Did you know that California has over 1,100 miles of coastline with over 450 beaches? Within those beaches there are around 63 designated California State Beaches that are managed by the State Parks system (this doesn’t include all the beaches in State Parks along the coast). New Brighton is one such California State Beach located … More Camping at New Brighton State Beach
Last weekend we had one of our most unlucky travel experiences ever. We were headed to Spokane, Washington for another of my daughter’s volleyball tournaments, the Pacific Northwest Qualifier. I have to admit, when I first heard about the location, I had to look up where it was. Everyone warned us that getting to Spokane … More Spokane, Washington Weekend
A recent weekend had us traveling to Denver, Colorado to attend a volleyball tournament for my daughter. This was my first time in Denver, and I was excited to explore “the Mile High City” (Denver is one mile above sea level) between volleyball matches. We flew in to Denver on a Friday night to get … More Downtown Denver, Colorado
We love to be active and enjoy the outdoors, but hiking is not necessarily the activity of choice when we get together with grandparents. No problem, there are plenty of outdoor activities we can all enjoy. One of our favorite excursions that we took with my in-laws was a trip to San Simeon on the central … More Hearst Castle, a California State Historical Monument
Location: Lassen Volcanic National Park Directions: 50 miles east of Redding on Hwy 44 (to the Northwest entrance of the park) Campground: Manzanita Lake campground (amenities included camp store, pay showers and laundry, kayak rentals), $24/night, reservable through recreation.gov 6 months in advance Fees: Park entry fee $20, Campground fee $24/night Date traveled: July 2016 … More Lassen Volcanic National Park, Day 1
Location: Big Basin State Park, California Hike distance: 11 miles Elevation gain: ~2000 ft Hike Length: 5-6 hours Hike level: difficult/strenuous Date Hiked: June 2016 The Berry Creek Falls loop hike was our main reason for visiting Big Basin state park and I have to say it did live up to all the hype. It has been … More Berry Creek Falls Hike in Big Basin State Park
Location: Big Basin State Park, California Directions: Big Basin is located about 1.5 hrs (65 miles) south of San Francisco and about 40 minutes (25 miles) north of Santa Cruz via Highway 9 and 236. Campground: Huckleberry Campground Fee: $35/night Ever since I heard about the Berry Creek Falls loop hike at Big Basin State Park with … More Camping in California’s Oldest State Park
Location: Dillon Beach, California (about 90 minutes north of San Francisco) Length of hike to secluded beach: 1 mile to secluded beach from end of Oceana Drive When I was about a year old my parents bought a beat up old station wagon and drove across the US from New York to California visiting as many … More Dillon Beach for Family Get Togethers
Location: Doran Regional Park, 201 Doran Beach Rd, Bodega Bay, California Campground: Doran Regional Park campground, 120 sites, $35/night Reservations: sonomacountycamping.org, reservations can be made 1 year in advance Date of trip: May 2016 We left our home on Saturday excited about the gorgeous weather, convinced that the weather report was wrong for the Bodega … More Sonoma Coast camping
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California Campground: Indian Cove, at the end of Indian Cove Road off of Hwy 62 Campground ammenities: Pit toilets, water available at Indian Cove Ranger station 2 miles from campground Campsite: # 73 Reservations: recreation.gov, 6 months in advance (Oct-May). No reservations during summer months (first come, first serve) Campsite … More Joshua Tree National Park
One of our latest campervan excursions took us to Reno, Nevada where our daughter played in one of the biggest volleyball tournaments around. It was Far Westerns weekend! Far Westerns is a volleyball national qualifier tournament for girls 12-18 years old from all different divisions/levels. The tournament is so big (greater than 1000 teams, 15000 players … More Far Westerns National Qualifier 2016
Location: Yosemite National Park, California (Yosemite Valley) Bike trail length: 8 mile loop through Yosemite Valley from Yosemite Lodge at the Falls to Mirror Lake and back. (The Yosemite NPS site says there are over 12 miles of bike trails in Yosemite) Time: 1-3 hours depending on the number of stops Season: Spring My absolute, all-time favorite … More Yosemite Valley Bike Ride in the Spring
Location: Pinnacles National Park Directions: east side entrance – off of Hwy 146 via Hwy 25 (32 miles south of Hollister, CA and 29 miles northeast of King City, CA) Campground: Pinnacles campground, $23/night, open year round Park entrance fee: $15 Date of visit: April 2016 With three days of rain in the forecast, we left … More Springtime in Pinnacles National Park
Location: Wright’s Beach campground, Sonoma Coast state park (off of Hwy 1, Sonoma Coast), $45/night for premium sites (reserveamerica.com up to 7 months in advance, new dates are released in blocks 1 month at a time) Trip Date: October 2015 How do you plan for your first overnight adventure in a campervan that you’ve been waiting for … More Wright’s Beach
