The Best in Tent Camping: Northern California (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: stay limit, vault toilets, campground host, Forest Service, Lake Alpine, Ebbetts Pass (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Campgrounds are rated on overall beauty, privacy, quiet, security, peacefulness. Detailed write-ups include area highlights and personal anecdotes. -- Marek Warszawski, The Fresno Bee, December 6, 2004 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

From Santa Cruz to Yosemite National Park, from the coastal bluffs to the Nevada border, Northern California is a spectacular location for tent camping. With such a staggering list of possibilities, a guide like The Best in Tent Camping: Northern California is a must-have. Offering at-a-glance information organized with a five-star rating system, the book lets outdoor enthusiasts quickly gauge the beauty, site privacy, and security of each listing. In addition, each write-up includes suggestions on the right time of year to visit, local amenities, and natural attractions. Whether pitching that tent in sandy beaches or the mountainous Sierra Nevada, this is the guide to consult.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press; 4th edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897326741
• ISBN-13: 978-0897326742
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #217,834 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good way to find good out-of-the-way campsites, June 10, 2002

By	camisdad "camisdad" (Berkeley, CA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best in Tent Camping, Northern California: A Guide for Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Paperback)

There are many, many campgrounds in California, and we spent several years selecting the targets of our camping trips based on friends' recommendations, or CA State or National Parks descriptions. Unfortunately, our criteria were not often what people were recommending a campsite for, and there are so many parks in CA that a comparative selection based on raw data is overwhelming. What we wanted was:
1. beauty
2. quiet and serenity
3. less popular sites (to stay away from the crowds)
4. car-camping or near car-camping (we have a toddler).

Bill Mai's guide enabled up to make some quick selections based on his descriptions and ratings. His campsites are a highly rated selection already (his criteria are pretty close to ours), the information is fairly good, he gives good input on the best season to go, and his descriptions are very accurate. We ended up going to several campsites he recommended last year and never were disappointed. This year we have plans for several others based on his input.
It is simply an easy way to choose good places to go without having to worry that the site will be less than what our expectations are for it.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Carefully researched & well-organized guide for car campers., May 20, 2002

By	Outdoor Woman (Folsom, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best in Tent Camping, Northern California: A Guide for Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Paperback)

This is the perfect guide for campers who are trying to escape California's crowded, car-choked campgrounds. Arranged by region (the Coast, Sierras, & Cascade Range),this guide rates and reviews 50 prime campgrounds. Two to three page profiles describe the campgrounds features and include information on nearby attractions and activities such as hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, picnicking, and bicycling. An easy-to-read sidebar lists contact information, facilities, open dates, parking, fees, and regulations. Written in a friendly, upbeat style, this is an enjoyable and informative read . However if you have the first edition, skip this one. The second edition updates the information but covers the same campgrounds.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is very accurate and has become our camping bible., September 15, 1998

By	S. Harle "greenplanetfilms" (Marin County, California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Best in Tent Camping: Northern California: A Guide to Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Paperback)

We have used this book to take us to areas we have not previously discovered and are very grateful to have it as our guide as it has really made our summer exciting by discovering more of California's wilderness areas. The descriptions of the sites were accurate for the most part and we liked the humorous sidenotes the author included. I even saw a friend at one of the remote camps, turned out she had the book too!