June 2nd – Well, we arrived on the coast!  It was a longer journey then we normally try to do traveling up highway 299.  Some windy roads,  steep grade hills…and we all know what goes up must come down.  The view of the river along the highway was amazing.  It wasn’t a hard journey, just long.  Remember we are towing a lot of weight and at 43 plus feet length, we did it.   Just take it slow.  We averaged about 40 mph along this road.  Would recommend you do it in the daytime for both safety reasons as well as you do not want to miss the view.  Took us about 5 1/2 hours.  Nice rest areas along the way but we bypassed them.

Corning to Redding is about 48 minutes
Redding to Elk Country RV park 3h 12 min
About 213.1 miles via I-5 and CA299 to Highway 101

If you are towing a big rig you want to fuel up in Redding off the I-5 before heading over.  There are two gas stations along the way but only one of them can handle a big rig.  We didn’t even attempt it.   We made it to the RV park with 1/8 tank of fuel.  I don’t like getting that low, but we were good.  We unhooked and drove back 14 miles or so the next day to get diesel in Trinidad at $4.12 per gallon (ouchie).

We were greeted by the heard of the local elk upon our arrival.  The elk will come up to your campsite.  They hang out around the area during the day and head up to the wooded areas at night.  This time of year they are having babies so you definitely want to give them their space.

This location is about 1/4 mile away from the ocean where you can walk the sandy beach or sit further up on the shore and sift rocks for agates.  The sounds of the waves and smell of the ocean was so amazing.  We timed it just right and were here during some cool minus-tides.  Spend many hours looking for agates on the beach and playing in the sand.

The campground was maintained but could be freshened up a bit.  The salt air definitely makes things deteriorate more quickly.  The office crew are rough around the edges.  I bet they are used to idiots coming in and out of this park to check out the elk as well as a lot of stupid questions.  I will have them laughing and smiling by the time we leave…still a great place to stay, and I don’t have to live with them.  Main attraction is the Elk and location not the park itself.

The park was not full when we arrived.  The spot we chose (542) is closer to the highway so that we could get better cell service and even that wasn’t great but is doable.   Not hard to get into the sites.  The sites have natural pads to park on…ie grass, packed dirt, pine needles (depending on where you choose).  30 amp hookups with water and sewer.  All meadow sites have a small table and metal fire ring…nothing fancy.  Definitely don’t choose a forest site if you need to get good cell coverage.  The forest sites were smaller but there are a few pull throughs we could have gotten into.  Also remember the forest side is very shaded and this isn’t the warmest climate so it will be a bit chilly compared to the meadow sites.  There is a beautiful pond back in the forest area but no swimming, fishing or boating is allowed.  This is the elks watering hole.  Great for a photo or two or a nice peaceful walk.

Yes, you can hear the highway 101 from our spot but it wasn’t annoying.  The night time travel activity gets less at night and we didn’t even hear it.  I mainly heard it when I was out having my morning coffee.   Pleased to report that we had no issues with bugs in this area (Jen Lowe).

We took time to take our new inflatable kayak up the road to one of the lagoons and try it out.  was a great day and pretty calm out.  The lagoon (Dry Lagoon) had some sandy beaches for Chrystina to play at.

Some other fun things to do if you have kids is visit the small but sweet Sequoia Zoo or if you are in for bigger adventures take a hike up Fern Canyon.  We didn’t make it on the hike due to work but its on our list for next time.  There is also Patricks Point State Park which isn’t far from the RV campground.  You can take a nice hike down to the beach for a day of fun as well as check out the amazing scenery from up above.