Andrew Molera State Park
Camp Review
Cassie and I camped at Andrew Molera Trail Camp (site 23) for one night.
This campsite is listed as a primitive one, but it has flush toilets and running water. It is located a quarter-mile from the parking lot.
Site 23 is located at the opposite end of the trail camp, so it was closer to half a mile from the parking lot. We liked the campsite lots as there was a medium-sized California Sycamore tree we could camp under.
Our neighbors were quiet, and honestly, it was pretty quiet the entire time we were there, maybe except for a couple of loud shrieking and laughter from small children camping nearby. And those are sounds we never mind at campsites.
The restrooms were clean and well-stocked. There was a large trash bin inside, which was a little different than normal, but a welcome change. There were also bear-proof trashcans outside the restroom.
The ground at the campsite was perfect for staking down the tent. It was not too soft where the stakes would pop out and it wasn’t too hard where the stake would not go in.
Every campsite had its own picnic table, fire pit (with a built-in grill), and bear vault. In our bear vault, we found a small field mouse who ran away when we left the door open for a bit.
What Happened?
A few weeks ago, Cassie mentioned that she would like to explore Big Sur. Because I aspire to be a genie with infinite wishes for her, I started to collect ideas in my head.
Unfortunately, Big Sur is a very popular area, so I was unable to book a campsite, even when looking at dates months ahead. When I looked in August, the earliest time I could get a Friday night camping reservation was in November. However, when I looked earlier in the week on a whim, I saw that there were two sites open at Andrew Molera State Park. I quickly called Cassie and when she confirmed that she was down for a quick one-night trip to Big Sur, I grabbed the site and started planning the rest of the weekend.
I had work on Friday, so we started driving a little after 5 p.m. We stopped for dinner on the way down, so we arrived a little after 8 p.m. when it was completely dark. With our headlamps on, we walked to our campsite, got our tent up, and prepared our sleeping quarters. Then we sat on the picnic bench, looked up at the sky, and admired the stars while snacking on spicy peanuts and Fishnacks. We retired to our tent around 10 p.m., but we stayed up for a while—I read while Cassie meditated inside, then at the picnic bench.
We both slept really well. The air was not too humid, it was not cold at all, and it was really quiet. There was a little bit of wind, but it wasn’t strong enough to cause incessant flapping of the tent. Instead, it was a breeze that cooled us down and took away any moisture build-up in the tent—the best type of wind when camping. Cassie woke up much earlier than I as she meditated some more, and I woke up a bit later and finished the book that I had been reading. We then heated some water for hot chocolate and enjoyed that as we packed up all our belongings.
With the sun starting to warm us up, we headed back to the parking lot and enjoyed the view that was lost to us in the dark the night before. Of special note was the giant California Sycamore tree that dominates the campground—it must be hundreds of years old. We spent some time admiring the old giant, and when we walked back, we were back to the parking lot in a blink. We put our stuff away and started strolling to the beach!