Moto Camping – It's Worth Looking For a Room With a View

The other weekend, I decided to venture out and explore some of the wonders of California. As someone that lives in the Mission District of San Francisco, I often times feel a bit claustrophobic and overwhelmed by the number of people, scents, and scenes that I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. From time to time, it's necessary to get out and see something truly beautiful. For the past year or so the method of choice for this has been the KTM Adventure 990 S. It's such an amazing machine. If you want to go see any part of the state without having to tow a full on dirt bike then this is the bike. Anyway, enough about the machine itself, this is about THE RIDE!

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Starting sometime a little before lunch, I moseyed over to the bistro next door to have breakfast and plan a solid route that would get me out of this place so many have decided to call home. As countless riders have done before, I sat there drinking my coffee asking myself, "Do I go the western route, or the eastern route? How much dirt can I find between here and there? How can I stay off that damned highway?" Some caffeine and a breakfast burrito later, I had settled on a easterly out with a westerly back. I quickly gathered my things and went through the usual system check before beginning my ride down the super fast HWY 101 to Gilroy where the even faster 25 awaited. Once down near Pinnacles, there is an excellent dirt route known as La Gloria Rd. that will take you back over to the 101 near Soledad.

La Gloria Rd.

La Gloria is a beautiful road that starts off with a pretty quick section that rarely has too much traffic on it. There's a spectacular tree just before the windy section that takes you down the mountain and into Soledad. I highly recommend stopping there for a quick safety check and a moment to soak it all in.

Admittedly, the next section on the 101 was by far the most boring bit of the trip. Cruising along, I watched the people drift along in their cars while fiddling with their phones and swaying from lane to lane—I tried to avoid getting anywhere near them. I hate these major highway stretches. Suddenly, the exit for Jolon Road popped up (finally, a break from this monotony.) Following that through to Fort Hunter Leggitt, I stopped by the beautiful Mission San Antonio de Padua.

Mission San Antonio de Padua

This mission was built sometime back in 1771 and it's still a beautiful site to behold. They are doing some reconstruction on it, however, so some sections are covered by scaffolding or not accessible. Either way, it was still a great pitstop before the madness of Naciemento-Fergusson Rd.

It's been said that Naciemento-Fergusson road is not a "safe" road. I, however, find it quite an excellent one to travel. The single lane on a windy mountainside sprinkled with majestic views of enormous valleys beckons to be ridden. Every now and then you just have to stop and appreciate the shear immensity of it all. Luckily, there are occasional turnouts to do just that.

Naciemento-Fergusson View

I ran across a few other adventure bike riders there and they looked to be enjoying the twisty, scenic gem as much as I. There was also one pillion rider sitting back and oodling over the views.

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As I reached the top of the hill, I finally saw the road I'd been waiting for, the Coastal Ridge Rd. Now I don't know if you've ever been down this way, but if you are ever in the mood for a nice spot to camp for an evening and don't mind getting a little dirty to get there, then this is the place for you. All along the Coastal Ridge Road there are "dispersed campgrounds" with huge open views of the Pacific. The road can be a bit rutted and it is very small so...yeah. It is something else though.

Coastal Ridge Rd.

As you follow this road back about 4-5 miles you'll come to a Y in the road; take the upper road to the right and you'll end up at Prewitt Ridge Campground. This campground is very primitive and has no amenities for the types of people that need that. There are quite a few spots to camp and it's a first come first server setup. I road along trying to find just the perfect spot and eventually settled for a site that I'm fairly certain wasn't a spot in the traditional sense, but it suited my needs. I stripped off the gear and set up camp for the night.