We are fortunate here in the U.S. to have extensive campgrounds and protected nature areas. Though I’ll never be able to see every local, state, and national park across the country, but I am trying to see the highlights. A friend recently recommended Kirk Creek Campground in California’s Los Padres National Forest.

The campground, he told me, is out on a bluff about 30 miles south of Big Sur. Trails lead down to the beach, which I’m sure my kids will love. In the area are sandstone formations in Rancho Nuevo, Morro Rock, and the Seven Sisters. The Piedra Blanca-Gene Marshall trail is nearby, too, but I don’t know that we’ll have time for all that. My focus now is on planning the trip and finding our Eureka family tent.