Embark on a California Central Coast road trip with your RV to explore iconic destinations like Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Big Sur, Salinas, and Santa Cruz. Enjoy breathtaking scenery, unique activities, and stay at recommended campgrounds or Harvest Hosts locations for an unforgettable adventure.
Your Adventure Awaits!
Harvest Hosts is a unique RV camping membership that offers self-contained RVers unlimited overnight stays at 9,600+ unique locations across North America with no camping fees. Stay at farms, wineries, breweries, museums, golf courses, attractions, and other one-of-a-kind destinations while enjoying memorable travel experiences and the peace of mind that comes with knowing a safe place to stay is always nearby.
With spring on the horizon, it’s time to plan some warmer weather road trips in your RV. Any snowbirds who chose to enjoy the warm temperatures of Southern California, Southern Arizona, or Southern New Mexico over the winter may consider opting for a California road trip. Likewise, those who spent the winter season somewhere cold may wish to enjoy a trip through sunny California's Central Coast as the weather begins to warm up. Whether you plan on heading up the coast of California to leisurely make your way towards Northern California or the PNW or just simply wish to explore the Central Coast, then don’t miss this article. Harvest Hosts will take you on a tour of some of the most popular cities and places to explore when RV camping in California.
Santa Barbara is located just an hour and a half north of Los Angeles, but it boasts completely different scenery. This town is commonly known as the area where the sea meets the mountains, and it is filled with beautiful beaches and breathtaking scenery. Santa Barbara is an awesome city in Southern California.
In Santa Barbara, there are several gorgeous beaches to choose from, each a little different from the next. There, visitors can enjoy a whole slew of exciting activities, including swimming, sunbathing, fishing, surfing, and much more. Santa Barbara also has a vibrant arts culture, with several galleries and theater venues to explore. They also host the annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Nearby, travelers can visit Channel Islands National Park. This frequently-missed park is comprised of a stunning chain of five out of the eight total Channel Islands. Due to the sheer isolation of the islands, there are unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found here that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth.
If you are exploring this beautiful area in your RV, the following campgrounds come highly recommended.
Owned by Santa Barbara County, this beautiful campground offers lakeside full and partial hookups sites.
Also owned by the county, this beachfront campground is a surprisingly peaceful place to escape the crowds. They offer partial hookups with water and dump stations available on site.
This full hookups campground offers a traditional campground-feel with all the amenities that frequent RVers have come to expect. They have a pool, an on-site café and bar, a hot tub, and a playground, all available to resort guests.
Take a break from the bustling crowds to enjoy a glass of wine from Giessinger Winery. Located just under an hour from Santa Barbara, this Harvest Hosts location can make an excellent home base for exploring the city, or can be used as a place to stop when traveling to or from Santa Barbara. They offer over two dozen wines for sampling and six reservable, pet-friendly spaces for RVs under forty-four feet in length.