Customer Reviews

The Best in Tent Camping, Northern California: A Guide for Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

A good book for car campers going on a road trip. I refered to this book on my trip to Oregon around mid-March(just before peak season) and yes, some of the campgrounds were out of they way to the point of almost being eery, But, in a good way :)

If you're thinking these campgrounds are somewhere amidst the wild, you're mistaken and need to look elsewhere though.

Very good for quick reference for last minute camping en route. The map included indicating locations of the campgrounds is very helpful.
The book requires some updating as far as availability of campgrounds goes (year round/ seasonal),but that will probably happen in the next edition.
I would recommend this book handsdown.

My family and I love this book. The narratives are interesting, insightful and up to now - accurate. Sometimes it's a bit repetitive in its advice - but that's okay too, as it continues to make the point about camping essentials. So far, the campsites have been exactly what we have been looking for - quiet, peaceful and perfect for car camping.

This book is a very thorough review of northern california campgrounds. I visited several of the campgrounds listed, and found each review accurate and thorough. Additionally, the synopsis of each campground touches briefly on the surrounding towns and recreation areas. Especially helpful are the listings of the best campsites in each park. However, the campgrounds are listed alphabetically, which can make finding the correct campsite difficult. Basically, if you are looking for a campsite in an area you must turn between two maps to find the location and then name of the site. Needs better layout - sites grouped by geography.

We just got back from a car camping vacation transversing the Northern Sierras from North to South. We used this book exclusively and it was spot on. We stayed at Warner Valley in Lassen National park by hot springs of Drakesbad,Salmon Creek by the unbelievably dramatic Sardine lake in the Gold lakes region, Woods lake by Carson pass: a true Gem in the high country with wildflowers, and Wahakaluuhepyou on the Stanislaus river where it was hot and the swimming holes were refreshing. It was a perfect vacation with especially nice campgrounds in remarkably scenic areas.
I liked the fact that only the authors favorites were included in this guide. I have another camping book which lists all the California campgrounds which is just too confusing. This book has a focus."Proof is in the pudding" applies to this invaluable guide to the "Best in tent camping": we used it and discovered places that exceeded our best dreams.
Highly recommended!

Overall I really appreciate this guide book but it's continually frustrating to try to match up the map page to the actual index and chapters- there's no logical connection, very annoying. But the overall content is great, recommend this one!

We packed up and camped at Castle Crags State park because Mai gave it a great review - despite that it was right near I-5 near Mt. Shasta - but he said it was great and not noisy so we believed him. The campsite was seriously RIGHT OFF THE HIGHWAY. You could see cars going by! The noise was deafening from every campsite, especially late at night when the trucks would brake and woke us up several times. We packed up and went to Lassen Volcanic Park and camped at the forest service sites for some peace and quiet and managed to save our vacation. Do not trust this book! I am never using it again.

I bought this book hoping that I would find some nice backpacking spots and get away from the crowds. WRONG! Oh well, it was worth a shot...

Many of the spots in this book allow RVs, and the rest are for car campers only. If that's your thing, then you might be okay - but if you like to get away from people, stick to word of mouth and the favorites of the locals.