sites: 12
Seven- to 25-person sites: 2
Coast Campground is nestled within a small coastal valley with easy access to the beach and tidepools. The beach is within 220 yards of the campground and tidepools are located ~720 yards to the southeast. One may access Coast Campground by foot, bicycle, or horse; not by boat, auto, or RV. The shortest approach on solid ground is via the 1.8-mile slightly uphill hike on the Laguna and Fire Lane Trails, starting at the Laguna Trailhead just east of the hostel. There are 12 regular sites and two group sites.
There are multiple routes to get to the Coast Campground. The shortest route would be from Limantour Beach, hiking approximately 1.5 miles on the sandy beach. Or one could start from the Laguna Trailhead, hiking 1.8 miles over a 400-foot high ridge. Or one can hike 2.8 miles along the flat Coast Trail. Or, if starting from the Bear Valley Trailhead, one could hike 6 miles, climbing over the ~1,300-foot high Inverness Ridge. Regardless, campers must hike, or ride a bike or horse to get to the campground.
Great walk in Campground, lot of space between sites, very well cared for by Rangers. Vault toilets are clean, beautiful beach access, saw Ospreys etc. Warning do not leave your site unattended with anything out day or night. The Racoons like to party hard at this campground. Highly recommend Coast Campground. Good first backpacking or bikepacking site. Park by the parking lot past the hostel, 3.5 miles in from there.
Perfect beginner's backpacking trip for families. Three flat miles in via Coast Trail and two miles out via Fire Lane/Laguna trails. Beautiful beach, potable water from two faucets, relatively clean pit toilets. I would recommend groups and campers with kids stay in sites 8-14. While they are less private, they are flat, close the water/bathrooms, and mostly on grass instead of dirt (which gets everywhere with kids).
This is a very cool place to camp. It's a short walk down to the ocean from the campground. It only takes about an hour to hike here directly from the parking lot. Fire restrictions are serious here. I needed a permit to have a fire and they were restricted to the beach (but of course there is almost no wood). There is a bear box/locker at each site. I was warned about the rodent problem and the lockers needing to be "plugged". I didn't have any issues with my food. Bathrooms were pretty gross but what do you expect for a "remote" campsite?
