Mary and David,
Thanks for your enthusiasm.
The choice of a location largely depends on how big or small a gathering you/we want to do. A half dozen campers or dozens of campers?
Montana de Oro State Park campground and the
Lopez Lake Recreation Area campgrounds are both nice. The coastal location of Montana de Oro may be a more compelling attraction to would be teardrop campers.
Yelp reviews of Montana de Oro State Park
Montana de Oro SP has a beautiful undeveloped coastal location. One of its best features is a mile+ long bluff top trail overlooking the ocean. Its a "primitive" campground (no electric, water, sewer hookups or showers) with about 48 campsites in a valley near the ocean. The bathrooms are (pretty) well maintained pit toilets without running water. Several water spigots are available in the campground. When we did the SLO Gathering there in 2007 it was after the busy summer season when campsites went off prior reservations and became first come first served. The camp host bent the rules (a lot) to help us put on the gathering which filled up the entire campground. I doubt we'd be so favored like that again. Can talk to the MdOSP Rangers to see what's possible. Big question I'd need answered is when/if (in the Fall) the campground changes from advance reservations to first-come-first-served.
Yelp reviews of Lopez Lake
Lopez Lake is owned and operated by the County of San Luis Obispo. Its in a rural setting about 10+ miles inland from Hwy. 101/Arroyo Grande. There are many more (350) campsites than MdO. Most of the campground is in oak covered hills or valleys overlooking Lopez Lake. Camp site amenities range from full RV hookup to no hookup tent sites. We used the
Beaver campsites with electric hookups for two SLO Gatherings. To camp here people would make their own reservations - up to a year in advance. Due to the recent drought the water level is low. Let's hope for plentiful winter rains to refill the lake. Lopez Lake has
new zip lines!
There are many more possible locations. Like very popular
Morro Bay State Park campground which can sell out soon after reservations become available (six months in advance). A
Paso Robles organic farm sometimes allows people to camp in their orchard and a
(kinda funky) Paso Robles hot springs allows camping.
Figueroa Mountain Campground above the Santa Ynez Valley or
Jalama Beach County Park, near Lompoc, in Santa Barbara County are other possibilities. There are more potential locations I know less well from Ventura in the south northward to Big Sur.