Camping along Pacific Coast Highway is one of the great budget adventures in the American West, and it puts you closer to the redwoods, cliffs, and beaches than any hotel can. Whether you are pitching a tent, sleeping in the back of a wagon, or towing a trailer, the coast is lined with state parks and campgrounds built for exactly this trip. This guide covers the best places to camp along the Pacific Coast Highway, how to reserve them, and when dispersed camping is an option.
Developed campgrounds versus dispersed sites
Most pacific coast highway camping happens in developed state park and national forest campgrounds. These give you a numbered site, a picnic table, a fire ring, restrooms, and often hot showers, and they are the backbone of a coastal trip. Dispersed camping, meaning free primitive sites on national forest or BLM land, exists mostly inland and in a few forest sections, but it is scarce right on the coast where nearly all land is state park or private. Plan on reserving developed sites for the coastal nights and saving dispersed camping for detours into the mountains.
Best California campgrounds
In Big Sur, Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park is the classic base, with wooded sites along the Big Sur River and easy access to trails. Nearby Andrew Molera offers walk-in tent sites for a quieter, more rustic feel. Both book up fast in summer, so reserve the moment your window opens.
Further north, the redwood parks are the highlight of the whole route. Look at these for tent and car camping:
- Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park for its environmental walk-in sites near McWay Falls.
- Humboldt Redwoods State Park along the Avenue of the Giants, with several campgrounds among old-growth trees.
- Prairie Creek Redwoods and Jedediah Smith Redwoods in the far north, where elk graze near the sites.
Reserve California state park sites through the ReserveCalifornia system, which opens bookings six months in advance on a rolling daily basis. For popular parks, log in the morning your target date becomes available.
RV camping along the Pacific Coast Highway
RV camping along Pacific Coast Highway works well, but size matters. Many redwood and Big Sur campgrounds have length limits, often around 24 to 31 feet, and the tight, tree-lined loops are hard to navigate with a big rig. If you are planning a pacific coast highway RV road trip, check length limits and hookup availability before booking, and consider a mix of state parks for the scenery and private RV parks for nights when you need full hookups, laundry, and a dump station. Some sections of Highway 1, especially the twistiest Big Sur curves, are slow and narrow, so build extra time into RV driving days.
To see how these campgrounds string together into a full coastal route, the 14-day West Coast Road Trip itinerary lays out the drive from Southern California up to the Oregon coast, which makes it easy to slot camping nights into the plan.
Car camping the Oregon coast
Oregon is a dream for car camping on the coast. The state park system is dense, affordable, and well maintained, and many parks add yurts for nights when the weather turns. Standout stops include Cape Lookout near Tillamook, Beverly Beach and South Beach near Newport, Bullards Beach at Bandon, and Cape Blanco, the westernmost point in the state. Oregon also runs a network of hiker and biker sites at coastal parks, which are cheap and rarely turn people away.
Reserve Oregon coast campgrounds through the Oregon State Parks reservation system, which opens six months ahead. Summer weekends at the popular parks fill quickly, so book early or aim for midweek nights when sites are easier to find.
Practical tips for coastal camping
A few habits make coastal camping smoother. Pack for fog and damp, since even summer nights on the coast run cool and wet, and a good rain fly matters more here than warmth. Store all food in provided lockers where posted, because raccoons and, in the redwoods, bears are active. Fill your water and fuel in the bigger towns, as services thin out on the remote stretches. And check for fire restrictions before you arrive, since coastal counties often ban open flames in late summer.
With a little advance planning, the best places to camp along the Pacific Coast Highway turn a scenic drive into something you remember for years, waking up to surf, redwoods, and coffee at a picnic table with the ocean a short walk away.
