Category: Camp

Beach vs Mountains: Carpinteria State Beach Campground Review, California

I love the mountains, except for one thing – the ocean is a day’s car ride away! Because it’s so far, when we go to the beach, we stay at the beach. That’s what I like about Carpinteria State Beach in Southern California. There’s not many places were you can sleep so close to the big ocean blue. 

Even with 200 sites, Carpinteria State Beach Campground is busy place. Reservations are snatched up the moment they become available (six months in advance) so make sure you’re on the ReserveAmerica website early if you want a spot. Plus, it’s not cheap. An individual site runs 45.00 a night minimum, not counting hookups, extra parking or tax. 

With that said, Carpinteria State Beach Campground is one of the best places around for family beach camping. The mile long beach is sandy and beautiful, with a smooth, consistent break that’s great for boogie boarding. Plus the morning tide pools are amazing (more on that in my next post). When you’ve had enough sun for the day, kids can bike around the campground road and along the nearby community trail to the park’s playground. 

On our trip we stayed with Mountain Dad’s sister and several family friends at the Heron Group site, located next to the showers and with easy access to HWY 101 and the Carpinteria community. The flush bathrooms and showers were cleaned regularly, although with hundreds of people using them daily it was hard to tell at times. 
One word to the wise – lock up your food. Raccoons, seagulls, chipmunks, birds, and many other critters are fearless when it comes to raiding your cooler. We had a raccoon devour all the eggs from one cooler, leave muddy paw prints in another and while cleaning up the mess a seagull came and stole a string cheese right out from under us. 

The views from other beaches may be prettier (I’m not a huge fan of oil rigs in the distance, but I am a fan of driving so I guess I can’t complain too much) but Carpinteria State Beach Campground is still worth a stay. Even our mountain family had a blast.
Carpinteria State Beach Campground Info
Location: 12 miles south of Santa Barbara on US 101 take the Casitas Pass Road exit heading west. Turn right at the light, then left on Palm Avenue. Follow Palm all the way to the ocean.
Price: 45.00 – 290.00 per night depending on individual or group sites. 
Benefits: SO close to the beach, hot showers, flush toilets, picnic table, family friendly and the tidepools are amazing.
Drawbacks: Price, lots of people and fearless scavenging animals
MORE POSTS!
Our stay at Carpinteria State Beach from June 2013. This one too.

More Than S’mores – Four Delicious Desserts to Cook Over a Fire

UPDATED MARCH 2018  Try these delicious campfire desserts and have more than s’mores at your next camp out.
Everyone loves the taste of gooey marshmallow, warm chocolate and crunchy graham crackers. Roasted over a fire, the sweet S’mores treat is a camping staple throughout the nation. But marshmallows aren’t the only thing to roast over a fire.
1. Starbursts – It may sound strange but roasting these tiny squares over a fire gives them a crunchy, carmalized exterior and warm, melty interior. Mmmm!

2. Orange Cakes – Once on a camp out with my mom she showed me how to spoon out the flesh of an orange and fill the shell with cake batter. After wrapping it in tinfoil and placing it in the coals it made a tasty orange infused cake treat.
3. Doughboys – A staple in our extended family. Refrigerated biscuit dough stretched thin and wrapped around a camping stick can make a delicious baked dessert. Roast the dough near coals for 5-10 minutes, being careful not to burn it, then dip in melted butter and cinnamon and sugar.
4. S’mores Add-ons – Try adding a Rolo or Reese’s Peanut Butter cup to the top of your marshmallow roasting stick. While the mallow roasts, the chocolate melts and when you take off the marshmallow the candy tunnels inside the gooey goodness. Or try out special Stackable or Jumbo marshmallows for a unique spin on the s’mores experience.
5. Or if you’re not interested in sticky, dirty, messy hands and faces try these all in one Trader Joe’s treats. You may not be able to tell in the photo, but there are supposed to be chocolate goodies in the box behind the label. Unfortunately I ate them all before I took the picture – they were that good.

Uranium Arch, Sevenmile Rim 4×4 trail, Moab, Utah

Sandstone arches are not that rare of a sight in Moab, Utah with Arches National Park just up the road, but I still feel like I’ve found some great outdoor secret when I get to explore one. On this trail to Uranium Arch, located outside Arches National Park, we combined off road adventure with a little sightseeing with great results.

My heart was pounding on some of the steep and rocky sections of 7-mile Rim trail (that’s a cliff behind us after all), but thanks to Mountain Dad’s ability to exude an aura of expertise, I felt completely safe. Maybe because I see him researching trails, tips and UTV guides for hours at home, I trust that he knows what he’s doing. If I didn’t, I would’ve been stranded on the trail, because parts of this trail are gnarly.

Seven mile Rim is a specific trail maintained by the Bureau of Land Management. However several 4×4 trails intersect around here and as much as I appreciated Charles A. Wells’ book Guide to Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails I think the map on the BLM website was essential to finding this arch.

The kids loved exploring and climbing under the rock, as well as having a sandy picnic at its base. I loved being away from the rocky ledge it took to get there. 

Uranium Arch, Seven Mile Rim Trail Info:
Getting there: Head north from Moab on Highway 191 for 12 miles. Soon after Highway 313, park in a wide gravel area on the left. Head north on Cotter Mine Road for about a mile then follow the road left and climb a steep hill. Watch for a heavy metal sign for 7-Mile Rim.

Difficulty: Difficult, especially the rocky sections and those near the ledges.

Time: Variable but plan at least three hours.

Tips: Print out the BLM map of this area before you go. Many trails cross over each other and they get confusing. Also, you can combine this trip with one to Tusher Tunnel for a full day adventure.

Tusher Tunnel 4×4 trail, Moab, Utah

One of the trails we explored in our Polaris RZR on our recent Moab trip was Tusher Tunnel, a jaw-droppingly cool cave through 100 feet of sandstone. The sandy 4×4 trail to get there takes only an hour or so, but the destination was amazing.

Tusher Tunnel reminded me of Lava Tubes in Hawaii – dark, cavernous tunnels through rock tall enough to walk through. The difference here was that the other side of this tunnel opened up to a beautiful desert vista with striated sandstone and juniper trees decorating the landscape.
Charles A. Wells’ book Guide to Moab, UT Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails gave detailed trail information, and I highly suggest anyone off-roading in the area pick up a copy. The five minute hike from the parking area to the tunnel was a little bit of a scramble, but the tunnel itself is flat and sandy. And dark and cool – and I’m not just talking about the temperature.
Tusher Tunnel Info:
Getting there: Take Highway 191 North from Moab about 14 miles. Turn left on Mill Canyon Road just after mile marker 141.
Difficulty: Easy, but sandy. The dirt bikes that came with us had some trouble on the sandy terrain.
Time: 1.5 hours
Tips: I wish I had brought a flashlight for better Tusher Tunnel exploration.