Doheny State Beach

Our family loves the beach. Growing up in Arizona my wife and I were always able to escape the desert and after a quick 6 hour drive land ourselves on a beach in San Diego or Los Angeles. Now that we’re land locked in Colorado, getting to the beach means boarding a plane or a long drive through the mountains to the coast. Long drive? No problem in the family van!

The very first road trip we took in the van was from Colorado to the California coast. I’ve always heard about California beaches you can camp at, but I had never been to one. My wife loves the beach, but she’s not that gun-ho about camping. That’s the problem. My hypothesis: If we can comfortably sleep in a van at the beach, she will be hooked!

There are several campgrounds along the coast near Los Angeles that have camping and/or RV hookups. The only one I found that actually lets you camp next to the beach in your van was Doheny State Beach, which is located at Dana Point.

A handful of the camp sites at Doheny Beach are situated so that you literally park your car in a spot on the beach. There are campers to your right and left, but no one behind you, just the Pacific Ocean. Each spot has an area to setup a tent, as well as a picnic table and fire pit. The campground also has are a few bathrooms and coin operated hot showers. There are water spigots in a few spots as well, so I’d suggest you bring a large water jug you can fill and keep handy at your campsite.

Scoring a spot at a sweet campground like this doesn’t come easy. We were there the week of Thanksgiving, and from what neighboring campers told us, they booked their site 6 months in advance…literally the second the spots were released. At the time we had no clue. We were beach hopping down the coast on this trip, and I was lucky enough to have found a ‘premium spot’ with one open night, so I snagged it a few weeks before. If you want to get a spot for several days, plan on booking 6 months in advance, and having 3-4 computers logged in at the same time, with everyone in the family clicking the second they release a block of days. I’d suggest picking a couple spots your interested in and splitting your luck on each. Don’t be surprised if you don’t get it the first or second time. Prepare to be flexible with your travel dates!

The beach here is clean and there is lots of space to spread out. During Thanksgiving week in November the air temperature was in the low 70s, but the ocean water wasn’t too cold. The boys and I were brave enough to take a dip, but I think we all longed for the hot summer sun once we got out of the water. On this trip we purchased Spike Ball and it didn’t take long for the whole family to get hooked. This is one of the best beach games I’ve ever played and I highly recommend it.

When you need a break from the beach (is that possible?) or feel like eating out, you can walk or drive over the shops at Dana Point. This area is really cool and has several good restaurants and bars. On our visit we had awesome fish and chips at Slapfish, and topped it off with a cool gelato treat from nearby Dolce Gelato. Both were great and I would highly recommend them.

Overall I found Doheny State beach to be an excellent camp ground, and the other campers very respectful. When we left everyone was asking if we could come back and stay for a week. Our short one night stay was a tease, but move adventures lay ahead on our road trip…