Crystal Cove Camping 2014

El Moro Campground - Newport Coast, CA

Our pop up trailer in our campsite. #55

During my spring break in March we decided to head out camping again but this time we stayed local (about 45 minutes away) and near the beach - Lena's favorite!  We have been wanting to try out El Moro Campground near our favorite beach in Newport, Crystal Cove.  It used to be a mobile home property that the state bought/took over and turned into a campground.  I loved the location but was skeptical about how it would look.  I thought since it is on the Pacific Coast Highway that it would be too near cars that are passing by, or that the sites would be so close there wouldn't be any privacy.  We also like lots of vegetation when we camp and the satellite pictures didn't show much at all.  I was pleasantly surprised in many ways!  In fact we had such a great time we extended our stay from three nights to four nights!  The campground was in pristine condition: it was clean, well groomed, had nice native landscaping, the coin showers and toilets were always clean and well supplied, and our neighbors (while close by) were all very respectful and friendly.  This site doesn't seem to draw the party crowd.  We loved the giant grown pelicans that would soar by and the little bunnies that lived on the property too.

This is the view from our campsite!  Beautiful!  California has a gorgeous coastline!

It was pretty cold during our stay but we had just had some repairs done to our pop up trailer and we had our heater to keep us nice and cozy at night.  It even rained one night and the canvas on the trailer held up perfectly!  The best part of this campsite is the proximity to the ocean and Crystal Cove beach.  Every day we made the 10 minute walk to the coast to play, walk, and explore.  Then we would come back, get cleaned up, and make a hot dinner and some warm drinks for the evening.  At night there was hardly any noise from PCH and you could fall asleep to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach - so wonderful!

All bundled up for a long walk on the beach.

On my favorite day we took a long 3-4 mile walk from our campsite down to the beach, along the coast, past the tide pools, to Crystal Cove beach cottages, and had lunch at the Ruby's Shake Shack and then walked all the way back.  It was a super cold and windy day but the sky was an amazing shade of blue and the beaches littered with fun shells and things from the rain the night before.  It was such a fun and relaxing family day.  We can't wait to go back to this campground.  What a gem and such a bargain at $35 per night on beach front property!

Lena gets some cherished beach time.

Daddy and Lena playing on the beach.

Post shower, pre-nap snuggle and reading time in the trailer.

Ladder ball!  A camping game favorite.

Snuggling up and snacking while watching the sunset.

Johnny, Julie, and Adam came for a visit!

Catching crabs and sea snails in the tide pools

Running in the surf.

Cozy with our propane fire - no wood or charcoal allowed!

Lena has been into hats lately.

Snack time with Mommy

On a walk with Lena

Lena loves to call out all the letters.  She is getting pretty good!

Queen of the tide pool rock!

More beach time!

Bacon, eggs, and snuggles for breakfast!

Coffee and tea time while working on our rock stacking.