DAY 1 — Monday Apr 7
📍 Los Altos → Arroyo Seco Campground 17 SITES AVAIL
Leave ~2pm • 2.5 hr drive via 101 South → Greenfield → Arroyo Seco Rd
🏞️ Riverside camping under oaks • Swimming holes • Campfire night
💰 $25/night — reservable on recreation.gov
DAY 2 — Tuesday Apr 8
📍 Arroyo Seco → Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd → Ridgeline Camp DISPERSED — FREE
Morning river hike • Drive Nacimiento-Fergusson Road over the mountains 🔥
🚙 25 mi mountain road — ridgeline views, ocean panoramas, 3,000 ft summit
⛺ Dispersed camp on the ridgeline (South Coast Ridge Rd / Cone Peak Rd pull-offs)
No reservation needed — this is proper Jeep camping! Free on NF land.
DAY 3 — Wednesday Apr 9
📍 Coast Day → Return to Ridgeline Camp
🏖️ Drive down to Sand Dollar Beach (biggest beach in Big Sur)
💎 Jade Cove — hunt for jade on the beach with the kids!
🥾 Salmon Creek Falls hike (easy 1 mi RT, waterfall into swimming hole)
🌊 Drive north: McWay Falls overlook • Partington Cove tunnel
Return to ridgeline camp for final campfire night 🔥
DAY 4 — Thursday Apr 10
📍 Ridgeline → Hwy 1 → Los Altos (2.5 hrs)
Pack up after breakfast • Drop to Hwy 1, drive north through Big Sur
📸 Bixby Bridge photo stop • Optional: Carmel lunch stop
Home by early afternoon via Hwy 1 → 101 North