Big Basin Redwoods State Park

LOCATION: (Santa Cruz Mountains, California)

There are 146 family campsites located in four campgrounds. Each site has a picnic table and a fire ring, and most have wooden storage cupboards. Piped drinking water, rest rooms and showers are found in all the campgrounds. Some sites are designated for tent camping due to uneven parking spurs; many are multipurpose and have level parking areas large enough for most campers, trailers, and RVs.There are no hook-ups for RVs; however there is a dump station located at Huckleberry Campground. Campers wanting a bit more privacy may enjoy one of the walk-in tent sites in the park. These campsites, just a short walk from the parking area, give you a greater sense of “being away from it all” and they have the same amenities as the rest of the campsites. [VISIT SITE]

Cold Springs Campground: Sequoia National Park

LOCATION: ( Three Rivers, California)

Cold Springs Campground lies in the East Fork Kaweah River Valley along Mineral King Road. This site opens in late May and closes each season on October 31. It provides access to mountainous terrain that includes the Great Western Divide, Mineral King Valley and Sequoia National Forest.

The campground consists of 40 individual sites at an elevation of 7,500 feet. No trailers or RVs are permitted in this camping area due to the winding and rough nature of Mineral King Road. Each campsite includes a picnic table and fire pit with grill. Amenities located in the campground include pit toilets and drinking water. Other amenities located nearby include: ranger programs, a pay phone and a riding stable.[VISIT SITE]

D.L. Bliss State Park: Lake Tahoe

LOCATION: ( D.L. Bliss State Park, California)

It isn’t easy (or cheap) to claim a spot along Tahoe’s glorious west shore. But here you can swim and sunbathe at Lester Beach, marvel at Balancing Rock, or simply ogle Tahoe’s famously blue waters. The grandeur of the parks and their setting is a product of successive upheavals of the mountain-building processes that raised the Sierra Nevada. From promontories such as Rubicon Point in D.L. Bliss State Park you can see over one hundred feet into the depths of Lake Tahoe. [VISIT SITE]

Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park

LOCATION: ( Cresent City, California)

Bright, open, and lush, Jed Smith’s redwood groves are the most scenic in existence. There’s an unusual amount of variety in the color and texture of the trees, in the size of the trees, and even in the understory vegetation, making the woods an interesting place to hike. The park isn’t known for the height of its trees, but it does have many of the world’s largest redwoods by volume, and on the best trails trees of truly stupendous size are set among smaller redwoods. [VISIT SITE]

Camp Edison: Shaver Lake

LOCATION: ( Shaver Lake, California)

Shaver is one of the Sierra lakes created as part of a Southern California Edison hydroelectric project, and Camp Edison’s 252 campsites have electricity and cable TV. Half even have Internet. But power down: This camp has great lake access and mountain views. This campground is extremely clean and well-maintained. Sites are very nice and spacious. There is a nearby lake and also some lake-front sites. There is hiking, fishing and boating, hot showers, laundry facilities and a small general store. In my experience, the other campers there have been very pleasant people. [VISIT SITE]