View Full Version : Where Should My Family Camp???
c0wb0y_hubs
03-26-2013, 14:37
We are going to California in mid-April, and for one of the nights, we'd like to camp. Are there any spots you all would recommend in between San Diego and Anaheim that are hammock friendly? My wife would prefer to be on or close to the beach, but if it's not possible, we'll stay inland a bit.
We all have hammocks, but if we absolutely have to, we'll go to ground and bring our huge pre-hammock era tent.:scared:
Thanks for any suggestions you have.
Just to let you know you are not being ignored: I have absolutely no idea. :D:D:D
I'm a lot further north than that, but good luck. Avoid the ground!:)
mountain_man_mike
03-27-2013, 13:40
Well, if given the chance I would recommend right smack in the middle of a big circle of HF folks. Imagine Shug, Knotty, Just Jeff, Dejoa, Dutch, John Sawyer (local to you) and the list goes on. That would be one very cool campout. I had the pleasure of hiking with eaglejon last summer and he was great company, in camp that is (I do hike at a glacial pace). I also had a great time hiking with Big Sur, who was a fantastic guide, again briefly on the trail and more time in camp.
c0wb0y_hubs
03-27-2013, 14:14
Well, if given the chance I would recommend right smack in the middle of a big circle of HF folks. Imagine Shug, Knotty, Just Jeff, Dejoa, Dutch, John Sawyer (local to you) and the list goes on. That would be one very cool campout. I had the pleasure of hiking with eaglejon last summer and he was great company, in camp that is (I do hike at a glacial pace). I also had a great time hiking with Big Sur, who was a fantastic guide, again briefly on the trail and more time in camp.
It would be cool to hang with a bunch of the HF guys and gals, but my inquirey is not a general nation wide awesome hang location. We're headed to California, and would rather camp instead of getting a hotel.
mangus7175
03-27-2013, 16:42
If you can reserve a spot, I love taking my family to Leo Carrillo SB in Malibu. It's a short walk to the beach and quite a few trees to camp.
NOTE: Reservations done through reserveamerica.com
http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Leo-Carrillo-State-Park
Another option is close to the OC where we recently had the SoCal Hammock Hang. Blue Jay Campground on Ortega Hwy.
NOTE: First come, First Serve...no reservations.
http://www.campsitephotos.com/campground/Blue-Jay
San Diego itself has some nice campgrounds close to the beach but you have to reserve them online (reserveamerica). Most I know of are more for RV's and not sure about the trees. John Sawyer should have a better idea.
If you're willing to venture further towards Los Angeles area, I can suggest areas to camp for free. All you need is an Adventure Pass...Angeles National Forest has a lot of trees and a lot places to hike and stuff. However, you are away from the ocean but close to very nice swimming pools.
c0wb0y_hubs
03-28-2013, 12:51
mangus7175, thanks for the suggestions. We'll look over it all and hopefully come up with a good solution.
mangus7175
03-28-2013, 13:09
mangus7175, thanks for the suggestions. We'll look over it all and hopefully come up with a good solution.
I hope it all works out. If you're willing to drive further north, there are a lot of options.
Since you're going to be in the OC, you might want to check out San Onofre as well. However, unless you're in an RV, not much options for trees and hammocks. Campsites near the beach are more tent and RV friendly unfortunately.
Another cool option is http://www.crystalcovebeachcottages.com/html/. You can rent cabins right at the beach but reservations are necessary and often times, these cabins get booked up quick.
I lived in San Diego for many years and I grew up in Orange County.
About 30 miles outside of San Diego is a nice little mountain town of Julian. There's quite a few campsites there and since it's the mountains you'll have plenty of pine trees.
http://www.julianca.com/camping/
If you'd like to go up to the town of Idyllwild (exactly 110 miles from my old house in San Diego, just up the hill from Hemet) then you'll have plenty of campsites at around 5000 to 7000 feet which means plenty of pine trees.
http://www.idyllwild.com/camping.html
Idyllwild is a bit inland from San Diego and Anaheim. But it's an easy drive. I could get there from San Diego in just over 2 hours. And it would get you out of the city and into the mountains.
I've camped at both the County park and the State park in Idyllwild and they're both quite nice. Full bathrooms and showers are available at both places. I've also camped at some of the private spots outside of town and they're quite nice as well but I don't remember if they had showers.
In San Diego there are campsites in Mission Bay but they wouldn't have enough trees to hang a hammock. I'm not familiar with campsites in Orange County.