These SLO County campgrounds are reopening after coronavirus closures
Campers can now set up their tents and recreational vehicles in a few of San Luis Obispo County’s state and county campgrounds, as long as they observe strictly enforced COVID-19 guidelines.
Starting Sept. 19, campgrounds at Hearst San Simeon and Morro Bay state parks and Morro Strand State Beach are open for business after closing in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, according Dan Falat, superintendent of the state park district that includes those camping facilities.
Some campgrounds at South County state parks also reopened after coronavirus-related closures.
Likewise, San Luis Obispo County parks are once again open to campers from outside the area, according to Nick Franco, who heads up the county Parks Department.
The decisions to open the campgrounds were based on continuing coordination between the departments, the county Health Department and state officials.
Recent changes were made in state orders and county guidelines, based on the number of novel coronavirus cases in the county and other factors. That led to the timing of the reopenings.
While some state park campgrounds reopened earlier, Falat said that “we wanted to be consistent” with the county’s regulations.
“As state parks, we have to be open to everybody,” he said, and accepting all campers when county parks were closed to out-of-county visitors would have sent an inconsistent message.
Campgrounds open at state parks in SLO County
According to Falat, no guest or courtesy passes will be issued to non-registered campers or friends at the state parks reopening in San Luis Obispo.
Day-use areas and parking lots will remain open to the public at those parks during the day, he said, but nighttime and overnight restrictions remain in place and will be strictly enforced.
Not all restrooms will be open, so campers should come prepared with soap, sanitizer and other items that will help keep them clean and safe, Falat said. Campers with recreational vehicles are encouraged to use their in-unit restrooms to help reduce the use of the public facilities, another safety precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campers must wear face coverings when they are unable to stay at least six feet away from others.
Can you camp at Montana de Oro, Oceano Dunes?
Camping at Montana de Oro State Park remains closed, Falat said.
After having “significant” numbers of visitors to the park near Los Osos during the pandemic, “we had to close the park at certain times,” Falat said.
Because Montana de Oro doesn’t have a traditional campground layout with a single kiosk operation point at which all campers must check in, he said, “it’s more difficult to make sure they’re reservation holders, and to enforce our limit of eight people and two vehicles per campsite,” as will be the case at the reopened state parks.
Kevin Pearce, chief ranger for the state park district that includes Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area and state park campgrounds in Pismo State Beach, said Sept. 16 that there’s currently no change to the closed status of the Oceano Dunes, which includes the undeveloped beach camping areas and the park entrances at Pier and Grand avenues.
“There are no changes planned now for the SVRA,” he said. “We’re still working toward that, but we don’t have any dates to share yet.”
However, Pearce said, Pismo State Beach’s North Beach and Oceano campgrounds reopened Sept. 21.
The same COVID-19 guidelines being enforced at the North Coast campgrounds will apply in the state’s South County facilities, he said.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming back” the people who’ve been anxious to camp at those sites, Pearce said.
Hearst Castle remains closed due to coronavirus
Hearst Castle in San Simeon has been closed since March 16, and there’s still no hint of when the state will allow the former estate of media magnate William Randolph Hearst to reopen, Falat said.
“The Castle has its own unique challenges,” Falat said. “I think that reopening will take longer to work through. In the meantime, we’ll keep looking at what other museums are doing, trying to learn from those.”
One major difference between the Castle and a traditional museum setting, he said, is the tours.
Most people go to other museums with their owns bubble of family members and friends. For most Castle tours, visitors are in groups, and social distancing could be difficult, especially in tight quarters inside the hilltop structures, in the visitor center and on the tour buses that transport visitors to and from the Castle.
Tour routes can, and likely will, be adapted for social distancing, Falat said, but those changes can only accomplish so much.
While they wait for the rules to change, Falat said he and his staff are “making ourselves ready, constantly adapting to whatever the intricate conditions and modifications might be.”
“When we reopen, we must do it as safely as we can, within all the guidelines and protocols,” he said. “When it’s safe to reopen, we’ll be ready to provide a wonderful experience for our visitors, just as we’ve always done in the past.”
SLO County parks open to out-of-area visitors
Franco confirmed that San Luis Obispo County has lifted ts restriction barring out-of-county visitors from camping at county parks.
“This is based on the decline in new cases, low hospitalization rate and no tracing of transmission to campgrounds,” he said.
Franco said “campsites are spaced safe distances from each other, restrooms and showers are sanitized daily, and physical distancing is required during registration” and camping.
As is the case at the state parks, “campers should bring plenty of soap and sanitizer to use in the campground,” Franco said.
He added that there will still be no use allowed of “group campsites, group activities or playgrounds, and other gatherings are still prohibited.” Likewise, “no special events or other group reservations are permitted,” Franco said.
“Fires are prohibited in most campgrounds at the moment due to the fire danger,” Franco said.
The reopened state park campgrounds do allow fires, but only in fire rings, Falat said. “No ground fires of any kind are allowed,” he said.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 3:27 PM.
