I came here 15 years ago with abalone-diving City friends. I'm not even sure that's a thing any more. Anyway, the campground is still here and it's still awesome. They have spots available when no one else does, and it's the simplest check-in ever: Pay them ($5 off for cash!), they give you a receipt for your windshield and tell you to park at any picnic table/fire ring that's not occupied. The rest of the world seems to get more complicated and bureaucratic, but this is the easiest damn check-in I've ever experienced. Checkout 2pm. Ocean Cove Bar and Grille is a sweaty uphill 3/4 mile walk away. Basic bar food, but great view of the ocean and campground.
A simple loop campground on an east-facing hillside above Frenchman's Lake. I like the inside of the upper loop with my living room facing the lake. It's quiet and pretty and the sun is on the other side of the van. Eight very scenic miles north of Chillcoot. For much of the drive the beautiful Sierra Valley spreads out to your left. Then you enter the canyon of Last Chance Creek, the outflow of the lake. Hundred foot lava cliffs, dramatic formations. Then boom! you're at the dam. The other two lakeside campgrounds have flush toilets. Maybe they are more deluxe?
Small, quiet, well-run, densely packed little campground on the south side of Alturas, very close to the wildlife refuge. I like that he charges $30 straight up, no "plus tax".
Funky place on the Russian River, more lo-budget than its fancy neighbors. We got a lovely site surrounded by redwoods, 40 yards from the river.
Overpriced campground, but a very interesting place. The actual Fort is cool, the CCC buildings around it are cool. We are right on the C&O Canal/bike path.
On good ole CA 89 a few miles north of Truckee. Drove by here many times, finally staying. Boring but handy! There are two campgrounds here about a mile apart, Lower Little Truckee and Upper Little Truckee. Theis not difference between them.
really cool little spot, right at the intersection of 101 and 199. It's 5 minutes outside Crescent City, but is whole different reason. $15 to camp in the redwoods!
The first (lowest altitude) of the string of Inyo campgrounds on CA 168 west of Bishop. The campground itself is very much like Silver Lake CG on the June Lake Loop - exposed sites, not much shade, pleasant and quiet and level with a little stream running along the far edge.
The BLM campground is closed for the season, so I pressed on to the free camping along the shore. Pretty cool! I'll bet it would be really buggy in the summer. The lake level is very low and the last 50 yards or so of shoreline is quite boggy and churned up by the cows, so there really isn't a "beach" per se to get to, but it is a very pretty, quiet stop for tonight in any event.
Shabby but neat little Willits motel on a quiet stretch of old 101 between downtown and the Safeway intersection. Looks nice from the road, looks really shabby around back, but once inside the room is pretty nice. Next door to the Mariposa Market, which is handy on the morning.
Very handy, right off US 50 on a really long, really boring road with the only other option being roadside pull-offs. Far enough off the road to be very quiet. The short petroglyph trail takes you to a west facing view over a the Big Smokey Valley, and a nice sunset.
Odd place. Separate bathhouses for men and women, nudity required. Camping is available in glorified parking lot across the road overlooking the settlement pond. No potable water, must drive a couple of miles for that. Really interesting salt flats area at the edge of town. In the last couple of years a pair of restaurants have opened. And breweries!
In the style of Inyo Forest campgrounds(*), this one is hard to find(**) and kind of shabby and rough, but it's in a really beautiful location. This one is on Lee Vining Creek, in the aspen/pine forest on top of the glacial till. It's the first campground on CA 120 west of Mono Lake heading up to spectacular Tioga Pass. It's pretty cool. It's very popular with fishermen. (*) Except the Inyo campgrounds around June Lake/Mammoth. They are run by a concessionare. They are a little nicer, cost twice as much, and have three times as many rules. (**) There is an arrow for "camping", but you must turn off the road to see the "Lower Lee Vining" sign.
super nice and quiet and not as busy as I thought it would be. Campsites are on the bluffs above the beach, stairs were closed for repairs. Nice bathrooms, not crowded tonight).
Allstays calls this Indian Memorial, an ACE campground. The signage is in the standard ACE font and color, and it just has the distinctive well-engineered style, so I am calling it ACE also. If so, then clearly it has been leased back to the tribe. It's on the edge of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Nice place!
Indian casino in the redwoods, down a winding coastal road from the ever so cool town of Trinidad. It's just a place to park in a parking lot on top of the hill, but it's pretty cool!
Very hot right now, but what a cool place. Tucked away in the scrub oak forest along the shores of this little CCC-made reservoir. Few campers because it is so insanely HOT. The shade is a real attraction in this area. Also the shower!
This is where you camp when Island in the Sky is full ... which it always it. The method is to stop here on the way in, nail down a site then continue on another 20-odd miles to the Grand viewpoint ... then come back.
Very quiet, there is absolutely nothing special going on here - a welcome relief after the busy-ness of the park. Spacious, in the "giant ponderosas with no undergrowth" ecozone.
First campground coming off Independence Pass heading south. Real pretty. Still, $19 doesn't get you a lot in Colorado. Checkout time is noon. Elevation 9,620' - yikes!