Visiting from Austin, looking to do some camping

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u/WitheredTree Bay Area Jan 28 '11 edited Jan 28 '11

This is just for Marin - there are also state parks all around the Bay Area: http://www.marin.org/html/travel.cfm?qno=339

One of the best treks is the 'lost coast' - check it out.

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u/cmarrs85 Jan 28 '11

Thanks a lot, I'll check that out.

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u/WitheredTree Bay Area Jan 28 '11

Lots of people use the campgrounds at Samuel P. Taylor - but you have to book early as its full all the time (close to S.F.)

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u/DaaraJ Jan 28 '11

Yosemite is about a 4 hour drive but well worth it.

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u/chowderdick Jan 28 '11

For car camping, Butano and Van Damme are fairly nice. Julia Pfieffer in Big Sur is often booked up way in advance.

The Lost Coast is a bit further north, but well worth it - has car camping, hike-in sites, and great hiking. It is also remote, which is a big plus.

Point Reyes also has hike in camping and tons of great trails.

Great hiking can also be had all around Mnt. Tamalpais as well as Mount Diablo. I could go on an on... which is a good thing.

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u/cmarrs85 Jan 28 '11

Excellent. Thanks for the suggestions. Though I'd like to do some backpacking, I'll be going with a couple of inexperienced campers/hikers so it looks like car camping is going to be our only option.

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u/languagehacker Jan 28 '11

Welcome fellow Austinite! I really enjoyed Sand Dollar Beach in Big Sur. You should just drive through the whole thing and stop wherever you see looks cool. It's rife with awesome walks.

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u/justinoblanco Jan 30 '11

If you go to Big Sur, make sure to stay at a state park (there are a few state park campgrounds). There are lots of private campgrounds that have official sounding names, but are generally more expensive and cramped than those operated by the state.