Reservations can be made either online at www.parks.ca.gov or by calling ReserveAmerica at 1-800-444-7275
 Big Basin Redwoods State Park is located in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains among the inspiring California Redwoods. Big Basin Tent Cabins offer convenience and comfort in a beautiful outdoor setting. Big Basin Tent Cabins feature raised platforms with mattress pads, a table, a wood stove, and a lockable door. There is also a picnic table, fire ring, and room for one traditional tent outside. Best of all, this enclosed structure requires no set-up!
If you don't own any camping gear, try the Total Camping Packages add-on including 4 sleeping bags, a cook stove, pots and pans, cooking utensils, a lantern, a 60-quart cooler, 2 bundles of wood, and 2 bags of ice. This package can be reserved on line. Cabins available for this package are #28 #29. This package costs $125 per night. Better still, try our Deluxe Tent Cabins including your beds made up for your arrival (sheets, towels, blankets, comforter, pillows), curtains, lantern, bath towels, wash cloths, sparkling apple juice and Amenity Basket. Deluxe Tent Cabins also are available on line. Cabins available for this package are #7, #30 and #31. This package costs $100.00 per night.
The park from Santa Cruz is approx 25 miles northwest via Highways 9 and 236 to reach Park Headquarters. Park Headquarters is 9 miles north of the town of Boulder Creek on State Hwy 236.
How is it that one match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box of matches to start a campfire? ~Christy Whitehead
 Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park features 15 miles of hiking and riding trails through a forest that looks much the same as it did 200 years ago. Zayante Indians once lived in the area, where they found shelter, water and game. The park is the home of the Redwood grove, with a self-guided nature path, and Douglas fir, madrone, oak and the most unusual feature of the park, a stand of Ponderosa pine. The park has a picnic area above the San Lorenzo River. Anglers fish for steelhead and salmon during the winter. The Park has a nature center and bookstore. The park is near Felton on Highway 9 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
What I like about camping is you can get really dirty. Either you're all by yourself, so no one else sees you, or everyone you're with is just as dirty as you are, so nobody cares. ~Anonymous former Boy Scout
 Manresa State Beach features a beautiful expanse of sea and sand, with surf fishing, clamming, and recreation.
 New Brighton State Beach features picnic areas, swimming, fishing and a nearby forest of Monterey pine. The camping area is on a bluff overlooking northern Monterey Bay. Reservations can be made YEAR-ROUND.
 Seacliff State Beach is known for its fishing pier and concrete freighter, the Palo Alto. The beach is also a popular swimming spot. There is a long stretch of sand backed by bluffs. There is a covered picnic facility. The park also has an interpretive center. Take the State Park Drive exit from Highway One in the neighborhood of Aptos.
The fire is the main comfort of the camp, whether in summer or winter, and is about as ample at one season as at another. It is as well for cheerfulness as for warmth and dryness. ~Henry David Thoreau
 Sunset State Beach features pine trees, mountainous sand dunes, and ocean side picnic spots. Bordered by large agricultural fields between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey, the beach is a year-round destination for thousands of visitors. The beach is 16 miles south of Santa Cruz via Highway One and San Andreas Road.
 Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park features redwoods, conifers, oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods, maples, alders and willows - plus open meadows. Wildlife includes black-tail deer, gray squirrels, raccoons, skunks, and birds, such as water ouzels and belted kingfishers. Hikers can enjoy the many scenic trails, including a self-guided nature trail. Some campsites are along the Big Sur River. Big Sur Lodge is located in the park .The lodge has 61 guest rooms, a conference center, cafe, and a grocery store. Meeting rooms have space for groups of 10 to 125. Other rooms are available for smaller meetings and workshops, some with fireplaces and kitchens. The park is located 26 miles south of Carmel on Highway 1.
 Fremont Peak State Park features expansive views of Monterey Bay, from its hiking trails in the grasslands of the higher peaks of the Gavilan Range. Other views include the San Benito Valley, Salinas Valley, and the Santa Lucia Mountains east of Big Sur. Pine and oak woodlands in the park are home to many birds and mammals. There are camping and picnic facilities in the park. The park also features an astronomical observatory with a 30-inch telescope, which is open for public programs on selected evenings. Off of Highway 156, 11-miles south of San Juan Bautista on San Juan Canyon Road.
How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the mountain-top it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make - leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone - we all dwell in a house of one room - the world with the firmament for its roof - and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving any track. ~John Muir
 Butano State Park is located in a secluded redwood-filled canyon. The park features miles of hiking trails, 21 drive-in campsites and 18 walk-in campsites. Restrooms with running water are provided. Drinking water is available at the park in both the campground and in the day use areas. There are no showers.
Guided nature walk and weekend campfire programs are offered during the summer. Dogs are permitted in the campground and in developed areas, providing they are controlled with a leash of no more than six feet at all times. Dogs are not permitted on the trails. The park is on the San Mateo Coast, off Highway One. Three miles northeast of the Gazos Creek Coastal Access Point by way of Gazos Creek Road, and about 4.5 miles southeast of Pescadero by way of the Pescadero and Cloverdale Roads.
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Memories of "camping out" experiences include the camaraderie of Girl Scout tent cabins; settling in on the roof of a houseboat on Lake Powell listening to the leathery sound of bats chasing bugs and watching meteor showers; and a very rainy, long, sleepless night in Nova Scotia with rivulets of water running through a pup tent. "It always rains on tents. Rainstorms will travel thousands of miles, against prevailing winds for the opportunity to rain on a tent." ~Dave Barry
Here in California during our rainless summer season I expect conditions are nigh perfect for a great camping out experience, unless of course you're 10 years old, camping out in the back yard and wake up to see two huge raccoons beside you!
Elkhorn Slough Foundation is now accepting entries for our 2011 ESF Calendar Photo Contest! Submit your great slough shots for a chance to have your photo featured in ESF's 2011 calendar. We're looking for photos that highlight the watershed and its diversity- landscapes, animals, plants, people, and more. Photos can be taken at the Reserve, kayaking on the slough, or anywhere else in the watershed.
