Kirk Creek Review

My girlfriend and I stayed at Kirk Creek Campground in Big Sur for the first time from June 6-9, 2009. A few notes and observations:

1. The campgrounds nearest highway 1 get freeway noise.

2. Not many of the campsites have trees for natural shade

3. The ocean views are absolutely awesome and striking from almost every campsite.

4. There is a possibility to have a camper trailer block your view when camped in front of you.

5. Wildlife - Squirrels come out first thing in the morning and will eat through your garbage or whatever is left out on the table.

At night, racoons, who have a tendency to steal, will walk off with any type of food that they can get their paws on. I caught one in the bed of my truck and it ran off with a loaf of bread. The same night, there were three of them trying to open my ice chest. That night I locked the food in the bed of my truck, and put the ice chest inside my vehicle and the problem was solved.

6. The bathrooms are not the most private. In the men's there was one stall and one toilet. If you need some privacy, best to go after 10pm or before 7am.

7. We always reserve our sites when we camp. But we seen many people be able to walk up and reserve a site. Even when the campground sign reads "Full" grab a permit and drive through and look to stake your claim. I even seen the camp host giveaway a reserved site because the people had not been there and the reservation ended the next morning.

8. Plenty of undrinkable water from faucets that provide for cleaning.

9. Where I live, in Pismo Beach, it can get very windy and make the beach miserable. But I noticed that even though there were onshore winds coming off of the ocean, (whitecaps), that Kirk Creek stayed pretty calm. It also sits in a bay and faces southwest. I noticed one day that a wind that came from the north completely missed Kirk Creek because of the mountains surrounding it.

10. The camprground is very quiet all day. The campers go to sleep at about 10:00pm, and wake around 8:00am. My girlfriend called me the camp partyer becasue I like to sit by the fire until 11pm and was the only one awake.

11. There was a camp host named Rick there. I very dapper and nice guy.

12. They also sell wood for $5 per bundle. It's enough to get you through a small fire for one night, but you will need kindling to start your fire.

13. Pack as much stuff as you can. There is a store in Lucia, and the prices arent cheap. In Lucia and Big Sur the prices were as follows: 8lb. bag of ice, $3.75. 8 oz. of cheese $6.99. Domestic beer six pack $11.99. Imported/Micro six pack $15.99. We bring block ice for our grocery ice chest and that lasted a full 4 days.

14. Plan to go during a full moon if you can. It's absolutely beautiful as the it shines through the trees and over the ocean.

15. Beacause it is next to the ocean, there is always a slight wind that can strip the heat off of you, as opposed to a Limekiln Campsite that is enclosed by trees and mountains. Limekiln and similar sites are more insulated.

My girlfriend would always got to bed early at Kirk Creek because it was cold, while at Limekiln, we were able to stay up and play cards because it was a little warmer.

These are the things that I think people should know when traveling to Kirk Creek. Obviously these are the negatives. I won't bother to list the positives because they are abundant and I could make 100 points. We were in love with Limekiln campground and thought there could not be one better. Now we're in love with Kirk Creek.

I hope this helps.