This week we took the kids backpacking in the Silver Peaks Wilderness and it was absolutely spectacular! Views of the ocean, incredibly diverse plant life along the trail and a shady place to camp with trees to climb and big rocks to use as our kitchen table.
March 27th, 2026
We started our backpacking trip by parking at Salmon Creek Trailhead, which is along the PCH just a few miles north of Ragged Point and about 1.5 hours north of Pismo Beach, CA, where we currently have our trailer. The trailhead is right off the road and is not big but we managed to find a place to park the truck on a Sunday afternoon. There were several large groups hiking to close by Salmon Creek Falls but we continued uphill toward Silver Peaks Wilderness.
The trail is on a part of the coast where cliffs meet the sea so it is steep and many sections are quite exposed, which gives you excellent views of the ocean, mountains and canyons, and possibly more sun than you may be hoping for with a pack on your back. We were grateful for intermittent shade breaks along the trail and drank lots of water on our way up.
There is also a lot of poison oak and stinging nettles growing along the trail so we were glad we had long pants to hike in even though it was a warm day.
The diversity of plant life we saw along this trail was incredible! We saw ferns and yuccas on the same hike, two plants that typically grow in very different environments. We also spotted salmonberries and thimbleberries, and tons of wildflowers: California poppies, paintbrush, lupine, and wild irises.
Our original plan was to hike to Spruce Camp, a designated backcountry campsite a few miles into the Silver Peaks Wilderness. Other hikers hiking down the trail told us there were already a few people there and we knew it was small, so when we found a spot with an ocean view, climbing trees, a wide flat spot to set up a tent and rocks that would make the perfect kitchen table, we decided to make camp right there.
After setting up camp and eating some dinner we hiked farther along the trail at sunset. The trail becomes narrower with steep drop offs, something to be aware of when hiking with young kids.
The next morning we packed up and began our trek down the trail. We were in the shade in the morning since the trail mostly faces west which made for very comfortable hiking temperatures. Near the bottom of the trail there is an option to split off and hike to Salmon Creek Falls, which we had skipped the day before since we knew it was busy. We hiked the short way to the falls and had the place to ourselves.
At the bottom of the waterfall is a calm, clear swimming hole so we all decided to jump in. It was cold and refreshing, and the perfect end to another great overnight backpacking trip with the kids. We will definitely go back the next time we are in Pismo Beach!