California Camping: The Complete Guide to More Than 1,500 Campgrounds (Moon California Camping)
Tom Stienstra, outdoors columnist for theSan Francisco Chronicleand an enthusiastic promoter of California's wild country, has been collecting information on the state's campgrounds for years--mostly, he writes, so that he would never have to "get stuck again looking for a spot." That wealth of information has been transferred intoCalifornia Camping, as complete a guide to the state's under-the-stars sleepovers as has ever been assembled.Drawing on a team of fellow enthusiasts for up-to-date information, Stienstra here lists more than 1,500 campgrounds, ranging from the large venues with hundreds of spaces that lie within Yosemite National Park to the tiniest of public-lands facilities (such as Millard Falls outside Los Angeles, where only five tent sites lie within shouting distance of a 60-foot waterfall). More than a hundred of the listings detail wilderness campgrounds without services, while many more catalogue facilities that are appropriate for RV campers and extended stays. Stienstra takes a generally upbeat view, as when he calls Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay "one of the most beautiful and popular state parks on the planet," but he also warns campers about less-than-ideal conditions, such as the interstate highway noise that awaits overnighters at San Onofre State Beach north of San Diego.California Campingis a valuable reference for any camping enthusiast with a California destination in mind.--Gregory McNamee