A month to camp around N.Cal., where would you go?

[rollingbones]

My wife, eight yr-old son, and I will be camping around the southwest this fall from Aug - Dec, with at least three months or so out of five dedicated to camping time. We'll have a place in Mammoth Lakes, CA to base out of. Any advice on must-see locations along this general loop or things/places to watch out for?

We will be using three jungle hammocks or a tent, will be geared to backpack, but will mostly be car camping. We've done a lot of camping in Florida, but this will be our first time out west. Any chance to ride a horse is welcome, if anyone happens to know a good facility on the route above.

For example, I envision taking about a month starting from Mammoth Lakes, and stopping at DL Bliss SP near Lake Tahoe, then up to Lassen Volcanic NP, then to Russian Gulch on the coast. We would eat our way down the "cheese trail" until we got to Salt Point SP, then back to Mammoth Lakes by way of the Stanislaus NF. It's about 1,000 miles round trip.

It looks like there is also a ton of good camping within a day's easy drive of Mammoth Lakes (Yosemite, Inyo NF, Sierra NF, Kings Canyon, etc.), so any recommendations there are welcome!

Also, we have what I call the "Grand Canyon Loop" yet to plan: seeing Death Valley, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, and then back to Mammoth Lakes...about twice as far as the NoCal loop above. I'll do a separate post on this as it develops.

Any advice or commentary on timing, route, camping locations, scenic stops, horseback riding, good places to stop, places to avoid, and places that aren't safe is welcomed!

This is a dup of a post in tent camping, hoping to tap into the CA camping knowledge base here! Thanks!

[renodesertfox]

Re: A month to camp around N.Cal., where would you go?

One place I would like to tell ya about is Napa Valley State Park. Right in the middle of wine country and only about an hour from the Sonama Coast that is if you like to visit wine country. Everything else seems ideal. Wish I could tag along and help with the gas, but alas, I'm heck bent on gettin our new home(base camp) up and running. This December we are planning on camping on the Sonama Coast for ten days in December. A campground that is full during the summer months is empty during the off-season! Thanks for posting up your plans, over the span of a week or two I'll have more info for ya as will other dedicated campateers here! We just love to camp!

[rollingbones]

Re: A month to camp around N.Cal., where would you go?

Thanks, that's a good recommendation right on the way from Salt Point SP back to Mammoth, and of course, spending a little time on the "wine trail" in addition to the "cheese trail" will go down just fine!

[renodesertfox]

Re: A month to camp around N.Cal., where would you go?

We like to go to Salt Point SP in December....there is never anyone there and we have the entire park almost to ourselves! Great place for photography too!

Winter coastal storms are inspiring!

[stanleycamps]

Re: A month to camp around N.Cal., where would you go?

I'm a bit late to the conversation but I have to add my two cents anyway. I am currently living in the Bay Area and camped at Point Reyes National Seashore last winter and loved it! There were barely any people and we had no problem securing a camping permit because of the rain. We had great waterproof gear and definitely were prepared for the elements. We spent the night on a cliff overlooking the grey Pacific. Stunning, monumental, and absolutely profound. One of the best camping trips I've ever taken. I highly recommend it if you are in Nor Cal.

[rollingbones]

Re: A month to camp around N.Cal., where would you go?

Thanks for the recommendation! The good news is that we are running behind schedule. We started hiking the Eastern Sierra around Mammoth Lakes in August, and it was so beautiful (both the scenery and the weather), that we got a late start north. The drive to Glacier took a bit longer than expected, as did getting through Yellowstone and the Tetons. We hit road construction in most parks and in some pretty rural places. Despite all of the reports of crowds, we were able to find tent camping spots everywhere we've been with the exception of Yosemite Valley...where we ended up in Wawona (which turned out to be just fine). We haven't made it across the pass to do the coastal leg of the trip yet, and it is likely that we won't be there until the spring given some holiday travels and winter activities that are planned here in the high Sierra. I'll add Point Reyes to the list of places to stay when we get there!