Campsite Review: Anastasia State Park, St. Augustine, Florida

View from the beach walk at Anastasia State Park. 
Not too shabby! 

Where: Located on Anastasia Island it is just a short drive from historic downtown St. Augustine

Cell Service: Great signal with both Verizon and AT&T

Price: $28/night

Hookups: Water and electric with dump station

We loved this campground! It was one of our first stops on our big cross country trip and we felt right at home among the coastal live oaks in the campground. 

Good to Know

Anastasia State Park is very popular year round. While we lucked in to a site about four months out, it is highly recommended that you book as far in advance as possible. The booking window opens 11 months in advance through Reserve America.  There are 139 campsites, with some sites tent only. We saw a few larger rigs here but the sites that will accommodate them are limited.  

Grub

We don't typically recommend chain restaurants but Mellow Mushroom is one of our favorite consistently good pizza joints. After a LONG day on the road and a mini-disaster while parking the trailer, happy hour, pizza and bingo really hit the spot. The pretzel bites were particularly good. It is a quick drive or short bike ride from the campground.

The Castillo de San Marcos is full of over 300
years of history. 

Things to Do

There is plenty to do in the park itself. We enjoyed hiking to the coquina outcroppings (these are the shell rocks that were used in the construction of the Castillo de San Marcos), biking, checking out the beach and chilling in the campground. Outside of the park you have plenty to choose from. St. Augustine is full of history and a visit to Castillo de San Marcos is a must. While we didn't get to check it out ourselves (disclaimer!) two close friends highly recommend the Alligator Farm/Zoological Park which is not just a money grab but is an AZA certified conservation based park.



Kid Consensus

The playgrounds were deemed "awesome"
by both the 3 and 6 year old.

The kids enjoyed the beach and exploring the trails. The playgrounds were awesome but both were a long walk from our campsite. Our recommendation would be to camp near the playgrounds for maximum fun. 

Consider This 

We really do not have anything negative to say about this campground... If you go in the summer be sure to plan for hot weather and lots of mosquitos, but even then it is still worth checking out! There is a very popular amphitheater adjacent to the campground that hosts a lot of concerts, which could be a plus or a negative for your trip. It is worth checking the schedule to see if there are concerts during your visit. 

Campsite Review: San Elijo State Beach, Cardiff, California

San Elijo State Beach

A campsite overlooking the Pacific Ocean? I'll take it! 

Where: Cardiff, CA (a short drive north of San Diego)

We can't say enough good things about this campground! The sites are located on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Need I say more? The vibe was one of the best we have found in a campground... very chill, kids biking through the loops, lots of groups sharing sites and being respectful of others. All around awesome! While many of the campers are surfers, there were definitely a large number of people who just wanted to relax by the shore. 

Cell Service: Yes! Excellent signal with both Verizon and AT&T

Price: Between $30-50

Hookups: Most sites do not have hookups, there are some full hookup sites and a dump station.

Good to know

While there were a few walk up sites available during our stay, sites do book up early, especially those overlooking the ocean and those with hookups. Hookup sites are extremely limited, with 9 oceanfront full hookup sites. Generators can be used during the day and there are restrooms and showers. Check out a full campground map with sites HERE. We stayed at site 151 but I would take any oceanfront site, they were all great. 

Check in time is 2pm and they mean it! We arrived at 1:45 and were told to "drive around" until check in. Save yourself the headache of navigating around Cardiff and Encinitas with your rig and get there after 2pm! 

Your rig must be under 24' for hookup sites and 35' for non hookup sites. During the high season (March-November) there is a 7 night limit on stays. 

There are several flights of stairs leading down to the beach. If anyone in your group needs accessibility, camp toward the south end of the park were there is handicap access to the beach.

Is it normal to dream about tacos? Asking for a friend.

Grub

While at San Elijo you will not have a shortage of great food to choose from. Fortunately for us, we have local connections who gave us the details on some amazing food near the campground. If you go, be sure to check out The Taco Stand, home to some of the best tacos we have ever had along with the classic California Burrito. If meat is your jam, you cannot miss the tri tip at Seaside Market. This versatile beef is known as "Cardiff Crack" and after you have it, you'll see why. 

Things to do

Being so close to San Diego there is no shortage of things to do. From hanging with the seals and sea lions in La Jolla to biking through Balboa Park or visiting the zoo. Delicious food, great beer and shopping can be found on every corner. I'll confess, the weather was so perfect and the beach so nice and we really made use of the campground on our trip and only left to do a small amount of sightseeing and to bike to grab tacos. 

Amazing sunsets are free with your campsite fees.

The Kid Consensus

While they didn't make any besties at this campground, they LOVED biking and scootering the loops. That along with the beach made this spot a favorite.

Consider this...

The campground is located directly off of Highway 101. While this makes it really convenient and great for getting around, it does mean noise. The street noise wasn't too bad but it certainly was not quiet. There is also a commuter train along the highway that will let you know when it is time to wake up each day. ; ) That being said, the noise did not bother us but if you are looking for a traditional, quiet campground experience San Elijo may not be for you. 

Let's talk about the showers... If you are new to camping at California State Parks there are some things you need to know. In an effort to conserve water, the showers are fee based. You have to exchange your quarters for tokens and 2 tokens (50 cents) will get you two minutes of hot water. I know, it takes some getting used to. The good news is we have gotten really good at taking a quick shower! We compete to see who can do a shower in 4 minutes. The fact that there is a charge for the showers does help to keep them clean. The bathrooms are another story. It is not that they are dirty, but this is a beach so you can imagine... Sand and water are simply a part of the bathroom that you can't escape. Bring your flops! 

Where will we sleep tonight?

We loved this FREE boondocking site in Anzo Borrego, CA

Mapping out a year long, cross country trip was intimidating to say the least. We had an idea of the places we wanted to visit but there were so many questions! How long should we plan to stay in each spot? Do we need hookups every night? Should we book campsites in advance or just find places to stay along the way? How long can we boondock? Do we even WANT to boondock? 

While we wanted to remain flexible, we had to face reality: If you want to camp at Yosemite, you can't just show up and expect to find a spot in the park. Campsites must be booked 6 months in advance, and even then there are no guarantees that you will actually get a site. It took us multiple attempts and lots of frustration to score 2 nights in a Yosemite Valley campground. Yikes! 

We listened to the experiences of friends who were on the road and blended their suggestions into a plan that we felt would work for us: We would book sites at places that were "must sees" in advance and reserve other spots 1-3 months in advance as we travelled. We also promised to be willing to change the plan and "tow with the flow" as the trip unfolded. 

Here are some of the sites we booked in advance. They were worth every minute of planning ahead for sure! 

San Elijo State Beach, Encinitas California
Lower Pines Campground, Yosemite
Burlington Campground, Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Campground, Redwoods State and National Park
Grant Village Campground, Yellowstone National Park
Fruita Campground, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

If you miss the booking window and the campsite that you want is unavailable, persistence is key. We scored amazing sites in Joshua Tree and Big Sur by checking their websites daily and being ready to book if a site became available. 

Now, what about hookups? For RV campers there are several types of sites that you need to know:

• Full hookups (water, electric, sewer and sometimes even CABLE!)
• Partial hookups (usually water and electric)
• No hookups (you guessed it... just a site). Sites without hookups can range from state and national park campgrounds with access to showers and toilets to boon docking sites with no services whatsoever. 

Being new to RV camping, we were not sure how long we could go without hookups or how difficult it would be not to have water and electricity. We also had to factor in cost- most state and national park campgrounds have no hookups and are around $35/night. Fancy RV Resorts are awesome and often have pools, spas, playgrounds and activities but average $50-60/night with some over $100/night! 

With all of this in mind, we planned our route to never go more than a few days without staying at a campground with hookups or a dump station. So far this has meant a few days at a Harvest Host or in a national or state park followed by a longer stay at an RV park. We have found that we can comfortably go 4-5 days without hookups or having to dump. We have a generator that provides us power when needed which is an absolute must! 

A view of the Pacific from my campsite? I'll take it!
San Elijo State Beach, Encinitas CA

Recently we also joined Thousand Trails, a campground membership that features parks around the country. So far our first few stays have been great with lots of activities for the kids and amenities such as pools and more. 

To find boon docking sites, we use the apps campendium and the dyrt. To make sure we have the PERFECT site, we use CampsitePhotos.com. How do do you decide where to camp?