El Capitan State Beach

El Capitan State Beach

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Friday, August 12, 2011

El Capitan is about 15 miles north of Santa Barbara, CA. There are 133 sites here, 119 tent/rv, 9 RV/Trailer only and 5 group sites. The tent/RV sites are your typical state beach spot with a table and fire ring. The RV spots have no table or fire ring, but you can bring your own. These sites have an AWESOME ocean view. The group sites are huge, they have tables, a large fire ring and a big food prep counter with a large sink and LOTS of parking. Their hike'n'bike site is great if you are hiking or biking, comes with tables, water and a fire ring. In the RV section, the even numbered spots have the unobstructed ocean views. But odds are longer. The RV section was the parking lot of a former group site, no hook-ups, but there are water faucets here. There is no dump station in this park. Ortega group is a long walk from parking. 107 & 108 views, can stay hooked up. It is site specific when reserving.

    They do have a small store here that had the usual, incl. ice and wood, even some very overpriced beer. The problem here is that it is not always open, so I never plan on it being open, but when it is, it's nice. El Capitan Canyon on the other side of the freeway has a very nice store and restaurant which is walking distance from here and is always open. Sometimes you can pickup their wi-fi all the way back at our campground.

 None of the camp sites here are beach front, they are all on top of the bluffs. The lower the number of the sites, the lower and closer to the beach you are. At the very top, there are stairs going down, but it seems like hundreds of 'em. The bike path that goes to Refugio is now closed and fenced off due to budget problems, but you can still use it, just go through the holes in the fence. 

Pros:

• Site specific when reserving
• Clean restrooms
• Great beach and views
• Store and self check in machine
• Roomy sites not too close to each other
• Good AT&T cell coverage
• Lots of wildlife (Dolphin, raccoon, reptilian, rodent, skunk)

Cons:

• Tough to get reservations
• Long walk to beach

	From RV section [Map]		Sunset from RV section [Map]
	On bike trail [Map]		Hidden little cove with beach on bike trail. [Map]
	Across the 101 in El Cap. Cyn. [Map]		An empty campground is a happy campground! [Map]
	Ortega group camp [Map]		Hike and bike with a view [Map]
	Raccoon?? [Map]		Cabrillo Group Camp [Map]
	Drake group camp [Map]		The RV only area [Map]
	View from the camper, NICE! [Map]		One of the channel islands. [Map]

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