Making a trip over stateside around the start of July. Was thinking of making the drive from San Francisco to San Diego area and then on to Scorpion Bay.
Any recomendations on places to visit ? Would love to surf point waves with the option of camping near by. From pictures I like the looks of trestles, malibu but I assume these will be crowded spots so some little unknown places would be very cool to check out.
Also coming from Australia i’ve heard it can be abit sketchy driving through Mex, whats your guys thoughts on that and how easy is it to travel to Scorpion Bay ?
I made the trip from San Fransico to Los Angeles last winter as a honeymoon.
Here are some of my findings:
Alongside highway one there are plenty of camp sites, so no worries finding a place to camp during the week. On firday and during the weekend I'd advice on finding a spot in the early afternoon.
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<li>There are a lot of nice spots to discover in big sur and below.
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<li>Avoid the big cities during the weekend, especially around Los Angeles is hell finding a place to camp and to drive through I've been in the biggest traffic jam of my life driving through LA on Friday took us from 12:00 until 20:00, just because we wanted to escape the city to find a camp spot in the desert. This was the only day that we freecamped.
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<li>Don't drive in San Fransico. We booked a hotel for 4 days before picking up our RV. That was perfect. We heard horror stories from Aussies that were on the cheapest camp ground in SF, bad neighborhoud and still $100 per night.
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<li>If you rent an RV, take the smallest you can get. Even if they offer you a bigger one for the same price. They are still huge and you'll be happy to consume less gas and be able to maneuver.
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<li>In San Fransico, try to surf "Fort Point" I believe it works at low tide. We were very surprised to find waves there while the ocean was flat. I still wonder how that is possible.</li>
Summer before last, the sand was washed away by a series of Chubascos. Top photo shows proper sand at 2nd point…bottom photo shows recent situation as you look across the bay from near 1st point to 2nd point. 6-8 foot of sand is gone…
I grew up in the bay area, now live in southern Oregon and have a house in Sayulita, Mexico (near Puerto Vallarta) that I drive down to every year for the last eighteen years. Can’t tell you much about surfing in Southern Cal except that it’s crowded and cold water. I haven’t yet been to Scorpion bay but it’s on my bucket list. The friends that have been there tell me it’s a bit fickle, gotta catch the right conditions, it takes about three days from San Diego, as you go down the east side of Baja and then cut accross and back north. Also cold water. On the other hand, about the same amount of driving on the mainland side will put you onto several warm water breaks (I surf all winter here and have never worn a wetsuit) that would rival longboard breaks anywhere. As to driving in Mexico, I do plenty of that and have never had a problem, including traveling through areas that the state department issues travel warnings. Main rule is never drive at night (unless it’s just some trip to a resturant or such) When I’m driving down I know what camp grounds or hotels I’m going to stay at and how many hours it takes to get there. Good idea to plan it that way. A couple of weeks ago I was in La Salidita, couple days south of here and while having dinner at a taco joint, two bad looking dudes sat down accross from us openly displaying their arsenal. While I was a bit uncomfortable, the local gringos we were with assured us they saw them all the time and they never bothered the tourists. If you want any more info about this area, pm me
Don’t know if you’ve come across Matt Hannon’s blog at all Zac, but it’s worth a read for feedback on some of the areas you’ll be travelling through on the West Coast. He and his girlfriend have ridden from Alaska down through Canada, the US and Central America and are now somewhere down on Chile’s south coast, having ditched the bikes for horses somewhere along the way.
He had all his stuff stolen - bike, trailer and film gear - after stopping in Tijuana despite multiple warnings not to.
I did a lot of trips to Baja and never had a problem. We used to skip school and go surf the breaks between Tijuana and Encinada. Camped the points, too. I know guys that have had problems though. I stopped going when my first child was born 25 years ago. Just not worth it to me anymore. I’d rather have a good wetsuit and camp my way up the north coast of my own country. I miss it though. Good luck. Mike
Sounds fun. I’d stay in Cali and hit up all the spots from Marin county to San Diego. There’s no camping in SF but up north in Marin county or San Mateo county (Butano st park 45 minutes south of SF ) . It gets windy during summer so will need wind protected cove most likely. SF has a beach breaks with lots of current and Pacifica has a few spots , for points Santa Cruz or south of there. Fort point has some “mad” locals so no snaking and no filming. Lots of spot down by Malibu .Good food and music in SF. Have fun be safe and stay out of the tenderloin at all cost!
PS I can loan you a wetsuit or board for some beer:) but there’s no Hpsb in my quiver
almost impossible to camp anywhere in southern california in july… there booked forever… also its very packed in summer cuz its beautiful… good weather, great surf spots, lots of other things to do also… best way to do southern cali is in a hotel… drive to a great beach and enjoy it then go back to your room… lots of traffic everywhere … sorry, just the way it is and has been for 30 yrs…
:)