Expert: Steve Summers - 7/4/2007

Question
dear steve,
My wife and i have just figured out that we will not be working the 4th of july holiday.,we have opted to spend it with our 2 children,,ages 7 & 2..we would like to go to a camping spot where there will be a fireworks display,we live in the San Fernando valley and would like to stay within a 2 hour drive time.my wife is currently at the hospital working and expects that i will have the perfect place to go when she arrives home in the morning---please help...thank you

Answer
Hi David,

You're talking about NEXT year, right? Sorry if this comes too late, but I only got the email after 10 PM on July 3, after I had already gone to bed. And we woke up early July 4 and spent the day at Disneyland.

Not that it really mattered, anyway. Any camping spot in California anywhere near fireworks was booked back on January 1. Big Bear has a nice fireworks display, so you might want to stay at Serrano campground, which is the most popular of the campgrounds in the area. At the beach, Doheney State Beach is where you want to stay, since you can get a good view of the fireworks that are shot off of the barge off Dana Point Harbor. Also, San Clemente State Beach would be a good choice, since they shoot fireworks off the pier. Newport Dunes is an excellent choice, since they have a fireworks show right in the resort. However, it's very expensive to camp there.

Further north, Pismo Beach has an excellent fireworks show, and you can camp at Pismo State Beach or at Pismo Coast Village.

Hope you had fun,

Steve