Let me tell you about this cute little campground!
Moss Landing is a fishing village on Monterey Bay in Central California. It’s a quiet little town situated between lush fields of fresh fruits and vegetable and the Pacific Ocean. On our way in we passed various types of lettuce, artichokes and my favorite, strawberries. I may have squealed in delight when I saw the strawberry fields.
We chose this campground as a stopover spot because it’s smack in the middle of Monterey Bay with Santa Cruz 30 minutes to the north and Monterey 30 minutes to the south. We discovered getting to watch the sea otters and sea lions play while walking along the harbor to the beach every morning and evening was a huge perk.
It’s a smaller sized park at 46 back-in spaces which didn’t bother us at all. Site sizes vary from Class B size to one empty site that we paced off at 75-feet. It’s a very neat and clean park. If you’re traveling with another camper, you can park back to back and have a nice grassy area in between spaces for gathering.
The staff is incredible. A friendly camp host checked us in and parked us. We’ve seen him every day working about the park. Like every park, there is are shower facilities, restrooms and a laundry room.
Each night people have gathered at the community fire pit. I love this. It’s a great way to meet other campers and enjoy some non-electronics time.
Like in San Francisco, some sea lions have taken up residency on a few docks in the harbor. Daisy was intrigued by them, even if the barking had her reacting with a confused head tilt.
The sea otters hung out in the same part of the harbor. We got to see two moms with babies. One was older and diving with mom. The baby didn’t stay under as long as mom. When mom surfaced, she fed the baby with her catch. We chatted with a scientist studying otters one morning. She has trackers on 65 otters and one was in the bay. We took that opportunity to ask questions. We told her about the mom and baby we’d seen the afternoon before and asked if that was the same mom/baby that was floating in front of us now. She said this baby was 4 weeks old, far too young to be diving. Their fur at birth is very buoyant so a 4-week-old baby can’t dive, the fur won’t let him.
Whale watching is very popular up and down the Pacific coast. Spring and fall are great times to catch them migrating. Walking from the campground, you’ll be ready to board in under five minutes on a Sea Goddess Whale Watching boat. We didn’t have time for a whale watching trip this time. Fellow campers at the park raved about it. I love hearing people talk about their first whale watching trip. We are lucky to have done it several times. You can also take an electric catamaran into Elkhorn Slough with Monterey Bay Eco Tours.
There are fresh farm stands less than a five-minute drive from the park. We were in fresh food heaven and left with a delicious assortment of fresh goodies. If you’re here on a Saturday, be sure to check out the farmer’s market at Power Plant Coffee which is close enough to walk. If you like to check out local dining gems, Phil’s Fish Market was delicious!
I can’t miss a chance to explore the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is a must that never disappoints. Be sure to check out the famous Cannery Row before or after your visit to the aquarium for a peek into some California history.
