Salinas River

salinasriver

Coastal California

Foothills & Farmland

US Highway 101 cuts thru Salinas Valley & is home to the Salinas River. This area is rich in farming, and industry w/ some residential

Rolling hills with oak trees; cattle in every open field, fresh air and wide open vistas. River has no big campgrounds or city campgrounds, except for the seaside area, where the river hits the ocean @ Marina, CA

Central Coast California Wine Country

Paso Robles, Northern San Luis Obispo County –  is where the Salinas River begins & flows northbound along mountains and  highway – until it meets the Monterey Bay near Castroville, California.

  • dirt bike trailsdirtbikes
  • camping
  • farm stands
  • hiking trails
  • horseback trails
  • pinyon pine
  • oak foothills
  • mission
  • wilderness
Los Padres Monterey Map
Los Padres Monterey Map

This is a big valley river which drains agricultural land, so boating/kayaking is okay, but fishing/swimming – maybe not so great. This region grows huge amounts of produce, due to the inland coastal foothills near perfect climate. Pesticide runoffs can hardly be controlled. It’s in the well water, it’s in the irrigation channels, it’s everywhere – even inside your gut.

Anyhoo, there are several tourist sites, such as historical California missions & wineries in this region, along with Hollister Hills OHV Park. Be warned summer months can get very hot here.

Best time to visit SALINAS RIVER  is NOV-MAY, and in between winter storms, and June Gloom. NOTE: Flooding does occur in these lowlands.

horseback

Parks near Salinas River:hiker

 

Campgrounds near Salinas River:

coastal Monterey Bay –

inland @ King Citycamp

upstream Reservoirs –

    • Redondo Vista Campground (Lake San Antonio)
    • Harris Creek Campground (Lake San Antonio)
    • Lake Nacimiento Resort

This California Central Coast, mountains foothills river region is within Monterey County.

OAKS / CATTLE / FARMS / FREEWAY

Private property, ranch lands, farmland, and public land in the hills – National Forest, BLM, State Park, National Monuments, State Vehicular Recreation Area

Wildfires burn outta control in California, so campfire permits are only available during the wettest of years. Check with local ranger station in Kings City, CA

campfire

San Antonio River
Green Bridge @ Nacimiento Rd, the back way into Big Sur. San Antonio River

Lakes near Salinas River:

fish

Towns along Salinas River:

Attractions near Salinas River:

Downtown Salinas, CA
Downtown Salinas, California [circa 2002]

boatramp dog     picnic  canoeRV

Saline Valley Hot Springs
Maybe you were searching for a remote desert hot springs, called SALINE Valley? Halfway across the world? Nope, across California and the Sierra Nevada mountains.