The Best in Tent Camping: Southern California [Paperback]

Charles Patterson (Author), Bill Mai (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Best in Tent Camping | Publication Date: October 1, 2008

Desert camping in Death Valley? Check. Glacier camping in the Sierras? Check. That’s Southern California for you — an area of staggering diversity and awesome natural beauty. With such a wide array of camping opportunities, The Best in Tent Camping: Southern California is an indispensable guide for bringing enthusiasts to their ideal campsite. Offering detailed profiles, at-a-glance information, campground maps, directions, and coordinates, this guide offers campers a truly comprehensive look at the best that the Golden State’s southern region has to offer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press; 4th edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089732675X
• ISBN-13: 978-0897326759
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,142 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #93 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Hiking & Camping > Camping

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives You a Good Feel for the Campsites, February 8, 2000

By 

C. Sahu "Cathy Sahu" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Best in Tent Camping: Southern California: A Guide to Campers Who Hate RVs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos (Paperback)

Unlike the other books I've seen on this topic, which generally just give the official info (number of sites, type of plumbing, map of hiking trails), Bill Mai gives lots of incidentals that help you get a "feel" for the camping grounds.

Each site is given a 1 to 5 star rating in 6 categories: beauty, site privacy, site spaciousness, quiet, security, and cleanliness/upkeep. That way, you can pick and choose according to what's important to you.

Also, he has written a little personal blurb about each one, with anecdotes about, maybe, what kind of animals he saw on the hiking trail or which specific campsite he likes best. Kids' preferences are also taken into account, and the question of what time of year is best to visit.

It's true, this is not a backpacker's guide - these campsites mostly all are for mixed groups (RVs, cars, etc.) but Mai's suggestions and the quiet and privacy ratings will most likely help you avoid problems. There are a few camps where you have to hike in, but they are attached to the larger campsites.

Mai also wrote the same type book for Northern California, and of course it's available here on Amazon.com, with some useful reviews with further info.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks For A Very Helpful Book, June 8, 2000

By 

MARK S. COLLIER (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

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

I love this book. I've been using it for 3 years. When I decided to take up camping, I didn't know where to start (i.e., where do you go? what do you bring? what happens when you get there? etc.) This book answers all these questions and more. Bill Mai writes in an enthusiastic and pleasant style as he reviews various campgrounds. He gives detailed descriptions of each campground that are informative, helpful, thorough and accurate. He has personally camped at most of the campgrounds he writes about, so his reviews are based on personal experience. I have camped at several of the locations he recommends and have yet to be disappointed. I use this book often not only to find my next campground, but also to peruse the reviews that I enjoy reading and re-reading. I even take it with me to browse while capming, and I've shared it with other campers who spoke of the book very positively and found it very helpful. When I was contemplating going camping, I looked and looked for a book like this, and was lucky to find the perfect camping book.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book for car campers who use tents, June 22, 2005

By 

Jessica Lux (Rosamond, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

If you buy this looking to do some pack-it-all-in and hike-in camping, you are going to be disappointed. This book is for the car camper who wants to drive in and erect a tent. Some of the sites do allow RVs, it is true, but for the most part, these aren't going to be giant cement parking lots with RV hookups and people listening to the ball game on their satellite TV hookups.

The site amenities are listed in great detail, and Bill Mai's accompanying blurb about his personal experience at each site is very helpful. There are miniature maps and detailed directions for each site, too. I like his 6-component rating system, covering beaty, privacy, spaciousness, quet, security, and upkeep.