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Planning a camping trip, any suggestions?

badbread

badbread

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Since the GF and her friend planned the Mexico trip, my buddy and I have been tasked with finding a campsite for fourth of July weekend.

What we are looking for:
Basically we are looking for something near a lake (walking distance a plus), don't mind a bunch of late 20's party people (nothing to crazy), not an RV park, decent bathrooms, no more than 5 hours away, and that's about it. My GF's parents suggested Clearlake, anyone been up there?

Last year we went up to the Shasta area which was really cool, but the lake was about 45 minutes away which kind of sucked.

Any and all suggestions welcome, being a transplant from Boston I know next to nothing about nice camping places out here.
 
I'd go to Big Sur, not too many lakes, but hands down the most beautiful place in the country. I like Plaskett Creek campgrounds, lots of communal partying going on there, and all of the rangers are old laid back hippies (who isn't down there :))
 
Big Sur still look OK after the fires? It's been a few years since I've been down there, but I know at least one of my old favorite places to go got gutted.
 
There's still places to go if you head south, up near JPB Park forget about it, if you go south past Willow Creek it's still quite nice.
 
Why a lake? river too scary? :D Last time I was up in Shasta (MANY years ago) I camped literally right next to the a river that probably was at least a football field wide (might be a bit of an exaggeration but swimming across it was quite a chore)
 
Ha ha, reason for a lake is my buddy has this 8 foot wide water trampoline thing we've been dieing to try out. We went into a river (I think it was the sac river) when we were up in shasta and damn it was cold. Like almost as cold as the mighty Pacific cold. Big Sur looks pretty cool but we definitely want to swim and be somewhere in shorts and flip flops.

Historic weather data for Big sur July 1-6th.

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KMRY/1994/7/1/PlannerHistory.html?dayend=6&monthend=7&yearend=1994&req_city=Big+Sur&req_state=CA&req_statename=California
 
Engelbright Reservoir. Gold country (lower sierra). Rent a houseboat or a sm. boat/ canoe and head up to the conjunction of the N. Yuba (brrrrr!) and the South Yuba (warm!) Awesome campsites right next to the river. Great hiking/ swimming etc... Population demographic is about right too. HTH.-J
 
The only place we have been camping is Lake Chabot. It is great for non-camping type people. Hot showers, paved roads. close to the lake. A bit commercial at the lake, but definitely family friendly, and you can't beat the distance. :) It was the first time my kids had gone camping, so we wanted something easy and close. Chabot fit the bill.

The big downer is the noise from the planes and trains since it is in Oakland. But I heard Owls hooting early in the morning, and we saw a huge flock of turkeys strut through the camp grounds. :D

I want to try some of the other places people have suggested. Any family friendly/safe suggestions?
 
good luck, you will have a hard time finding a campsite for july 4 at this time of the year. we usually book 6 months in advance during those 3 day weekends. fyi, we camp 2-3 times every year.

we've been to del valle many times for camping and day trips. it is a very short drive from the campsite to the lake. we typically bring our inflatable boats and row in the water all afternoon. the lake is very calm with a beach area that has lifeguards. we like this campsite because we've never encountered mosquitoes. weather is hot and you may encounter aphids.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/del-valle-regional-park-livermore

big sur is beautiful and surrounded by redwoods, but there were tons and tons of mosquitoes. they usually avoid me but get my wife but the last time we went, we both got at least 20 bite marks. i swatted them, but they were relentless.

we are going to folsom lake this july 4. happy camping!
 
Jay, we have'nt been camping for a few years now but I liked going to lake Camanche (south shore) , not in the main camp ground but off to the left of the park where about 30 sites all nestled in the wooded area or grassy lake shore .

Worst experiance was lake McSwain (lake Mc never-again) , yuck....dry hillsides, asphalt campsites, ticks.....and flies , flies, flies.....I am pretty sure this place was next to livestock pens (cattle,pigs,or whatever).

Goodluck on a big weekend like Glee said....make reservations soon.

Sergio
 
To get a camp site at a desirable location, my friends and I have had to all get on the net to try to get reservations the minute the camp site opened for reservations.
 
Oh, true, San Antonio gets hotter than heck for me the two times I went down there in the summer. Pretty tame camping, but you can camp a stones throw from the lake (if you get a reservation)
 
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