7月13日(周一)— 7月17日(周五) · Tesla Model Y 长续航 · 睡在车里 · 抓什么吃什么
🏁 Santa Clara 往返 ~555 mi🦪 生蚝🦀 珍宝蟹+石蟹🟣 海胆🐚 挖蛤蜊/赶海🦌 麋鹿+象海豹🐋 岸边看鲸⚡ 3次超充🚿 每晚热水澡
Santa Clara → Point Reyes(麋鹿+象海豹) → Tomales湾 → Dillon Beach(挖蛤蜊) → Bodega Bay(钓螃蟹) → Salt Point(宿·蜂窝石) → Sea Ranch → Point Arena → Mendocino / Van Damme(捡海胆) → Fort Bragg / MacKerricher(珍宝蟹) → 128号公路红杉林 → Santa Clara · 四晚全部订好✅
Santa Clara → Point Reyes (elk + elephant seals) → Tomales Bay → Dillon Beach (clamming) → Bodega Bay (crabbing) → Salt Point (overnight · tafoni) → Sea Ranch → Point Arena → Mendocino / Van Damme (urchin) → Fort Bragg / MacKerricher (Dungeness) → Hwy 128 redwoods → Santa Clara · all 4 nights booked ✅
Days 1–4 · Hwy 1 north Day 5 · Hwy 128 + 101 home Supercharger Foraging/wildlife Camp (sleep+shower) Scenic
Click markers for details. Line is schematic — use car nav for turns. Map needs internet.
Why this timing is perfect: July 14 is a new moon, so every morning of the trip has a strong minus tide (~−1.5 ft) — lowest around 6:26 AM Tuesday at Tomales Bay[14], sliding ~45 min later each day. That's the golden window for clamming, urchin picking, and tidepooling. Bonus: recreational Dungeness crab is OPEN north of the Sonoma/Mendocino county line through July 30[3] — Fort Bragg is in the open zone (south of the line closed Jun 30), so we crab hard once in Mendocino County.
🐋 Huge & Weird Animals You Can Actually See
Animal
Where on route
July odds
Notes
🦌 Tule elk (bulls ~550 lb)
Day 1 · Tomales Point Reserve, Point Reyes
Near-certain
Rut begins mid-July: bugling, antler-clashing bulls. This subspecies exists only in California[11]
🐘 Northern elephant seals (to 4,500 lb)
Day 1 · Drakes Beach + Chimney Rock overlook
Near-certain
Year-round colony; July = molting juveniles & sub-adults. Keep 25 ft back[11]
🐋 Humpback whales
Day 2 sunset at Bodega Head; Point Arena, Mendocino headlands
Good
Feed near shore Jun–Oct: spouts, tail slaps, occasional breach. Binoculars!
🐳 Blue whales (largest animal ever)
Same headlands, further out
Lucky day
Jul–Sep krill season. A 30-ft vertical spout = blue
🦭 Harbor seals & sea lions
Day 3 Jenner river-mouth sandbar; Day 4 Noyo Harbor, MacKerricher boardwalk
Near-certain
Jenner sandbar often has 100+ seals with pups
🦅 Giant birds
Entire coast
Certain
Brown pelican squadrons (7-ft wingspan), ospreys hitting the water on Tomales Bay, white pelicans, black oystercatchers. Bodega Bay is where Hitchcock filmed The Birds
🦑 Weird tidepool stuff
Every minus tide
Certain
Giant green anemones, gumboot chitons (a 13-inch armored slug!), bat stars, moon snails, maybe an octopus
Not on this trip: Catalina Island bison live 500+ miles south (SoCal, needs a ferry — a separate weekend); California condors are Big Sur/Pinnacles; Roosevelt elk (even bigger) are 3 hours further north in Humboldt — next time.
Day 1 · Mon 7/13 · 1 PM-departure version · ~150 mi · Elk day
Santa Clara → (⚡ Petaluma lunch charge) → Tomales Point elk → Dillon Beach
Late-start lean version: 101 north → Petaluma Supercharger (on the way — charge FIRST!) → Point Reyes Station supplies → dusk elk walk → Dillon Beach. Cut: elephant seals / Cypress Tunnel / lighthouse — recoverable Friday on the way home (see Day 5)
Time
Plan
Distance/notes
13:00
Depart (100% from home); sleep in this morning!
101 north, past the morning rush
14:20–15:30
⚡ Petaluma Supercharger (zero detour): proper sit-down lunch, charge back to 100%
85 mi / 1h20m; 401 Kenilworth Dr, plenty of food in the shopping center
🦌 Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve: 1–2 mi walk from Pierce Point Ranch. Dusk is peak rut activity — bugling, sparring, and the best light of the day
20 mi / 45 min narrow road; bring jackets (windy evening)
19:30
Loop around Tomales Bay to Dillon Beach
~28 mi / 55 min
20:30
🌙 Check in at Lawson's Landing site 602 (call (707) 878-2443 in the morning for late-arrival steps / store hours); stage dawn gear by the door; catch sunset (8:35) and wrap up
Lights out by 10 PM, non-negotiable — 5:15 AM alarm, only ~7 h of sleep available
⚠️ Watch: rutting elk are grumpy — keep 25 m; elephant seal approach is illegal (fines); Pierce Point Rd is narrow and foggy; bring your own clam shovel (the store won't be open at 5:30 AM) — tonight's store visit is just for small extras.
Tule elk herd, Tomales PointElephant seal, Drakes BeachTomales Bay near Marshall
⚡ Petaluma → 95%🌙 Lawson's ✅ BOOKED site 602 (conf. 1266651)🚿 Coin showers right across the site
Day 2 · Tue 7/14 · ~115 mi (incl. Petaluma top-up) · The big foraging day
Dawn clamming → Marshall oysters → Bodega Bay crabbing → overnight at Salt Point
Lawson's Landing flats (minus tide!) → Marshall (Hog Island) → Bodega Bay / Doran day-use crabbing → after dinner, north to Salt Point SP (32 mi / 50 min)
Time
Plan
Distance/notes
05:15
Up with headlamps
Low tide ~06:26, −1.5 ft (verify on NOAA)
05:30–08:30
🐚 Dig gaper clams on the flats: on the sand 1 h before low, find the "shows" (squirt holes) and dig fast; limit 10/person, first 10 dug count[2]
Flats are right in front of camp; one of California's most famous clamming spots[7]
09:00
Breakfast; clams purge in a bucket of seawater; 🚿 shower
Bring quarters
09:45–10:55
⚡ Petaluma quick top-up to ~95% (Monday's charge-then-elk reorder burned 45 extra post-charge miles — these 35 minutes restore Wednesday's margin)
22 mi / 40 min out; coffee refill while charging
11:35
🦪 Drive to Marshall: buy oysters by the dozen at Hog Island's Hog Shack (open daily) and shuck them yourselves at a bay-view picnic table[16]; Tomales Bay Oyster Co. next door
Petaluma→Marshall 25 mi / 40 min
13:45
North to Bodega Bay, into the Doran Park day-use area (not staying tonight — $7/vehicle day fee)
24 mi / 40 min
14:30–17:30
🦀 Crab off the Doran jetty / Westside pier with snares: rock crab open year-round, 4" min, limit 35[2]; insurance = Spud Point crab sandwich (till 5 PM)
No license needed on a public pier; license required for snares from shore/jetty[6]
17:45
Dinner: butane-stove clams + crab at the Doran day-use picnic area (wrap by sunset), or just eat at Fishetarian / Spud Point; fill the water jugs here
Day-use closes at sunset
19:45
🐋 Bodega Head sunset whale watch — humpbacks feed close to shore all summer (skip if wiped out)
4 mi / 10 min, binoculars
20:45
🌙 North to Salt Point SP, Woodside Upper Loop site W96. You'll pass Jenner and Fort Ross in the dark — fine, plenty of seals ahead
32 mi / 50 min; arrive ~9:35 PM — quiet arrival (10 PM quiet hours), headlamps ready, food into the locker
⚠️ Watch: first 10 clams dug must be kept regardless of size (law); refill your holes; rinse gear; leave when the tide turns — it comes in fast; call the biotoxin line (800) 553-4133 before eating[15].
✅ Tonight is booked: Salt Point SP site W96 (conf. #30849447). No showers there — sun the solar shower bag on the roof all day and rinse at camp; a real hot shower comes tomorrow at Van Damme. Upside: you wake up ON the tafoni coast and Day 3's driving is cut nearly in half.
Shuck-your-own on Tomales BayThe target speciesBrown pelican, Bodega Harbor
🐚 Gaper clams🦪 Oysters🦀 Rock crab🌙 Salt Point ✅ BOOKED W96 (conf. 30849447)🚿 No showers — solar-bag night
⚡ Morning Petaluma top-up to ~95%; arrive Salt Point at ~60–65% — Wednesday's hilly leg is now comfortable.
Day 3 · Wed 7/15 · ~85 mi · The scenery day (starting at Salt Point — half the original driving)
Salt Point tafoni sunrise → Sea Ranch → Point Arena → Mendocino
Wake at Salt Point → Gerstle Cove tafoni → Sea Ranch → Gualala → Point Arena → Elk → Van Damme SP → (⚡ Fort Bragg +10 mi)
Time
Plan
Distance/notes
07:00
Wake up already at the destination: cross Hwy 1 to Gerstle Cove / the tafoni honeycomb coast for a morning walk (low tide ~7:10 — best tidepool viewing; it's a no-take reserve)
2-min drive / walkable
08:30
Breakfast, break camp; optional: backtrack 10 mi south to Fort Ross (the Russian fort you passed in the dark); skipping it is fine too
~40 min round trip
09:30
North: Sea Ranch Chapel photo stop
15 mi / 25 min
10:15
Gualala coffee + supplies (last real grocery for a while)
6 mi / 10 min
11:15
Point Arena Lighthouse + Stornetta bluffs (watch for whale spouts); Bowling Ball Beach is still near-low this morning — the boulder rows may well be showing, worth the walk down
17 mi / 30 min
13:00
Lunch in Point Arena
14:30
Elk / Cuffey's Cove — for many, the single most beautiful spot on Hwy 1; linger
17 mi / 30 min
16:00
🌙 Check in at Van Damme SP (Upper Loop #68), set camp, 🚿 catch up on last night's shower ($1/5 min); scout tomorrow's urchin cove
11 mi / 20 min
17:45
⚡ Fort Bragg Supercharger (171 Boatyard Dr, 12×250 kW) to ~90%; dinner at Noyo Harbor: Princess Seafood or Silver's
10 mi / 18 min
20:30
Back to camp, Camp Mode
Fog at night — slow
⚠️ Watch: no-signal stretch Salt Point→Gualala (offline maps should already be downloaded); almost no gas/charging on this stretch; Gerstle Cove no-take (urchins wait for Mendocino County tomorrow); winding + fog after dark.
Bowling Ball Beach at low tideHwy 1 bridge, Russian GulchMorning on the Mendocino coast
⚡ Fort Bragg → 90%🌙 Van Damme ✅ BOOKED Upper Loop #68 (conf. 30846672)🚿 Showers $1/5 min
Day 4 · Thu 7/16 · ~25 mi · Uni + Dungeness day
Dawn urchin picking → Mendocino village → Noyo Dungeness → Glass Beach → MacKerricher
Van Damme cove (urchin) → Mendocino village → Caspar Cove → Noyo Harbor → Glass Beach → MacKerricher SP
Time
Plan
Distance/notes
06:45
Hit the tidepools! Low ~07:50 (−1.2 ft)
Van Damme cove is across from the campground
07:00–09:30
🟣 Rock-pick purple urchins by hand/small pry tool at Van Damme or Caspar Cove, thick gloves on. Limit is 40 gallons/person/day in Mendocino County — purple urchins have devoured the kelp forest and CDFW wants them gone[1]; inside the Caspar Cove restoration zone it's unlimited[10]. Scissors open, spoon out the golden roe, eat with soy sauce on the spot
Caspar Cove 7 mi / 15 min; snorkelers can free-dive for fatter ones (50°F water, 7mm wetsuit)
10:30
Mendocino village headlands walk + coffee (GoodLife Cafe)
3 mi
12:30–16:00
🦀 Dungeness at Noyo Harbor — north of the county line, open through Jul 30[3]: limit 10, males, 5¾" min (use your gauge); rock crab as backup
7 mi; jetty/pier drops
16:30
Glass Beach (look, don't take) + Laguna Point boardwalk seals at MacKerricher
2 mi
17:30
🌙 Check in at MacKerricher (buy shower tokens at the entrance kiosk!); crab boil
3 mi
20:15
Ten Mile Beach sunset walk
⚠️ Critical: sneaker waves are the #1 killer on this coast — one person always watches the ocean, never turn your back; leave when the tide turns; urchin spines: tweezers + warm water; abalone is CLOSED statewide — don't take any[2]; wild mussels are quarantined May–Oct — do not eat[15].
Purple urchins in a tidepool — your uniGlass Beach, Fort BraggMacKerricher — tonight's backyard
🟣 Urchin, 40-gal limit🦀 Dungeness (open here till 7/30)🌙 MacKerricher ✅ BOOKED West Pinewood #85 (conf. 30848582)🚿 Token showers
Day 5 · Fri 7/17 · ~215 mi · Home
Fort Bragg → Hwy 128 redwood tunnel → Anderson Valley → home
⚡ Fort Bragg Supercharger (breakfast, to 100%) → Hwy 1 south → Hwy 128 east through Navarro redwoods & wine country → Cloverdale → US-101 south → Santa Clara
Time
Plan
Distance/notes
07:45
Optional last tidepool stroll (low ~08:30)
MacKerricher pools
09:00
⚡ Fort Bragg to 100%; breakfast at Eggheads or Headlands Coffeehouse
3 mi
10:30
Hwy 128: the 11-mile Navarro redwood tunnel
25 mi to the turn
12:00
Boonville lunch; Pennyroyal Farm cheese for a last picnic
14:00
101 south at Cloverdale — decision point: rescue the elephant seals? (optional add-on below)
Superchargers everywhere on 101
17:00–18:00
[No-detour version] Home with a cooler full of uni, crab, and stories
~215 mi total
🐘 Optional add-on: recover Monday's cut elephant seals (+3 h, +35 mi). Decide at Cloverdale ~2 PM Friday — if on time and not wrecked: exit for a 15-min Petaluma top-up (on the way) → Sir Francis Drake Blvd west → Cypress Tree Tunnel photo stop en route (15:10) → Drakes Beach elephant seals (15:40–16:30, year-round colony by the visitor center) → back to 101 → home ~7:30 PM. Still skip the lighthouse (+40 min more and often fogged in by afternoon). Too tired? Straight home — the seals are there year-round and worth their own day trip.
The Hwy 128 redwood tunnel homeHumpbacks feed off this coast all July
⚡ Fort Bragg → 100% · optional Petaluma
⚡ Charging Plan (Model Y LR AWD)
~310 mi rated, coastal driving at ~85% efficiency; Camp Mode uses ~8–12%/night (HVAC on). Rule: never bed down below 40%.
When
Charger
Details
Target
Mon AM
Home (Santa Clara)
Schedule to finish at departure
100%
Mon afternoon
Petaluma Supercharger (on the way north)
1 PM-departure version: arrive 14:20, lunch while charging to 100%, then elk + camp (~67 more mi today)
~100%
Tue morning
Petaluma Supercharger (after clams + showers)
09:45–10:55, 35-min top-up to ~95% — restores the margin Monday's reorder spent, keeps Wednesday's hilly leg comfortable
~95%
Wed eve
Fort Bragg Supercharger · 171 Boatyard Dr · 12 × 250 kW[12]
Arrive ~30–35%; charge during Noyo dinner
~90%
Fri AM
Fort Bragg Supercharger
Breakfast charge for the 215-mi run home
100%
Fri (opt.)
Petaluma / Novato
Only if arrival estimate <15%
+10 min
Leg-by-leg estimate
Leg
Miles
Battery used
Arriving at
Home → Point Reyes loop → Petaluma
~150
~55%
45% → charge to 95%
Petaluma (100%) → elk → Lawson's (night) → back to Petaluma Tue AM
~89
~33% + 1 night 10%
~57% at Petaluma Tue AM → top up to 95%
Petaluma (95%) → Marshall → Bodega → Salt Point (night) → all of Wed → Fort Bragg SC
~170
~63% + 1 night 10%
~20–25% at Fort Bragg — comfortable margin; backup: Little River Inn destination charger next to Van Damme (confirm on PlugShare) → charge to 90%
Fort Bragg local + 2 nights
~30
~10% + 20%
~55–60% Fri AM → full
Fort Bragg → home (128 + 101)
~215
~75–80%
~20% at home
No Superchargers on the coast itself between Petaluma and Fort Bragg. Destination-charger backups (check PlugShare): Little River Inn (next to Van Damme), Elk Cove Inn, Beachcomber Motel (Fort Bragg), inns in Gualala/Point Arena. Navigate to each Supercharger in the car so the battery preconditions.
🎣 Licenses & Regulations (read before you go)
Buy licenses BEFORE the trip — coastal signal is too weak. Buy online at CDFW[6] or at Walmart / Big 5 / bait shops. Everyone 16+ needs one for clams, urchin, and shore crabbing. Exception: no license needed to crab from a public pier. Screenshot + print.
Item
2026 price
Notes
1-day license
$21.09/person
Fine for a single foraging day
10-day nonresident license (✅ 1 bought)
~$65
Under 6 months residency = nonresident — right call. But licenses are per person: the unlicensed one of you cannot dig clams / pick urchin / run a snare (public-pier crabbing excepted). Add 2× 1-day ($42) or another 10-day for the second person
Crab trap validation
$2.98
Only for "trap"-type gear; snares & hoop nets exempt
Ocean Enhancement stamp
—
Not needed (only south of Point Arguello)
Species quick reference
Species
During your trip
Limit
Rules
Source
🟣 Purple urchin
Open
40 gal/person/day (Sonoma–Humboldt, diving); unlimited by hand in Caspar Cove zone (till 4/1/2029)
Before eating anything: call the CDPH shellfish line (800) 553-4133 for current biotoxin advisories in Marin/Sonoma/Mendocino; clean crab before cooking and skip the "butter" (viscera) — standard practice this season.
🌊 Tide Table (approx — verify on NOAA before you leave)
Date
Morning low (approx)
Height
Plan
Mon 7/13
~05:45
~−1.3 ft
On the road — skip
Tue 7/14
~06:26
~−1.5 ft (lowest of the week)
Clamming at Lawson's ✔
Wed 7/15
~07:10
~−1.4 ft
Optional Doran flats walk
Thu 7/16
~07:50
~−1.2 ft
Urchin at Van Damme/Caspar ✔
Fri 7/17
~08:30
~−0.9 ft
MacKerricher tidepool farewell ✔
Rule: arrive 60–90 min before the printed low, leave when it turns. Verify: NOAA Tides & Currents (Point Reyes station for Tomales Bay; Arena Cove for the north)[14].
📍 Why These Spots (+ distance from that night's camp)
Spot
Why it's good
From camp
Lawson's Landing flats
Huge sand flats at Tomales Bay's mouth — California's classic gaper clam grounds; camp is on-site and the store rents gear[7]
Protected harbor, dense rock crab; pier crabbing is license-free[6]
In-park / 3 mi
Van Damme / Caspar Cove
Urchin-barren epicenter — 40-gal limit + unlimited restoration zone because CDFW wants them removed; hand-pickable at minus tide[1][10]
0 min / 7 mi
Noyo Harbor
North of the county line, Dungeness open till 7/30[3]; jetty, skiff rentals, bait shops
5 mi from MacKerricher
🛒 What to Buy (Walmart / Big 5 / bait shop this weekend)
Cooking the catch
Item
~Price
Why
🔥 Butane camp stove (卡式炉) + 3 canisters
$25–35 + $10
The core item — boils crab and clams anywhere; add a windscreen
16-qt stockpot with lid
~$30
Fits two Dungeness at once
Long tongs + heat gloves
$15
Crab retrieval
Oyster knife + cut-proof glove
$12
Cheaper than buying at the Shack
Kitchen shears + metal spoon
$10
Open urchins, scoop the roe
Flavor kit: soy sauce, wasabi, lemon, garlic, butter, salt
$15
Uni sashimi, garlic clams, butter crab
Foraging / crabbing tools
Item
~Price
Why
🦀 2 crab snares + a sturdy surf rod (or 1 hoop net, no rod needed)
$12–15 each; hoop $25–35
Jetty/pier crabbing workhorse; bait = chicken necks or squid from any grocery
Crab gauge
$5–8
Legally required measuring: 5¾" Dungeness, 4" rock crab
🐚 Clam shovel (narrow-blade; a trenching spade from Home Depot works if you can't find one)
$25–35
Buy it — don't rely on renting: you hit the flats at 5:30 AM Tuesday before the store opens, so gear must be in hand Monday night, and rentals can run out. Gapers sit 2–3 ft deep — a shovel beats the suction-style clam gun; add a bottomless bucket as the hole sleeve (the local trick). Treat Lawson's store as top-up; call (707) 878-2443 en route for evening hours
The main tool for hand-catching rock crab while tidepooling: hook/pin them out of crevices and from under rocks
🦀 Long-handled dip net
$15–20
Scoop escapees; also lifts crabs off the hand-line at Doran pier
🦀 Extra-long BBQ tongs
$10
Grab crabs without meeting the claws — rock crab pincers are shell-crushers, never bare-hand them
🦀 Hand-line + bait cage (or just a chicken neck on a rope)
$8–12
The classic pier method: sink it, wait 5 min, lift slowly with the net ready — big rock crabs often ride it up refusing to let go
Big cooler + ice
have?
The ride home for your catch; restock ice at grocery stops
🦀 Catching big crabs WITHOUT diving (the 赶海 method): Rock crab — yes, you can: at a minus tide in the rocky intertidal, flip rocks (put them back), probe crevices and kelp piles; pin the crab with the hook, then grip the back of the shell from behind with a gloved hand (never reach from the front — those claws crush shells). Many tidepool ones are under the 4" minimum, so gauge and release. Dawn/night lows produce far more crabs than midday — your sunrise minus tides are ideal. Dungeness cannot be caught tidepooling (they live on subtidal sand) — for the big ones, Thursday's snare-casting off the Noyo jetty is the real shore method. Location check: no-take reserves like Gerstle Cove are off-limits; Van Damme, Caspar, and the Dillon Beach rocks are all fair game.
🎒 What to Bring
Sleeping in the car
Model Y mattress (your Yosemite setup) + a real blanket (45–55°F nights)
Window shades / privacy screens
Pillows, earplugs, eye masks
Camp Mode on; ≥40% battery at bedtime
Washing up
$10+ in quarters (shower currency)
Quick-dry towels, flip-flops, toiletries
Solar shower bag + privacy tent (no longer a backup — Salt Point Tuesday has no showers, must-bring)
Wearing
Layers: fleece + wind/rain shell (July north coast = fog + wind, 60–65°F days)
2× quick-dry pants (the flats will soak you), extra socks
Beanie (dawn tidepools are cold), sun hat, polarized sunglasses
Download offline Google Maps for the whole coast; set each day's destination in the car while in town
2 power banks, cables
Verizon holds up best out here; towns (Bodega Bay/Gualala/Mendocino/Fort Bragg) have LTE
Pre-download movies/music (camps have no signal)
Kitchen misc
2 × 5-gal drinking water, hand sanitizer, lots of paper towels
Trash bags (raccoons are pros — food in the car or site locker)
Zip bags, foil, cutting board, knife
2 camp chairs (sites have tables)
📖 Booking Status (checked evening of 7/11)
Night
Campground
Status
How to book
Mon 7/13
Lawson's Landing (Dillon Beach)
✅ BOOKED — site 602 Seawall Ocean View
Confirmation #1266651 · $80.04 paid · check-in after 1 PM / out 12 PM · showers & store right across · ask about the EV charger by the store · cancellation = full forfeiture (<5 days) — no plan changes
Tue 7/14
Salt Point SP (Doran/Westside/Bodega Dunes were all full Tue)
✅ BOOKED — Woodside Upper Loop site W96
Confirmation #30849447 · $43.25 paid · check-in 2 PM / out 12 PM · no showers (solar-bag rinse; real shower Wed at Van Damme) · fire ring + food locker · potable water spigots in campground · arrive quietly at night
Wed 7/15
Van Damme SP
✅ BOOKED — Upper Loop site #68
Confirmation #30846672 · $45 · check-in 2 PM / out 12 PM · campfire allowed · give the number at the kiosk
Thu 7/16
MacKerricher SP
✅ BOOKED — West Pinewood site #85
Confirmation #30848582 · $53.25 paid · check-in 2 PM / out 12 PM · buy shower tokens at the entrance kiosk · near the Laguna Point seal boardwalk
🎉 All four nights booked — $229.79 total. Remaining pre-trip list: ① buy fishing licenses online[6] and print them; ② call the crab/biotoxin line (800) 553-4133 before departure; ③ save all four confirmation PDFs locally on your phones (no signal on the coast); ④ shop the gear list — especially the solar shower bag (Salt Point Tuesday has no showers).
🚿 The Shower Solution (your Yosemite answer)
The trick is simple: every night is at a campground with coin/token hot showers — the main reason to book real sites instead of stealth parking (overnighting in Hwy 1 turnouts is illegal and patrolled).
Night
Camp
Shower
Mon
Lawson's Landing
Coin-op hot showers (restrooms at sites 400s–700s)[7]
Tue
Salt Point SP (booked, W96)
NO showers — solar bag on the roof all day, rinse at camp; real shower Wed at Van Damme (this is why the gear list includes the solar shower bag)
Token showers — buy tokens at the entrance kiosk on arrival[9]
Bring $10+ in quarters; at MacKerricher buy tokens at the gate.
Backup A: solar shower bag on the glass roof all day = warm rinse anywhere (+$25 privacy tent).
Backup B: Planet Fitness day pass in Petaluma/Santa Rosa on the way home.
Rinse foraging gear and hands at fish-cleaning stations/spigots, not in the shower stalls.
🚗 Car Sleeping + Internet
All four campgrounds allow sleeping in your vehicle at your site. Don't overnight in Hwy 1 turnouts or day-use lots.
Camp Mode: ~8–12%/night; July coastal nights are 45–55°F and foggy — bring the blanket anyway.
Raccoons are professionals: catch and food in the car cooler or site locker.
Frunk = wet-gear locker; keeps urchin gloves out of the bedroom.
Dead zones: Stinson→Point Reyes, Jenner→Gualala, much of Mendocino. Verizon is least-bad; towns have LTE. Set each day's nav + send a check-in message while in town each morning.
✅ All 4 nights booked — confirmation PDFs: Lawson's #1266651 / Salt Point #30849447 / Van Damme #30846672 / MacKerricher #30848582 — save locally to BOTH phones (no signal on the coast, don't count on email)
☐ Wash: solar shower bag (needed Tuesday), privacy tent, $10+ quarters, quick-dry towels, flip-flops
☐ Wear: 3 layers (quick-dry base + fleece + wind/rain shell), 2× quick-dry pants, beanie, sun hat, polarized glasses, plenty of spare socks — this week's forecast: 61–70°F days, 48–57°F nights, foggy windy dawns
☐ Safety: first-aid + tweezers, sunscreen, binoculars, paper map, 2 power banks, 2× 5-gal water, big cooler + ice, trash bags, paper towels
🏕️ Every Campsite: Arrival / Departure Routine
On arrival (each night)
☐ Give confirmation # + ID (self-check kiosk: slip on dashboard)
☐ MacKerricher: buy shower tokens at the gate first
☐ Verify site number; all wheels on the pavement
☐ Food & anything scented → locker or car (raccoons WILL visit)
☐ Refill water (find the potable spigot at Salt Point); check trash situation
☐ Stage tomorrow's gear by the door (dark-dawn grab-and-go)
☐ Battery ≥40% before Camp Mode; phones on the car charger
☐ Send location/check-in message while still in town signal
On departure (each morning)
☐ Out by 12:00 (you're always earlier)
☐ Fire dead out (water, stir, water again)
☐ Sweep the site: under the table, locker, drying towels, shower stall
☐ All trash to the camp dumpster; seafood-boil water down a drain, not on the ground
☐ Cooler: drain, re-ice the catch; wet gear into the frunk
☐ Set ALL of today's nav stops while you still have signal
☐ Glance at today's tide window and battery plan
📅 Calendar File
highway1-roadtrip-calendar.ics sits next to this file — 20 events with times, locations, and confirmation numbers. Apple Calendar: AirDrop to iPhone, tap, import. Google Calendar: calendar.google.com → Settings ⚙ → Import & export → upload the file. Import on both phones.
📍 Tesla Nav Address Table (for offline manual entry)
With no signal Tesla can't search POIs — only street addresses work. Ordered by day; favorite each day's stops every morning while in town. GPS coords are for the phone's offline Google Maps (paste into search).
Day 1 · Monday (1 PM-departure version — enter in this order)
Order
Stop
Address for the car
GPS (phone backup)
①
⚡ Petaluma Supercharger (20×150kW) — first stop, charge first
401 Kenilworth Dr, Petaluma, CA 94952
38.2436, -122.6350
②
Point Reyes Station supplies (Bovine Bakery)
11315 CA-1, Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
38.0697, -122.8065
③
🦌 Pierce Point Ranch (dusk elk trailhead)
End of Pierce Point Rd, Inverness, CA 94937 (enter "Pierce Point Rd", drive to the end)
38.1897, -122.9539
④
🌙 Lawson's Landing (site 602)
137 Marine View Dr, Dillon Beach, CA 94929
38.2321, -122.9645
(Drakes Beach elephant seals & Cypress Tunnel moved to Friday's optional add-on — addresses in the Day 5 table)
Day 2 · Tuesday
Stop
Address
GPS
⚡ Petaluma Supercharger (morning top-up, first stop)
401 Kenilworth Dr, Petaluma, CA 94952
38.2436, -122.6350
🦪 Hog Island Oyster Co.
20215 Shoreline Hwy (CA-1), Marshall, CA 94940
38.1616, -122.8935
🦀 Doran Regional Park (day use)
201 Doran Beach Rd, Bodega Bay, CA 94923
38.3126, -123.0384
Spud Point Crab Co.
1910 Westshore Rd, Bodega Bay, CA 94923
38.3300, -123.0569
🐋 Bodega Head (whales)
Drive Westshore Rd to its end, Bodega Bay, CA
38.3037, -123.0640
🌙 Salt Point Woodside Campground (W96)
25050 CA-1, Jenner, CA 95450 (Woodside entrance is on the east/inland side)
38.5731, -123.3204
Day 3 · Wednesday
Stop
Address
GPS
🪨 Gerstle Cove (tafoni)
Salt Point SP day-use, west side across Hwy 1
38.5661, -123.3319
Fort Ross (optional backtrack)
19005 CA-1, Jenner, CA 95450
38.5142, -123.2436
Sea Ranch Chapel
40033 CA-1, The Sea Ranch, CA 95497
38.7106, -123.4448
🗼 Point Arena Lighthouse
45500 Lighthouse Rd, Point Arena, CA 95468
38.9546, -123.7407
Bowling Ball Beach (Schooner Gulch)
Roadside pullout at Schooner Gulch Rd & CA-1, Point Arena
38.8683, -123.6532
Elk / Cuffey's Cove viewpoint
Greenwood State Beach, 6100 CA-1, Elk, CA 95432
39.1288, -123.7176
🌙 Van Damme SP (site 68)
8125 CA-1, Little River, CA 95456
39.2735, -123.7899
⚡ Fort Bragg Supercharger (12×250kW)
171 Boatyard Dr, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
39.4207, -123.8053
Princess Seafood (dinner)
32410 N Harbor Dr, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
39.4258, -123.8043
Day 4 · Thursday
Stop
Address
GPS
🟣 Caspar Cove (urchin option B)
14441 Point Cabrillo Dr, Caspar, CA 95420 (beach across from Caspar Beach RV Park)
39.3632, -123.8177
GoodLife Cafe (Mendocino village)
10485 Lansing St, Mendocino, CA 95460
39.3060, -123.7990
🦀 Noyo Harbor jetty
Drive N Harbor Dr to its end, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
39.4266, -123.8085
Glass Beach
Elm St & Glass Beach Dr, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
39.4527, -123.8134
🌙 MacKerricher SP (site 85)
24100 MacKerricher Park Rd, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
39.4871, -123.7955
Day 5 · Friday
Stop
Address
GPS
Eggheads breakfast
326 N Main St, Fort Bragg, CA 95437
39.4468, -123.8053
🌲 Navarro redwood tunnel (Hwy 128)
Navarro River Redwoods SP, CA-128, Navarro, CA
39.1530, -123.5540
Pennyroyal Farm (Boonville)
14930 CA-128, Boonville, CA 95415
39.0090, -123.3599
⚡ Petaluma Supercharger (optional top-up; on the way if doing the seal detour)
401 Kenilworth Dr, Petaluma, CA 94952
38.2436, -122.6350
🐘 [Optional] Cypress Tree Tunnel (en route to the seals)
Verification note: Supercharger (Petaluma 401 Kenilworth Dr; Fort Bragg 171 Boatyard Dr) and state-park addresses were cross-checked against Tesla/park/Yelp listings; small shops and viewpoints use public directory values — if a street number disagrees, trust the GPS coordinates. Favorite each day's stops in the car every morning while you still have signal.
📚 Sources (numbers match the superscripts)
Cal. Code Regs. 14 CCR §29.06 — Purple sea urchin: 40-gal/day dive limit in Sonoma/Mendocino/Humboldt, no possession limit; unlimited hand-take in the Caspar Cove restoration zone (till 4/1/2029).
CDFW Marine Management News (2025–26 season): domoic-acid delays, statewide opening Mar 27 with trap restrictions in some zones (hoop nets/snares still legal — hence our snares).
Caspar Cove Project + Mendocino Voice coverage: community urchin-removal events (usually last weekend monthly), snorkel-friendly, tidepool hand-picking at minus tides, bring your own gloves/tools.
Hog Island Oyster — Marshall: Hog Shack to-go oysters daily; Shuck-Your-Own Thursdays 11–4 walk-in at The Boat (you pass on Tuesday, hence the to-go + self-shuck plan).
Honesty note: tide times are computed approximations (±20 min), not day-checked NOAA values; site counts are a 7/11 snapshot; crab season can change mid-season for whales or toxins. Re-check [3][13][14][15] 24–48 h before departure.