Cindy Coloma - The Best in Tent Camping: Northern California: A Guide for Car Campers Who Hate Rvs, Concrete Slabs, and Loud Portable Stereos

W HY DO WE LOVE CAMPING? Some people dont understand it. And how can we explain why civilized people find it thrilling to pack up their cars with whats already in their housesbeds, shelter, food, water, gamesto venture into nature to cook, clean, eat, sleep, play, and explore?

Perhaps its some ancestral instinct or primal call that draws us to live and play within the wilds, if only for a time. Or maybe its because nothing tastes better than pancakes on a paper plate with a cup of piping coffee on a chilly mountain morn, or a half-charred hot dog or marshmallow cooked over a smoky campfire.

Every July, one of my closest of friends, Michelle (LaCom) Ower, travels with her husband and kids to congregate with extended family at a primitive Trinity Forest campground for two or three weeks. Theyve been doing it every single year, in the same place, since the 1960s. Sometimes my family and I join them, and Im ever amazed at their three generations of people, camping gear, and storiesor at the neighboring campers who have become lifelong friends and also annually camp beside the LaCom/Owers. Its tradition, its often where the strongest memories are made, its a home beneath the pines thats every bit a part of them as their houses in Tennessee, the Bay Area, and northern Oregon. Whatever the reasons, we, young and old, love to camp. It cant be explained and we need not trythose who love it, simply do.

And so, this book is here to help answer that call and to provide a complete guide to make the plan become reality. The 55 campgrounds in five regions of Northern California offer a great diversity in elevation, geography, size, and amenities. Each campground is rated in categories of beauty, site privacy, spaciousness, quiet, security, and cleanliness.

Ive lived in Northern California since I was 7 years old, and as a child, my parents took me camping and backpacking all over the region from the coast to the many mountain ranges and wilderness areas. The camping bug stuck, and now my children are reaching toward adulthood with their own great love of the outdoors. And though I have traveled all over the world and the United States, Im still continually surprised and awed by what I discover or find anew right here in my own backyardbecause Northern California offers an unending display of rugged mountains, savage coastlines, and the captivating beauty of lakes, rivers, valleys, and gentle coves.

So where do you want to go? What kind of activities do you prefer? Are you seeking high mountains with hot showers or a lake view au naturel? Theres a campground and region to fit every interest and to satisfy every outdoor dream. You can fill your trip with activities or keep it relaxing and low key.

And yet, even with this guide, you can never guess what youll discover until you venture out. Maybe youll meet the LaCom/Owers on their annual trip, or see wildlife youve only encountered on the television screen, or youll grow closer to your children and grandchildren simply by making smores and telling stories beside a campfire. Or you may discover a vastness of eternity and an unparalleled wonder beneath the brightest stars youve ever seen.

We dont know what well find, or what will find us, but its sure to be. Then well take the experiences back to our cities and towns and civilized lives. And well plan for the next trip. Because this is why we love camping.

Cindy Coloma