Muir Beach Overlook

Muir Beach Overlook is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, just south of Stinson Beach on Highway 1 and north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Not only does this cliffside park have some beautiful sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and the coastline, but it also provides a glimpse into our wartime history.

Muir Beach Overlook contains several historic base-end stations. From these stations, soldiers viewed ships and triangulated the distance, speed, and direction of these ships in coordination with different stations. These stations were mostly important for artillery units stationed on the coast to attack any invasion. They gained particular importance during World War II immediately after the bombing of Pearl Harbor when many in California feared San Francisco or Los Angeles would be the next target. These stations became obsolete when radar technology took over. A few of them remain open like ruins where you may enter them to get somewhat of a perspective of the soldiers who were stationed there.

On clear days you can see San Francisco but there was a little bit of cloud cover so I could only see the Sutro Tower in the distance (photo 7). You also get a slight view of Muir Beach (photo 3) and you can see the top of Mount Tamalpais (photo 4, top right peak). The last photo is the large scale tactile topographic model which I thought was quite cool! It’s a beautiful place to visit with an iconic staircase that leads to the small overlook on the cliff. I highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area!

Check out my Instagram post for more pics!

Mount Tamalpais State Park

On the last day of my Highway 1 road trip, I drove from Bodega Bay down along Tomales Bay, through Point Reyes National Seashore, to Stinson Beach. I tried to park to check out the beach since I’ve never been, but due to the sunny weather it was super packed, so I gave up and moved on.

I drove a bit further and found a nice pull-out along Mount Tamalpais State Park to take a break at. Maverick climbed up a tree while I took some photos and ate some lunch. From there I continued to conquer my fear of cliffside driving until I hit the Muir Beach Overlook. More on that in my next post!

Check out more photos of the coastline and Maverick climbing the tree!

Wright's Beach Campground

My Highway 1 journey continued with me driving back south through Fort Bragg, down the Mendocino Coast, all the way back to Bodega Bay. I’m not a fan of driving near cliffs, but I’m working through my fears and handled the drive wonderfully. It helps that I got to drive slow through all the switchbacks as that reduces my anxiety, plus I always use the turnouts when a vehicle ends up behind me.

There’s an awesome small campground called Wright’s Beach where you basically camp right up on the beach. There’s about 9 sites that actually have beach front access but I was in the next row, claiming the last site that was available by chance when I booked it two days prior.

Even though my site wasn’t beach front, it was still lovely with trees all around, giving me some privacy from neighboring sites. It almost felt like a cool tree cave and made for some nice ambiance while Maverick & I hung out on my bed with the rear doors open.

When I arrived in the late afternoon, it was very gray with a low marine layer, but I still enjoyed my time on the beach watching the waves crash. Some kids were flying kites since the winds were perfect for it; one was a gorgeous butterfly that flew bright and high. Then around 7pm, the fog lifted to beautiful blue skies and it was absolutely stunning! I watched an incredible sunset (posting that next), and enjoyed a lovely fire while eating dinner.

The Perseid Meteor Shower was still going on, so I climbed up my van and laid on my roof rack to enjoy the show. I had a wonderful view of lights blazing through the night sky with so many stars and constellations to gaze at.

I woke up to a gorgeous sunny day, the first non-foggy one of my trip, and spent some more time on the beach enjoying the waves and blue sky before I had to leave. This is definitely a spot I want to camp at again!

For more photos from the campground and beach, check out my Instagram post!

Westport-Union Landing State Beach

Just North of Fort Bragg, before Highway 1 heads inland to 101, there’s some lovely first-come, first-serve camping at Westport-Union Landing State Beach. There are a few different camping lots, so I selected the one with the least amount of campers and ocean side parking for the view.

After settling in, I went down to the beach to enjoyed the waves and walked about half the length before my legs got sore from the sand giving away with each step. I found a great rock to sit up against and watched the ocean waves crash for an hour.

Once back at the van, I read my new book Blue Mind for awhile, took Maverick for a walk, and then cooked dinner. Ended the night with a foggy sunset and a fire pit. I love how the flames reflected off my van! 

Check out my Instagram post for more photos!

Ocean Cove Campground

Just north of Jenner and Timber Cove, there is this awesome campground on a cliff overlooking the ocean. I read about this place the day before I left on my coastal trip and had a feeling it would be amazing. Ocean Ocean Cove is a beautiful first-come campground with great views from pretty much any spot!

I found a great site near the cliff and parked so I could see the ocean from my bed with the rear doors open. It was slightly foggy when I arrived, but since I love the ocean breeze, I didn’t really mind.

I spent the afternoon reading whilst listening to waves crashing, then made dinner, and ended the evening with a lovely fire and Maverick’s nightly walk. I woke up to blue skies and a gorgeous view, ate breakfast, packed up, and then continued on my trek north.

Ocean Cove is definitely a campsite I plan to stay at every year. It’s not too long of a drive yet far enough away from home to feel like you got away. Next time I plan to stay a few nights and really take advantage of the views and campground!

For more photos, check out my Instagram post!

Highway 1 North Of San Francisco

I never drove the stretch of Highway 1 north of San Francisco to Fort Bragg myself, so I decided to get away from the heatwave and enjoy the coast for a few days.

It was a bit foggy once I got to the coast, but since I dislike being too hot, the change to cooler weather was much appreciated. I stopped at a small turnout after driving through Bodega Bay to eat lunch and enjoy the ocean view.

It’s a nice feeling to take photos of my beautiful van in picturesque settings. I especially love all the Cypress trees along the coast. These trees have always struck me as beautiful since they grow in harsh conditions on cliffs and fog, plus I love how they form their canopy structure with the wind.

Did you know that there are 11 species of cypress that occur in California? Sadly 7 of these have been assigned a California Rare Plant Rank of 1B (rare, threatened, or endangered). These include Santa Cruz, Tecate, Gowen, Monterey, Piute, Pygmy, and Cuyamaca cypress varietals. One of the main reasons for this is climate change and human-induced changes to the natural fire regime. If the interval between fires is too short, trees are unable to reach reproductive age before the next fire, often causing cypress to be replaced by adjacent vegetation types. Thanks to California Native Plant Society for this info.

For more photos, check out my Instagram post!