El Cap Alternatives
For many years, my husband Garth and I have traveled the western states in our little 24-foot motorhome, along with our golden retriever Chase (and occasionally our cat!). In this and subsequent RVCYOB articles, I’ll share with you our experiences, our opinions on the best campsites to reserve, clever camping gear and gizmos, tried-and-true hacks, secret hikes, camp recipes, camping with pets and kids, things to avoid, and things you won’t want to miss. I hope you’ll enjoy traveling with us.
Luckily, while El Capitan State Beach is closed for renovations in 2023, you have two wonderful alternatives: Sun Outdoors Resort directly across Highway 101 from El Cap, and also Refugio State Beach just two miles to the north. Both have easy freeway access. Both have spectacular ocean views across to the Channel Islands. Both have access to the same long, sweet beach. Both can accommodate RVs of any size.
If you’re coming down from the north on Highway 101, leave time to stop for lunch in Los Alamos at Flatbread or Dave’s Well Bread. Grab extras of Dave’s famous pastries to take camping—if they last that long!
After your delicious lunch, you may be feeling adventurous. If you’ve never fed an ostrich, I whole-heartedly recommend a stop at the Ostrich Farm, just a few miles east on Highway 246. It’s a hoot. After that, you have two equally perfect choices: detour slightly down to Los Olivos for shopping and wine tasting, or continue on to Solvang for more pastries, and unique shopping.
But wait! There’s more! In Solvang, you can surprise everyone in your group (over age 21) by slipping into a hidden speak-easy for some fun. “Why are we going into this store?” they’ll ask. At 515 Fourth Place, you’ll enter a brewing supply store. Smile knowingly at the salesperson, then walk confidently to the back of the store to the bookcase. At that, I’ll leave the discovery of The Backroom to you. You can even surprise your dog because they can join you!
Okay, on to camping…Sun Outdoors is one of your two wonderful choices. It sits on a rise to the east of the freeway. It’s a lovely, manicured resort, complete with full hookups (50 and 30 amp), free Wi-Fi and TV, large swimming pool, spa, laundry, immaculate restrooms and showers, horseshoes, play structure, enclosed dog park, store and beach access. There are 32 pull-through sites for big Class As, and 47 back-in sites (up to 50ft). The sites are beautifully maintained, approximately 25’ wide with trees and shrubs offering a little bit of privacy. Many have ocean views. Each has a picnic table and fire ring/grill. Not a bad site in the entire place in my opinion. Slight train and highway noise. Tent campers in your group? Sun Outdoors has tent sites with cleverly graded areas for tents. Firewood in available at the camp store. Camping at this resort was a great experience and we’ll definitely go back again.
For beach access, follow the signs down a paved trail through neighboring El Capitan Canyon Lodge (same ownership. You’ll see a “No Dogs” sign but I confirmed that it’s okay to walk your dog across the bridge then out to the frontage road. Then cross under the highway and down the road through El Capitan State Beach Park. It’s probably a ¾ mile walk one-way. Once El Cap is open again, you can also drive down to Day Use. Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach (typical state park) but from Day Use, you can walk them along the path to the left all the way to the creek outlet.
Leashed dogs can join you on the Bill Wallace trail on the hills behind the resort—an easy/moderate climb for some expansive ocean views. There’s also a little fenced dog park that Chase really enjoys. Kids will love the pool and spa, playground, games like Jenga, and riding bikes around the campground. Adults can bike the frontage road all the way to Refugio State Beach, about 2.5 miles one-way.
El Capitan Canyon has a nice little store with wines, unique gifts, some groceries and delicious take-out food. You’ll love the outdoor seating areas around the lawn, under the redwoods and beside the creek—a lovely spot to share a bottle of wine, and a burger or tacos or pizza, sandwich or salad. Their breakfast burrito is killer! Just remember you can’t take your dog through the gates to this area.
Being on the hill, Sun Outdoors can feel a bit of that northwest wind. The highest loop of back-ins seemed to be the calmest (sites 801-829). Fees: vary by site type and season but start at $103 plus one resort fee per stay. You have to pay extra to reserve a specific site. It’s more expensive than a state campground but it’s more posh. When reserving on www.sunoutdoors.com note that this resort is called Sun Outdoors Santa Barbara—not to be confused with their campground next door called Sun Outdoors El Capitan Canyon. They need to work on their branding…
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Refugio State Beach sits right on a beautiful, protected, south-facing beach rimmed by palm trees. No wonder it means ‘refuge’ in Spanish (ray-foo-hee-o) It’s a great spot for surf fishing, surfing and for families. In the summer, the creek forms a safe little lagoon where kids can play. The camp roads are perfect for bike riding. There’s a camp store, group camps, decent restrooms with showers (buy tokens at the machines, credit cards only). The dry-camping sites are open and exposed, and you’ll hear the highway and trains. But you’ll also hear the waves! No dogs on the beach but they can walk with you along the bike path that used to connect to El Capitan State Beach. In camp, our golden retriever, Chase, is on constant alert for those numerous pesky ground squirrels who taunt her. That keeps her pretty amped.
Even though you can’t bike on the damaged 2-mile trail to El Cap, you can go out the entry gate, cross under the highway to the opposite frontage road (Calle Real) and ride east about 3 miles until you cross back under the highway at the entrance to El Capitan State Beach. Yes, I said “east.” This is that confusing south coast area around Santa Barbara where the beach runs east/west.
Refugio sites are level gravel, fairly large, but have little privacy. No hookups, no dump station, and no RV water fill-up station. But there are hose bibs throughout. Come with a full water tank if you can. Because it’s rustic, Refugio sites are a reasonable $43-45 per night.
Refugio is a much-loved, much-used older state campground and you may end up finding it’s your favorite. Make reservations through www.ReserveCalifornia.com up to six months in advance. Summer months book up fast, so plan ahead. Winter is first-come-first serve and there are usually campsites available, unless there’s a west swell running and then surfers like my husband Garth take over!
When El Cap reopens in 2024 you may find you’re just as happy at one of these two other campgrounds. Aren’t we fortunate to have three wonderful choices in that area—so close to home? Throw a dart at the camping dartboard—nothing but winners! We’ll see you in camp!