New Brighton

New Brighton had been on my bucket list of places to camp after reading in California RV Camping by Tom Stienstra that this campground was rated a 10.  Well, curiosity gets the best of us.

Husband and I decided that we would venture to the beach for an overnight Spring Break. We were able to snag site 98, which is mostly private due to the high growth of shrubs around the perimeter of the site. 

I wouldn't give this campground a 10 since there is freeway noise and the sites all needed mowing. At $35 and $50 a site and check-out at noon and check-in at 2, one would think the State should be able to have someone keep the sites in better shape. Plus, this campground gets heavy usage all year; so, no lack of funds. Overall the roomy, level sites are nice.

After settling in, we headed off for a hike in the Santa Cruz mountains. I had read about Byrne Milliron Forest as being an interesting place to explore since caretaker, Jeff Helmer, had hidden unusual items within the forest for hikers to find and enjoy.

So, off we ventured into the woods for a hike before heading to the beach.

From the parking lot, it's all up hill. The preserve is 402 acres of redwoods and mixed hardwood trees. 

All of the trails are well marked, with some having interesting carvings perched on top of the sign posts. And numerous posts also direct one back to the parking lot. So it's very difficult to get lost.

After a 3.6 mile loop up hill and back down, we drove back to camp. Along the way back, we made a stop at the little market, Corralitos Mkt & Sausage Co, for some of their wonderful sausages. That place was hopping with folks buying their sausages and sausage sandwiches. Well worth the trip out there for just a sandwich.

Back a camp, Meeks snoozed while I fired up the Biolite for my homemade burgers.

I love cooking with the Biolite. I brought some apricot wood from our yard to use in the Biolite. The apricot wood burned nicely and the burgers were very yummy! 

We took an evening stroll around the campground checking out other sites and looking out over the bluff to Sequel Cove, Monterey Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. Once the sun went down, the campground got very quiet which was such a surprise since the campground was full of large parties of campers at many sites. All that could be heard from our site was the freeway noise. That too quieted down in early morning. The next morning after the cloud cover dissipated, we headed down the bluff for a stroll on the beach.

Will we return here; most likely not since there are many other beach campgrounds that have our curiosity that we wish to explore.

Spring Break

My husband, son, dog, and I headed over to Santa Cruz Mountains for camping, hiking, and fun on the beach for two days during Spring Break. We stayed at Henry Cowell Redwoods SP for one night since rain was in the forecast for the weekend. The park opened for the season on April 1st, but only half the campsites were open to campers. We got lucky with a campsite since it was walk-in only, no reservations online until May, and most folks were camping along the State beaches.

The campsites were nice, but the park itself has lots of poison oak. So, I had to keep my dog away from the low growing green vegetation that surrounds the campsite.

I did take my dog on the only trail in the park that allowed dogs. This is unusual since most of the California State Parks don't allow dogs on the trails. The trail was wide with portions of the trail being sandy, almost like beach sand.

The four of us did a lovely 6 mile hike on a trail at the Land of the Medicine Buddha, http://www.naturedogs.com/hike.php?id=300. A good portion of that trail was under a canopy of redwoods and follows a creek. Yes, the creek did have water, even in this drought. I forgot my camera and phone. So, sorry no pictures from that hike. We did finish the day with a late afternoon stroll along New Brighton State Beach near Santa Cruz.

This beach allows dogs. There were many folks walking their dogs along the water's edge. My dog doesn't like the water. Instead she preferred smelling the driftwood and large rocks as we walked the beach. The sandy beach and salt water felt wonderful on the feet after the 6 mile hike.