Looking for weekend hammock camping locations near SF Bay area

**Ribeye67** · 11-28-2016, 16:15

I am looking for areas for backpacking within a few hours drive from Antioch, CA in SF Bay area to test out hammock and equipment before leaving for longer trips in the Sierra Nevada. I have seen a few places in the Santa Cruz Mountains but they look like they are all for reserved campsites. Are these "reservation only" places the only thing around? I was hoping for something with safe trailhead parking where you can just go hiking for a while and pick a spot that you want to hang your hammock. I would prefer somewhere that I would be able to bring my dog and has streams along the way to get water. Do you all just go for it and hike in but keep a low profile to not get into trouble?

Is it wishful thinking to want a place where you can just hike in and camp anywhere? I was thinking that with the amount of people wanting to do the same thing in an area surrounded by millions of people would destroy the parks or create homeless encampments so it is probably reservation controlled and campsite designated to prevent that. What has been the experience you all have had staying at these designated backpacking campsites?

I would like to do these short trips this winter/early spring and maybe during the summer just to get away.

Any info will be helpful for me to do some more research.

This is my first post here. I did try doing a search on the forum but didn't see any topics that were along these lines. Maybe I need to work on the search entries.

**garyg763** · 11-29-2016, 18:58

You might check East Bay Regional Parks, some of the parks you can hike and hang. For the Bay Area my go to area is Pt. Reyes, Sky Camp, site #5 & 6. Yes reservations are a must but a jewel nonetheless.Sadly, no dogs. BLM land around Lake Berryessa and Clear Lake is worth investigating. If you are brave and have the right gear you can always winter camp in the Sierra.

**Mogollon Monster** · 11-29-2016, 19:03

Big Basin requires a permit but it is worth the effort. The summit to sea hike is beautiful and you can go surfing when you're done.

**Ribeye67** · 11-30-2016, 01:49

Are there safe places to leave my truck in the BLM land? Thanks for the Pt. Reyes site numbers. I might have to try that too. They probably have safe places for my truck.

**Ribeye67** · 11-30-2016, 01:53

Big basin looks nice too. Do they have safe trail head parking? I always worry about leaving my truck in the boonies when backpacking. So far no troubles, but I always worry. Just being lazy and could look this up, but do you know if they allow dogs?

**Roid Rage** · 12-29-2016, 09:18

I've been backpacking Point Reyes for 45+ years parking is very safe even if you park on Limanture Rd. at Sky Trail Trailhead for a short hike to Sky Camp, choice sites go fast, I'm backpacking to Coast Camp for New Years I had to reserve it 6 months ago and with the popularity of hammock camping Sky Camp sites 5 - 6 (best for hammock camping IMHO) probably will go fast for premium dates, I just got my first hammock for xmass so I'll be looking at dates at Sky Camp to try out my new set up.

**Ribeye67** · 12-31-2016, 17:54

Originally Posted by Roid Rage

I've been backpacking Point Reyes for 45+ years parking is very safe even if you park on Limanture Rd. at Sky Trail Trailhead for a short hike to Sky Camp, choice sites go fast, I'm backpacking to Coast Camp for New Years I had to reserve it 6 months ago and with the popularity of hammock camping Sky Camp sites 5 - 6 (best for hammock camping IMHO) probably will go fast for premium dates, I just got my first hammock for xmass so I'll be looking at dates at Sky Camp to try out my new set up.

I may have to start making reservations at places like Point Reyes. I will keep in mind your recommendations for good hanging sites. I was hoping for places where you don't have to make reservations and you don't have to camp in designated sites. Maybe I will try to stealth camp somewhere around here. I have been looking at East Bay Regional Parks but still have trouble finding a place where I could leave my truck for the weekend. EBRPD doesn't allow dogs overnight which sucks even if I did have a reservation.

**Ribeye67** · 12-31-2016, 20:36

I found this website. It has a lot of day hike information but has overnight hiking too. It isn't geared towards hammocks, but you can see some of the campsite photos have trees. http://www.norcalhiker.com/

**Roid Rage** · 01-02-2017, 16:00

I just got back from two days at Point Reyes coast camp for new years (tent camped) next week I'm going back to fish Limature Beach again but this time I plan on doing a quick recon at Sky Camp sites 5-6 to see for myself how good the sites are for hanging a hammock. You might also want to look into Henry Coe State Park, lots of trails, lots of Oak trees plus dog friendly, be warned in the summer it get hotter than the hinges of hell

http://hikeitlikeit.com/2014/falling-for-coe/

http://coepark.net/pineridgeassociat...es/backpacking

**garyg763** · 01-03-2017, 12:27

Originally Posted by Roid Rage

I just got back from two days at Point Reyes coast camp for new years (tent camped) next week I'm going back to fish Limature Beach again but this time I plan on doing a quick recon at Sky Camp sites 5-6 to see for myself how good the sites are for hanging a hammock. You might also want to look into Henry Coe State Park, lots of trails, lots of Oak trees plus dog friendly, be warned in the summer it get hotter than the hinges of hell

http://hikeitlikeit.com/2014/falling-for-coe/

http://coepark.net/pineridgeassociat...es/backpacking

I have hung my hammocks many times at Sky Camp. Sites #5 & 6 are the best and perhaps the only. Both can accommodate several hammocks. I would be interested in a hang once it starts raining.