New and looking for places to camp. (Mainly in CA)

[Mapper]

Hello world, I'm new to this site, as of today. I would love to be in scouting, but right now I have another calling.

 

My brother was just made scout master of a California troop near Bakersfield. He is having troubles finding places to camp. We are originally from Idaho and know of many great places around here. (If you need places in Eastern Idaho, check www.BackcountrySecrets.com.)

 

I told him I'd see if I could drum some spots up online.

 

I am curious if any of the rest of you have had similar problems? Also, if you know any good places near Bakersfield, please let me know or post them on Backcountry Secrets.

 

Thanks and it's good to be here

[SequoiaWDL]

It depends on your mood. If the coast interests you, then Morro Bay SP, Montana de Oro SP, Oceano Dunes SRVA, and Gaviota SP are all within 3 hours drive. If you like desert camping (not in summer, of course) then Red Rock Canyon is nearby. In the Sierras I'd look in the Lake Isabella area, and in the Tehachipis to the south I'd look around Frazier Park. We had family reunions at some little horseshoe shaped campground just west of Bakersfield (Lake Webb?) that might work in the "off-season".(This message has been edited by SequoiaWDL)(This message has been edited by SequoiaWDL)

[insanescouter]

Hello Mapper - welcome to the e-campfire....

 

Interesting I started cubs as a Tiger Cub in Bakersfield. Sadly that was many many years ago and I really do not remember places we went. If you would like I could as my dad - he has a good memory for that kind of thing.

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

Helping leaders one resource at a time

[scottteng]

I would contact the local OA chapter about places to camp. Ours has a large manual that they do up for the troops with all the camping spots in the state. This is especially valuable as it includes non public boy scout only camping areas. Most councils have several camps and in a populous state you are in driving distance of quite a few. The other resource would be your county and state parks department. Our troop is doing a state park series this year with a state park patch and a rocker for each specific park.

[insanescouter]

Good point ... the OA lodge here has published a "where to camp" booklet which they sale at the Scout store ... also do a google search for places in your area ... another good way to find hidden treasures is to contact the blm, forest service, blm, etc offices in your area often they will tell u about good places ...

 

hoping my wacky 2 cents is helpful...

 

Scott Robertson

http://insanescouter.org

Helping leaders one resource at a time

 

[FScouter]

There are a ton of USFS campgrounds in Sequoia National Forest and they are close to Bakersfield. Go east on 155 or 178 out of Bakersfield to the Kern River area and north. Buy the forest service map which has all the dirt roads, trails, and campgrounds plotted.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/recreation/

 

A little further north is a Boy Scout camp (Wolverton, WLACC council) located in the middle of Sequoia National Park. It's a small camp used primarily as a base for backpacking trips into the mountains, or for tourist spots within the park.

[John-in-KC]

Mapper,

 

YOU, SIR, ARE IN SCOUT CAMPING HOG HEAVEN!!!

 

Beaches, forest, mountains, snow, all can be yours.

 

Someone already recommended Gaviota SB. Having grown up and camped along US 101 in Santa Barbara County, I'll agree with that, and add in Refugio SB and El Capitan SB.

 

Morro Bay is a good one too.

 

Up in Kern County, Wester LA Council keeps Camp Whitsett (http://www.whitsett.org), which is good from snowmelt to 1st major snowfall. Whitsett is also a HA base; they have the Silver Knapsack trail heading out from there!

 

There are National Forests in CA with great campgrounds, as well as National Parks (Yosemite being the main attaction).

 

Do, by all means, get yourself a copy of "Starr's Guide to the John Muir Trail". The Pacific Crest trail wanders throughout the Sierra Nevada.

 

Unless your PLC WANTS to go to Philmont, your Troop has high adventure attractions of the first order within a 4 hour drive! No need for a two day road trip or a flight.

 

Have fun, my Scouting youth was out of Troop 110, Reseda. Hog Heaven!

[eisely]

The best single sources of information on car camping in California are two maps published by AAA. These maps not only list county parks, state parks, national parks, and other federally operated facilities, they give a lot of detail in an easy to understand tabular format and show you where they are located. They even cover some private camp grounds.

 

There are also numerous books. I am writing from work right now so I don't remember all the titles. You might go on Amazon and just search for books about camping in California and see what they come up with.

 

Getting information on backpacking sites is somewhat more difficult. I am not aware of a single source of such information for California. Usually I rely on maps for the area where I am going to see if there are developed back country sites I should be using.

 

If you are looking at National Forest Service controlled land, you should know that the forest service publishes its own series of maps. These have a lot of useful detail about what is in the national forests.

[digitalg]

www.mntnLIFE.com may be helpful. There's a lot of user generated trail information for the entire U.S. Plus you can plan to meet up with other people looking to hike, bike, or climb certain trails.