Part of Leg 3 of the #StageIVTour: a trip up the Left Coast.

Stage IV Tour: California

Every ‘road trip’ website in the world includes California’s Route 1 - the ‘Pacific Coast Highway’ - on its list of road trips you simply must complete in your lifetime. Prior to this tour I’d spent less than three hours of my life in the state of California, and as this is the #BucketListRoadTrip I knew it to be paramount that time be set aside for this ride. I managed to make it last nine days. The reality was, there’s so much to see and do that nine weeks wouldn’t have been enough time.

Goal #1: Beach Camping

One of my goals for the Stage IV Tour was to spend as many nights as possible sleeping in my Tesla Model 3 - the glass roof means you’re truly sleeping under the stars, albeit in an all-electric, no CO2-spewing sleeping pod on wheels. As many of those nights, I hoped, could be spent on the water. California boasts 840 miles of coastline, and some of the most beautiful beaches in the world - surely I’d find a way to sleep on at least a few of them, right?

Several of the state’s beaches find themselves on lists and listicles with titles like ‘10 Places You Can Camp Right On The Beach!’. These include:

  • Wright’s Beach, Sonoma Coast State Park in Sonoma County

  • Jalama Beach County Park

  • Sonoma Coast State Park in Bodega Bay

It is surprisingly difficult to figure out how accurate these article titles are. Beachfront. Beach view. Beach adjacent. Each of these ‘ratings’, if you will, describes a very different type of campground. And, to confuse things even more, some campgrounds could be described with all three, meaning choosing a camp site is imperative if you are looking for one and not the others. Do you want to drive your EV right on the sand and fish from the back of your trunk? Do you want the sun protection shade trees offer while enjoying a short hike to the beach? Do you want to park on top of a mountain and look out over the ocean from your vantage point on high? A map of a campground near the water doesn’t really depict these places accurately enough for any of this - so, as my #1 goal in California, I was determined to beachfront camp - beach adjacent camp? - as often as possible, and to share the results with you.


Goal #2: Instagram Views

California is famous for its road trips and scenic vistas. I’d read about dozens of them across the internet: from Big Sur to the Redwood Forests, from Yosemite to Mojave, I had a list and was determined to try to stop at as many of these famous photo spots as possible.

I realized, at some point, that my list had grown so much that, if I wasn’t careful, I could wind up road-tripping like I grocery shop: checking off to-do item after to-do item. I resolved, as my second goal of the Stage IV Tour in the State of California, that I would keep an eye out for spots of my own. For every three spots recommended to me I would find at least one that nobody I knew had ever heard of, and bring in some photos of the scenery, and some photos of the car with the scenery as a backdrop, and maybe even a few selfies - from places I could add to my own list when this trip was all over.



Goal #3: Historic California

When most of us think of ‘road trips’ we don’t think of a late-model electric vehicle with the sharpest of cutting-edge technology. We think of the road trips taken in the days of yore - in Volkswagon buses and GMC pickups towing Airstream travel trailers. We think of Historic Route 66, and national monuments, and - maybe - Walley World. In today’s fast-paced travel world jet planes have taken the place of cars, and piling all of one’s possessions into a ‘57 Chevy and heading west just doesn’t happen very often.

Which is why, when it does, there’s a real appreciation for those road trips of the past. And in very few places is the past preserved like it is in California. From Old Hollywood to [insert some other places from the past here], there’s so much history to see for those with a sharp eye and a willingness to seek it out. Goal #3, for me, was to do just that.

 

TESLA CAMPING: JALAMA BEACH

One of my goals for California was to find true camping-on-the-beach experiences perfect for the EV version of camping. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I’ve been working to help campground owners and managers better understand #TeslaCamping.

Pictures of Jalama Beach - a county park in Santa Barbara County - gave the impression of the perfect spot for camping on the beach. It looked beautiful, with a beautiful sandy beach and a sandy hill backdrop that just screams California. Would the campground be open to hosting Tesla camping - zero-emissions, climate-controlled sleeping pods on wheels? Only time would tell.

I made a reservation two weeks in advance, selecting ‘pickup truck camper’ - as close as a Tesla camper owner can come, since ‘EV camper’ isn’t available on most websites yet. I called ahead and spoke to someone in the office, inquiring about charging options for electric vehicles. Sometimes I send a PDF on Tesla camping on ahead, but the management at this campground didn’t balk when I brought up the Tesla, so I skipped that step - I always bring a packet of them with me on the road, as well.

When we arrived it felt like we’d found heaven on earth. Jalama Beach only has two rows for campers, with concrete pads and electric hookups. We’d reserved a site with a backdrop of the ocean - others are on the other side of the property and back up against the sandy hills off in the distance. We were met by a staff member who gave us a brief tour of the property: a bathhouse with hot and cold showers, and a laundry facility, which we made use of during our visit.

Jalama Beach County Park

Welcome EV Camping - YES

Charging: 30/50 Amp

Restrooms? Yes Hot Showers? Yes Laundry? Yes

For More Information: Website | Reservations

 

Must-See Attractions

Theme Parks

  • California’s Great America

  • Disneyland

  • Knott’s Berry Farm

  • Legoland California

  • Seaworld San Diego

  • Six Flags Magic Mountain

  • Universal Studios Hollywood

Planespotting - For Chris!

  • Mojave Air and Space Port - check out their ‘Plane Crazy Saturdays’

Welcome to your gas-free, zero-emissions, climate-controlled sleeping pod on wheels!