84yoda

hey all, im located in concord ca (near san francisco,) and im looking for a good place to go camping that isnt more than a few hours away. anyone have any ideas or resources to find a spot?

thanks a lot
eric

norcalsvx

lots of places out near tahoe

4Crawler

iTrader: (3)

You can check out the California State Parks site:
- http://www.parks.ca.gov/

stormin94

Ok, so what are you looking for? Back woods, developed, organized?

If you want something with decent facilitys, but really nice scenery, and still allows for the FULL camping experience, Clear Lake State Park is really nice. Probably one of the nicest state parks in this part of California. I'm obviously going to be a little bias towards it, since I live literally 5 minutes away. They have a boat launch, 4 camping areas within the park, which is about 1600 acres, I believe. And you can camp right on the lake, too. It's about 2.5 hours from San Francisco, but it's only about 1.5 hours from Vallejo(Highway 29 North).

Or if you want something more back woods, there is always the Mendocino National Forest, which is about 20 minutes further than Clear Lake State Park. They have many camping areas up there, and close to 400,000 acres. They have mountain camping, with vault toilets, from about 4,200 feet elevation to over 5,000 feet. Or, they have creek side camping at about 1,300 feet. Also, there is good OHV access, and some decent 4X4 up there, but it is also very quiet for camping, esp up the mountain.

These are some of the ones that I know the most about up here, but there are other choices. Let me know if you need to know anything else about these places.

2000t4rAKS

Whenever the weather gets warmer, I am going out to Clear Lake National Park.

UKMyers

Lots of sweet spots around Santa Cruz too.

2000t4rAKS

Yes, Santa Cruz does have some great spots. I think the weather is Santa Cruz is milder, IMO. In terms of driving, it think clear lake is a little closer since I am in the Sacramento area.

jjrgr21

lassen volcanic NP, yosemite, tahoe, lots of good places around tahoe

stormin94

This weekend is supposed to be about 85*. And Clear Lake State Park, I think that's what you are referring to, but I live about 5 minutes from there, and I commute to Sacramento on a weekly basis. Total time for the trip is just over two hours, and about 110 miles.

2000t4rAKS

Two hours, that's not too bad, I can make it out to the Tahoe area about the same time. I have never been to Clear Lake State Park but I hear its nice. I hear it is suppose to be nice this weekend, too bad I am going to visit a couple of friends in the Bay.

stormin94

Oh yeah, its gonna be a real nice weekend.

Tofer

when i was living in stockton i'd camp alot up in the Feather River canyon. i love it up there! there are also a bunch of places i know off hwy 4 heading to tahoe.

84yoda

thanks to everyone for the replies. very good suggestions. ive been to lassen and clear lake before and they were awesome. i ended up going to big basin in the santa cruz area. great hiking there. 13+ mile hike to see some falls. kicked our asses but it was worth it. we froze too when it gets warmer, i would suggest big basin to any would be campers/hikers. camp sites are nice too. they have ones you are park your car at, and they are still a decent ways away from your neighbors, but the best sites are the walk in ones. maybe 100 yards at most to the furthest walk ins

toyotagogo

A lot of parks have group campsites, and that's what I am use to. Pt Reyes is a good place to go for back packing, Oakland Hills-Park and recreation dept, Kennedy Meadows above Sonora. You might check with your local Boy Scout Council, they might have a list of places, in fact, if you are in Concord, check out the Diablo boy Scout Council. I lived in Alameda for over 50 years.

ozziesironmanoffroad

any places anyone knows of near san diego besides the obvious ones... cuyumaca, jennings, morena, ocotillo, plaster, glamis, etc?

stormin94

Point Reyes... All I've heard about that is that there is a bunch of hiking, lots of fog, and a lighthouse. I've never been, but I'd like to go sometime. Is there a lot of people there in the summertime, or what? Also, is there camping a little ways away from the ocean, so I can aviod the fog. I used to live on the North Coast, so I'm not too fond of the fog.

2000t4rAKS

I am from San Francisco originally so Point Reyes is pretty close and in terms of the weather its great especially in the summer because it doesn't get too hot. The fog can be an issue though.

treknwil

There are some great camp site on Mt. Diablo. Can't get much closer than that.