El Capitan

With the fires at Limekiln and the lack of fires at Plaskett, we extended our camping search to the south. El Capitan is a campground just north of Santa Barbara. We've driven past countless times, always wishing we could get a reservation. As luck would have it, there was a cancellation so we were able to finally assuage our curiosity.

I'll post a fun entry filled with pictures and stories as a second post. First, I want to debut the CRS. (Seriously. Don't you just love the acronym? It sounds so...official.)

Accessibility: 4
The campground was an easy 1.75 hour drive from our house. Since we stayed on the 101, we didn't need to worry about switch backs, slow speeds and blind corners.

Campground: 2
After the difficulty in obtaining reservations we were fairly disappointed with the actual campground. The sites were large, but covered in dirt and a short, straw-like grass that permeated all of our gear. Scattered over the dirt was trash. We walked around cleaning before setting up our tent. Nothing like picking up used condoms to start your weekend.

The fire pits were of the "hobo" variety. (This refers to the pits that are three feet high, similar in appearance to metal garbage cans in 1930's movies.) The views of the ocean were amazing, but somewhat marred by the huge number of fellow campers crammed into our loop. (If we were to go back, we'd select sites number 83-85.)

This is not a remote campground. On the contrary, the sounds of the 101 and nearby train tracks combined with the sheer number of people obliterated any feeling of "getting away from it all".

Amenities: 4
The camp host was an amiable man who wandered over to our site to see if we needed anything. The bathrooms, however, were a four minute walk away. Each bathroom building serviced a loop. That meant lines at busy times (first thing in the morning). The coin operated showers were blissfully hot and clean. There was a store a short bike ride away at El Capitan Canyon Campground that had everything one could possibly need plus a fully stocked deli and breakfast bar. (We toured the Canyon and fell in love with the cabins and safari tents. What a great place for a romantic getaway!)

Activities: 4
The beach was a short walk or bike ride away. It was gorgeous. Long sweeping stretches of sand and rock, bike paths and hiking trails, huge meadows, and, once we walked for a bit, desolate areas where we were able to soak up sun and sand without worrying about footballs or Frisbees coming our way.

Child Friendliness: 3
Joseph loved the beach and bike trails. Other than that, the train passing by woke him up at night and during his naps, the sheer number of cars and RV's driving by at all hours kept us on our toes when he was running around and several of the trails were lined with poison oak. It wasn't the most child unfriendly place we've been, but it certainly wasn't the best.

Overall Rating: 3.4
We had a nice time, but there was nothing that took this campground from average to above average. We'd like to try it again - in the springtime - at the sites I mentioned above, but we don't have an overwhelming urge to go back.

I love rating systems.