Sun, surf and sand? Yes please.
Growing up in Southern California the beach was a big part of my life. Anytime we get the chance to get back for some fun in the sun, I am all in.
Silver Strand State Beach fits the bill. Silver Strand is a nice little campground in the state park system about 3 ½ miles south of the famous Hotel del Coronado.
It’s a no-frills kind of place. You won’t find a fancy pool or perfectly manicured lawns. What you will find are campsites right at the edge of the sand where you can see and hear the waves. There are 120 total sites, 38 of which are beachfront. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to score that beachfront site, the waves are still really close and can be heard. I can hear them pound the sand right now as I’m typing. I can manage a 1-minute walk to the waves and I bet you can, too.
It’s a water and electric campground so make sure your gray and black tanks are empty when you arrive. There is a dump station on site as well as a honey truck service. The honey truck is $20. The gate to the entire state beach campground closes at 7 pm, 8 pm or 9 pm depending on the season. This means no late arrivals.
The spaces are wide enough to deploy all of your slides. The spaces on the outside are long enough for big rigs even though their website references a 40-foot max. My in-laws are here with us this weekend in their 43-footer and they fit, but don’t have a lot of room for their Jeep in the front of the space. The inside spaces are shorter, with a max length of 35 feet. The campground is tucked in between the beach and Silver Strand Blvd. The southern part of San Diego Bay is on the other side of the road with several pedestrian tunnels for easy access back and forth.
There is a multi-purpose use path that makes for a nice bike ride north into Coronado or south around the bay. We like to ride up to Coronado for lunch and walk around the Hotel del Coronado. We’ve also ridden around the bay ending up in the Gaslamp district. It’s a fun way to get exercise and breath in the fresh ocean air. You do have to venture off the bike path and onto city streets to get to Gaslamp.
We’ve only been here in the winter time and right now there is a giant sand berm along the beachfront sites. Our camp volunteer for today, Rick, said it’s to protect the electrical equipment from the damaging effect of the winter storms. The berm will come down about May 1st.
Our camping trips here are centered around the Super Seal Triathlon the third weekend of March and can slow your exit from the campground as the transition area takes up a large portion of one parking lot. You’ll be allowed to exit when safe for both you and the racers going in and out of transition on their bikes. On the plus side, when camping the same weekend as the race gives you a front row seat to people of all ages working hard on the swim, bike and run. I encourage you to bring your voices and give them a shout of cheer.