Camping at Half Moon Bay on the California Coast

Looking for more to explore near Half Moon Bay?
Bike the California Coastal Trail or explore tide pools at J V Fitzgerald Marine Reserve.

AMENITIES

• Flush toilets
• Drinkable water
• Coin-operated hot showers — a five-minute shower costs $1.25 in quarters
• Picnic tables and fire rings at all sites
• Cell service
• 25 campsites with electrical hookups
• Paved parking pads
• Garbage & recycling services
• Water and dump station for RVs
• Firewood for sale from camp host

ABOUT THE SITES

• Francis Beach Campground has 52 campsites and is open year round.
• There are no water or sewage hookups, but there is a dump station at the campground where you can fill up on water or dump your sewage for $10.
• Most sites include electrical hookups and cost $50 per night.
• 13 of the sites do not include electrical hookups and cost $35 per night. This includes four sites that are tent-only and require a short walk from your vehicle.
• Premium oceanfront sites cost $65 per night and include electricity. There are ten premium sites, and in addition to their oceanfront location, they are also slightly larger than most other campsites. Some include shade.
• Campsites are available for reservations online up to six months in advance. Book online through www.reservecalifornia.com, and create an account ahead of time to make it easier to reserve. To make a reservation for Francis Beach Campground, search for “Half Moon Bay SB”.
• Advance reservations are practically mandatory and popular times can fill within minutes (sometimes even seconds!) after becoming available online.
• Dogs are allowed on leash in the campground, but are not allowed on the beach. Some beaches outside of Half Moon Bay State Beach allow dogs.

• Campsites at Francis Beach Campground are small. The premium sites are larger, as are a few of the non-electrical sites on the east side of the loop.
• Most sites are close together with no natural barriers between sites.
• Most sites are very exposed to the sun. Many of the sites on the east side of the loop offer partial shade, but are still very open. A few of the premium sites also offer a little shade.
• Our campsite, #1, was modest and located in the middle of the main campground loop. There are no physical barriers between campsites, but since most campers had RVs, that essentially created a man-made wall between us and our neighbors. While this isn’t how we usually camp, the setting was so beautiful and relaxing we still loved the experience.
• Bring quarters for showers. A five-minute shower costs $1.25 in quarters.
• Bring soap or hand sanitizer for the restrooms. Francis Beach Campground has flush toilets with sinks, but there was no soap unless a helpful camper decided to leave some to share. It’s the beach, so expect that bathrooms will get dirty quickly. They were cleaned each morning during our stay.

FUN STUFF

• Play on the beach. It’s no more than a five-minute walk to the beach from any campsite at Francis Beach Campground. While the day use area gets crowded on sunny days, especially weekends, there’s plenty of room to spread out if you’re willing to walk a little further.
• Go for a walk. You can walk the paved Coastal Trail, or meander short sandy paths that lead through coastal shrubbery to the beach. Keep an eye — and an ear — out for songbirds.
• Bike the Coastal Trail. This multi-use trail is open to bicyclists and pedestrians, and is a great way to check out the changing coastline. Numerous public beaches can be accessed along the trail, as well as clifftop views and, in spring, an abundance of wildflowers.
• Check out the visitor center. During our stay in April, it was only open on the weekend, so we didn’t have the chance to visit. If you visit while it’s open, the center provides information and insights into the local environment.

NEARBY & NOTABLE

• The town of Half Moon Bay has a charming downtown with cafés, boutiques, and restaurants. It also has all the standard services you may need, including grocery stores, banks, and gas stations. We enjoyed lunch at Dad’s Luncheonette, a funky eatery housed in an old train car with a focus on local food.
• The J V Fitzgerald Marine Reserve is a fabulous place to explore at low tide. A short hike (with lots of stairs) leads to a protected beach where a vast network of tide pools is revealed when the water is low. This is also a good place to spot harbor seals.
• San Francisco is only an hour’s drive from Half Moon Bay, and offers a wealth of places to explore. We spent two days in the city during our stay at Francis Beach Campground, and visited the Exploratorium, Alcatraz, Coit Tower, and took a ride on the famous cable cars. Of course, that’s only the tip of the iceberg, and there is much more to see and do.
• Beaches, beaches, and more beaches! There are many accessible beaches along this stretch of the California Coast, with plentiful opportunities for beach walks, sunset views, and surfing.
• Visit the redwoods. There are several inland parks near Half Moon Bay where you can experience some of the world’s tallest trees. Purisima Creek Redwoods Preserve is a good choice, and only a 20-minute drive from Francis Beach Campground.

THE VERDICT

Francis Beach Campground at Half Moon Bay is a wonderful home base for exploring the California Coast near San Francisco. Or, if you prefer, an ideal place to simply wind down and relax. It’s perfect for families, with easy access to both the beach and the Coastal Trail bike path. With grocery stores and other services only a mile away, it’s also incredibly convenient. If you forgot to pack the hot dog buns, just swing by the store.

I admit that the campground itself feels a little more like an RV park than the typical campgrounds we seek out. However, with such an ideal location, that hardly seemed to matter. Simply hanging out at our campsite, with the smell of the salty breeze and the comforting lull of the ocean waves in the background, was relaxing. The kids biked and played in the sand, and life was good.

Due to its beachfront location, Half Moon Bay campers should expect some wind, fog, and possibly rain during their stay. We spent a week at Francis Beach Campground in April, and were pleasantly surprised to find that the wind was minimal. Temperatures generally peaked in the 60s, and the clouds often burned off in the afternoon. It was still chilly overnight, so layers were definitely de rigueur.

Francis Beach Campground offers restrooms and showers at each end of the campground. Bring quarters for the showers, or stop by your local bank branch in town. The water pressure and temperature were top notch. Unfortunately, the restrooms got dirty quickly, despite a daily cleaning each morning. This is just the way it goes at the beach, as muck and sand gets tracked in throughout the day. Also, the restrooms had NO SOAP. Be sure to bring your own.

Despite these quibbles, our stay at Francis Beach Campground was, in a word, fantastic. The biggest challenge is getting reservations in the first place, since they fill so quickly. But if you manage to snag one, you’re in for a treat, and I hope you enjoy an amazing stay at Half Moon Bay.

The fog hit just before we arrived at Half Moon Bay. We pulled into the driveway at Francis Beach Campground under misty grey skies, which stood in stark contrast to our sunny drive down winding Half Moon Bay Road. After checking in at the entrance kiosk, we backed into site #1.

Our friends, who were staying nearby in site #5, greeted us enthusiastically. Despite unexpected odds, they had made it up from Southern California, and we were thrilled to see them. In fact, it was thanks to them that we had even managed to book these sites — Kari snagged the last two available campsites the moment reservations opened for our arrival date. At Half Moon Bay, reservations often sell out in seconds. We may not have been lucky enough to score premium sites, but we really couldn’t complain.

As we set up camp, the mist began to evaporate, and the sky shifted from grey to a soft baby blue. I was dazzled by the gorgeous purple flowers overlooking the beach. It was a magical scene, but I later learned that this non-native succulent, called ice plant, is actually invasive. As you explore more of the area, you’ll notice that in some places the ice plants have completely taken over. In others, there has been a concerted effort to restore the native habitat.

A good example of the latter is the trail at the north end of Francis Beach Campground that leads to a quieter section of the beach. Here, I became immersed in nature, surrounded by wild greenery and the trills of songbirds.

On our first morning at Half Moon Bay, we steered our bikes onto the California Coastal Trail. Easy access to this paved bike and pedestrian path was, in my opinion, one of the best parts of our stay at Francis Beach Campground. We headed north to El Granada for lunch at Sam’s Chowder House, stopping to admire ocean views along the way.

Back at the campground, Michael and the boys enjoyed learning to ride our friend’s Onewheel scooter. Over and over, they circled the campground, growing more confident with each loop. The kids carted the wagon down to the beach, played catch, and enjoyed the kind of outdoor freedom that comes with camping. The adults lounged at our campsites and prepared easy camp meals. We also took advantage of our proximity to San Francisco and headed into the city for a couple full days of sightseeing and exploration.

Back at Francis Beach Campground, life was easy. Over the course of our six-night stay, we saw numerous other campers come and go, but the overall vibe remained mellow and relaxed. I do wonder if things amped up over the weekend, however. A number of large, well-equipped rigs pulled into several of the vacated campsites on Thursday afternoon. The weekend warriors had arrived.

Luckily, we didn’t have to deal with much noise. Unfortunately, our friends, whose small tent trailer doesn’t block sound well, heard the group across from them talking late into the night toward the end of our stay. This is definitely one of the downsides to camping in such close quarters.

Overall, our stay at Half Moon Bay was lovely, and a welcome break from all the craziness of life these days. There was no need to follow the news, think about work or school, or pack our days with endless activities. Here at Francis Beach Campground we could be outside, unwind, and do as we liked each day. Sometimes, that’s what camping is all about.