The first new state park campground on the coast in 30 years will feature ocean frontage from coastal bluff tops on Monterey Bay and likely sellout dates available the moment it opens in 2022.

The location is the Fort Ord Dunes State Park, which has 4 miles of stellar ocean beach on Monterey Bay and is located near Marina, roughly south of Moss Landing and north of Monterey.

Fort Ord Dunes, the former military unit, opened 10 years ago with little supporting infrastructure and is one of a handful of state parks providing free parking and access. It gets overlooked because there is no direct turnoff to parking off Highway 1, as is available at most state parks along the Pacific Coast Highway.

“This landscape provides some of the best views of coastal dunes anywhere in the state,” said Brent Marshall, district superintendent for State Parks. “Many Californians lack access to parks, open spaces and natural and cultural amenities. Creating a new campground will help make these dynamic sand dunes accessible to all.”

The campground will be sited at a spot called Bunker 4 and designed with three separate units, said Adeline Yee at State Parks headquarters.

One unit will have 45 RV sites, including drive-through sites, with hookups for electricity and water, according to the plan. Another is designed for family camping, with 40 sites for tents and small, self-contained RVs. A third area will have walk-in sites for backpack-style campers and also will be available for cyclists, such as those riding Highway 1.

According to a planning document, a boardwalk will allow access to the beach, without damage crossing sensitive dunes. The shore here is a gentle, curving white sand beachfront, fronted by clear, turquoise water, backed by sloping cliffs and bluffs. The beach extends for miles in both directions.

In addition, two overlooks will be built that provide “fantastic 360-degree panorama views,” according to the document, where visitors will be able to take in views across Monterey Bay in one direction, and historic Fort Ord in the other, along with oceanfront cities Sand City, Seaside and Monterey.

One of the overlooks will be in the campground at a crest that overlooks Monterey Bay. The other will be just south of the campground near an old guard tower from Fort Ord’s military past, which overlooks the nearby bluffs, dunes and coastal hills.

The park right now

When you arrive in the area, there is no direct turnoff from Highway 1 to parking and access. Fort Ord Dunes is located right beside the highway, but to get there, once you take the exit for Lightfighter Drive, it is a short, circuitous route to the park (Garmin, Google and State Parks all provide slightly different directions). To get there, you exit to the west, loop back over the highway to the east, then after jogging north for a mile, drive back west over the highway to parking.

More Information If you want to go Location: Ford Ord Dunes State Park is on the shore of Monterey Bay near Marina, south of Moss Landing and north of Monterey. Cost: Parking, access is free; as facilities are developed, a day-use fee is anticipated. Facilities: Chemical toilets are available. Dogs: Leashed dogs are permitted on roads. No dogs on beach. Beach fires: No campfires or bonfires are permitted on beach or in park. Camping: A new campground is planned for 2021. State park campgrounds on Monterey Bay are available to the north at Sunset, Manresa, Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches; reserve at www.reservecalifornia.com. Contacts: Fort Ord Dunes State Park, Monterey District Headquarters, 831-649-2836, www.parks.ca.gov. How to get there Coast route: From Half Moon Bay, take Highway 1 for 48 miles to Santa Cruz (pass the McDonald’s and continue 0.6 of a mile, stay left) to signed junction for Highway 1. Turn left (still Highway 1) and drive 36.1 miles to Marina and E xit 406 for Lightfighter Drive. Take that exit onto Lightfighter and loop east over the highway for 0.2 mile to 2nd Avenue. Turn left on 2nd and go 0.4 of a mile to Divarty Street. Turn left on Divarty and go 0.3 mile to 1st. Turn right on 1st and continue 0.3 of a mile to 5th Street (it jogs to the left) and continue on 5th for 0.4 mile to 8th Street. Turn left and drive 0.3 of a mile (west over the highway) to parking on the right. Inland route: From San Francisco Peninsula, take I nterstate 280 south to Highway 85 South (signed for Gilroy). Take Highway 85 south for 7.7 miles to Exit 11A for Highway 17 South (signed for Santa Cruz). Take that exit, merge onto Highway 17 South and drive 21.5 miles to the exit for Highway 1 South (signed for Monterey). Take that exit and merge onto Highway 1 and drive 34.6 miles to Marina and exit 406 for Lightfighter Drive. Take that exit onto Lightfighter and loop east over the highway for 0.2 of a mile to 2nd Avenue. Turn left on 2nd and go 0.4 of a mile to Divarty Street. Turn left on Divarty and go 0.3 of a mile to 1st. Turn right on 1st and continue 0.3 of a mile to 5th Street (it jogs to the left) and continue on 5th for 0.4 of a mile to 8th Street. Turn left and drive 0.3 of a mile (west over the highway) to parking on the right. Distances: 15 miles from Moss Landing, 38 miles from Santa Cruz, 57 miles from Los Gatos, 80 miles from Woodside, 87 miles from Half Moon Bay, 95 miles from Dublin, 110 miles from downtown San Francisco, 113 miles from Walnut Creek, 117 miles from Sausalito.

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The best first trip is on a boardwalk, built to protect the dunes from foot traffic, which leads about 1,500 feet to a viewing platform perched on the edge of the bluffs. You get a panorama of Monterey Bay and out to sea, up and down the beach, with the chance to sight the spouts of whales, plus passing boats, ships and shorebirds.

Most then take a trail down to the beach. This is the kind of place where you can take a seat, have a picnic, and watch the gentle waves lap at the beach as if it were the beginning of time. You can play tag with the waves, go for a walk or a hike that feels like it extends to forever. It seems that those who walk a bit can have the place all to themselves.

To the nearby east, the Fort Ord National Monument, operated by the Bureau of Land Management, is better known, spans 14,000 acres with 86 miles of old roads and trails, and is excellent for mountain biking. No camping, however, is permitted now here, either.

With so little infrastructure available, a visit to Fort Ord Dunes now captures a moment in time, before the park becomes famous for Highway 1 campers from across America.

To put the demand for state park camping in perspective, turn the clock back 15 years, when the reservation system was a time bomb free-for-all. Some years, 12,000 to 15,000 reservations for dates in July and August were made in single days, Jan. 2 and Feb. 1, respectively, when campsites first became available for entire months.

The future

Despite demand, the cost to build new campgrounds with present-day environmental regulations under the California Environmental Quality Act, especially for restrooms with water, showers and sewer systems, put them out of reach for the perpetually cash-strapped California Department of Parks.

“We’ve got about 15,000 campsites in state parks,” said Deputy Director Roy Stearns back in 2004. “Our planners say we could easily fill 20,000. You either have to work the system or know all the places.”

The new campground and associate infrastructure at Ford Ord Dunes is projected to cost $22 million and is being paid for with bond money from Proposition 84, from 2006. The process has taken years because of the depth of plans and permits, according to State Parks. The project is being put out to bid this spring and construction is scheduled to begin this fall.

The price of a standard state park campsite is $35 per night, a rare opportunity compared with the cost of a hotel in Monterey, where $300 and up has become typical. That will also put sites at the new campground in immediate demand, not only for those in the Bay Area and Northern California, but for those across America who have the dream of touring Highway 1 in an RV, camping along the way.

To even the playing field for campsite reservations, the old “start your engines” launch dates of the first day of the month has been abandoned. In the new system for state parks with reservecalifornia.com, reservations are available for six months in advance to the day, 24 hours per day. That means the alarm goes off each night at 12:01 a.m., rather than one day per month in winter.

The state park campgrounds on Monterey Bay, Sunset, Manresa, Seacliff and New Brighton state beaches are among the fastest to sell out in the state.

The new campground at Fort Ord Dunes will likely join in the rush.

Tom Stienstra is The Chronicle’s outdoor writer. Email: tstienstra@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @StienstraTom