Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay

Move over Chula Vista RV Resort, there’s a new player in town.

Many of you know that the land Chula Vista RV Resort is on will be redeveloped soon with restaurants, hotels and more.  What you may not know, is that the developers set aside land for a new RV park in it’s place.  That park is Sun Outdoors San Diego Bay.  The good news, both are open and operating right now.  Better news, they are owned by the same people so the fabulous care you get at Chula Vista RV Park is the same at Sun Outdoors!

At some point, Chula Vista RV Park will close but, have no fear, it’s replacement is spectacular!  Spectacular with a capital S and lots of exclamation points!!!  This place might be the prettiest RV park we’ve ever stayed at, and we’ve stayed at some beauties.  Everything is shiny and new with seemingly no detail left undone.

Check-in was a breeze.  They have two long lanes to park while you check in.  From there, you’ll be escorted to your site, handy for your first visit.  They directed Mark right to our site while I talked with the two employees at the counter.  We had a little cousin confusion, this was a cousin trip and three of us would be camping next to each other.  One cousin reserved at the old campground, Chula Vista RV Park.  Not a problem at all for these stellar staff members.  Since they are owned by the same company, they could come right over!  It ended up not being that simple since the office at Chula Vista had already closed but, first thing the next morning we three cousins were back together again!

The sites are large, all able to accommodate a 45-footer.  We were in a standard back-in site that included a long concrete pad to park on, a picnic table and fire-pit with plenty of room between campsites.  Parking our Jeep in front of our coach was not an issue either, we parked it perpendicular to the coach but could have backed it in as well.  Some of the deluxe sites even have outdoor kitchens.

The resort is kind of divided in half with two rows of camping cottages lining up in the middle, we called it Cottage Lane.  They’ve laid these out well with sidewalk in the middle and strung lights overhead.  It feels like a little neighborhood.  There are also six cottages that are bay-front with the city skyline right at the front patio.

The hub of activity called The Commons house the clubhouse, skydeck, arcade, event center, game room, fitness center, pool, Jacuzzi, splash pad, putting green and café.  We were bummed the café wasn’t open yet, it opened the day after we left.

The pool is huge, enough room for people to play and to lounge.  There are cabanas around the southern end that can be easily reserved.  Along the bay sit a long row of lounging chairs.  There were several tables to enjoy lunch from the cafe, an extra-large television with lounging chairs under the giant skydeck and two Jacuzzis to relax in.

High above the pool sits the skydeck.  There are tall tables, couches to lounge in and fire pits to enjoy the sunset.  We went up there every night to watch the last light of the day with the San Diego skyline standing tall nearby.

You can play horseshoes or bocce at dedicated courts near the large playground.  There’s even an Amazon locker to receive your purchases!  We did not partake in any purchases on our trip, we could surely wait a week to buy something.

When I say no detail left undone I mean it.  Murals for photos are all the rage right now and the park has two really nice ones at either end of the comfort station near the playground. Also under this category is their wifi.  It’s nice and strong.  You can also purchase an ethernet service for your stay which allows you to stream any movie without a lag in service.

There’s much to do at the RV Park but so much more in the area!  We enjoyed the brand new multi-use path everyday of our stay.  You can walk, run or ride on pavement or crushed gravel along a manicured path that smells amazing.  The path leads to Chula Vista RV Park, marina and bayside park.  The marina has a really good restaurant that serves an amazing Bloody Mary.

The Living Coast Discovery Center is steps away.  Their mission is to help the community connect with and care for the coastal environment.  You can watch daily feedings, interact with various animals and walk their large grounds.  An added bonus is a discounted admission when you stay at the park!  The USS Midway and Seaport Village are a short drive as is Balboa Park and Old Town San Diego.

We always bring our bikes when camping in Chula Vista and this time we brought four.  We brought our beach cruisers to ride around the park, ride the path and ride into the Gaslamp District.  We brought our road bikes to ride around the bottom of the bay and up into Coronado.  Friday afternoon we rode our biked into downtown Chula Vista to explore, cousin Kim knew about new microbreweries.  It was a cute little downtown with friendly places to stop.  There was a Texas BBQ food truck outside of the first brewery we stopped at.  Both Mark and I were sporting OU gear, the food truck owner joked with us that he couldn’t serve us.  It was a fun back and forth.  We bought a sampler tray for us to share and when he brought it to us, he put it at the other end of the table and told our group not to share with us.  I should have taken a picture with him, he was a super fun guy.

Saturday morning we shared a hearty breakfast then hopped on our beach cruisers and set out for Gas Lamp.  The Bayshore Bikeway is a nice bike path right out of the park that goes north alongside I-5 and ends at Marina Way & 32nd Street.  After that it’s mostly a regular old bike lane ride into Gas Lamp, I’m hoping a dedicated bike path is coming along Harbor Drive. We had a nice lunch at The Garage and got to meet the newest member of the family, sort of.  Baby Lincoln is the firstborn of Kate & Tony, our daughter-in-law Tayler’s sister.  They don’t live far from Gas Lamp, Mark and I were oh, so happy to hold him while mom and dad ate.  We called it grandparent practice.

Our cousins left on Sunday, we had a fun time and I wished they had stayed longer.  We had a little more time to stay so we hopped on our road bikes and hit the road to Coronado.  We rode on that fabulous new bike path, out and around the marina but Chula Vista RV Park and through a stretch of rough road before getting back on a southern portion of the Bayshore Bikeway.  The rough stretch is only a mile or so but we need to pay attention for potholes.  Sadly, it’s a neglected piece of road that really shouldn’t be.  I would be mad as a hornet if my business was on that street.  The bikeway is a nice dedicated path with minimal street interaction.  On a normal ride, this is where we work on our tempo, pace lines and increasing speed.  This day the wind had other plans.  We had a stiff headwind followed by a mean crosswind.  It was all I could do to keep my average speed above 14 mph.  We rode much farther into Coronado than I thought we were going to and boy, was I looking forward to the ride back.  All I could think about was that tailwind.  The wind, however, still had other plans. As luck would have it, the low system creating the wind had moved through enough to give is a straight headwind the whole ride southeast.  My legs were heavy when we got back.  The pool and Jacuzzi were a nice post ride treat and I think the only reason we weren’t very sore the next day.  It was a pretty ride, though and Coronado never disappoints.

All too soon, it was time to go home.  Home to near record heat, oh goody.  We left at sunrise to beat as much of the heat as we could.  It’s no fun unpacking at 113 degrees.  This is a place we will return to, often I hope.