Where to go backpacking in Northern California or Nevada over Thanksgiving?

November 17, 2006 7:10 PM

Anybody know a good camping / backpacking spot in California that's not snowed under yet and is a decent drive from San Francisco (< 8 hours, not involving snow chains)?

Where would you go camping within a day's drive of San Francisco? I don't mind it being fairly cold out, but I can't handle snow drifts (no ice axe, snowshoes, etc.)

I'd normally head to the Eastern Sierras, but I think it's covered in snow. Everyone tells me to go to Big Sur or the Lost Coast, but I'm not a huge fan of the coastal ranges (especially the damp western side).

Do you know of other good backpacking areas? Around Castle Crags / Redding, or up past Mt. Shasta toward Yreka? In the Western Sierra foothills or up around Nevada City (this area)? Somewhere in the Eastern Sierras that isn't snowy yet? Western Nevada somewhere?

My email's in my profile if you don't want to tell the entire world your favorite backcountry spot. Thanks for any ideas!

posted by salvia to sports, hobbies, & recreation (15 comments total)

Perhaps the San Rafael Wilderness (or elsewhere in the Los Padres National Forest) down here near Santa Barbara.... No snow, for sure.
posted by JMOZ at 7:28 PM on November 17, 2006

Snow? It's only rained once this season. . .

The Pinnacles is a pretty sweet landscape for a day or two. Dry like you like it.

Trees make my day, so the Russian River area, up by Garberville, is pretty nice. But I haven't been up there in 30 years, alas.
posted by Heywood Mogroot at 8:15 PM on November 17, 2006

ditto Los Padres, and the Ventana Winderness. From SF I'd drive down Hwy 1 to Carmel, go inland 22 miles up Carmel Valley, then turn south down Tassajara Rd and camp at drive-in China Camp, then hike into Pine Valley for a night or two.

Or drive a little further down the coast and hike in to Sykes Hot Springs (undeveloped, always open)

Can be rainy and cool, but snow's very unlikely in Los Padres.
posted by anadem at 8:17 PM on November 17, 2006

We've been having pretty fantastic weather in Santa Cruz lately, foggy in the morning and beautiful sun all day long.

Have you been to Big Sur? Part of it have campgrounds right above the beaches and its not wet at all, just sickeningly gorgeous.
posted by fenriq at 8:30 PM on November 17, 2006

Yet another AskMe where I can share my undying love for the Point Reyes National Seashore. I was introduced to backpacking when I was 14 and at a camp there, I have been hooked ever since. Simply one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Yeah, it is on the coast but really really worth a trip. Here are the directions from San Fransico. More info on Back country camping in Point Reyes.
posted by nelleish at 8:36 PM on November 17, 2006

Come on down to Henry Coe State Park. There's 135 square miles of hilly inland wilderness for you, about an hour and a half south of S.F.

There are some very nice Coe hiking maps here.
posted by tkolar at 9:10 PM on November 17, 2006

Oh yeah, and when I say "hilly" what I mean is: "check out your route on the topo maps or you are likely to be very very sorry."
posted by tkolar at 9:15 PM on November 17, 2006

Death Valley has many, many, interesting features just in the north west portion, Eureka dunes, Racetrack,Saline Valley, Darwin falls. AAA has the great map for driving the park.
posted by hortense at 9:59 PM on November 17, 2006 [1 favorite]

Depends. Are you driving a Toyota Prius in or do you have 4WD?
posted by drstein at 10:09 PM on November 17, 2006

NPS Daily Report for Death Valley [pdf] says the Tioga Pass is closed due to snow. This means a loooong drive, even more so for the northern part, as you'll have to approach the park from the south.
posted by Opposite George at 11:06 PM on November 17, 2006

uh, NPS Morning Report [pdf]
posted by Opposite George at 11:08 PM on November 17, 2006

Contact the Los Padres National Forest for a map of the Monterey and Santa Lucia Ranger Districts. You'll find lots of good spots on the Eastern side of the mountains. Snow is indeed a possibility at higher elevations in the LP. I'd suggest you go south on 101 instead of Hwy 1 and then turn west on State route G17 or G18 toward the Arroyo Seco area. Escondido campground and the Lost Valley trail may suit you. Check ahead for possible fire closures of the area.

Further south the Santa Lucia District has some areas east of Santa Margarita that are good at this time of the year. Maybe the Machesna Mountian Wilderness, or further south to the San Rafael.
posted by X4ster at 8:52 AM on November 18, 2006

The Emigrant Wilderness, just north of Yosemite, has incredible granite peaks, gorgeous lakes, and if you're willing to go in 8 or more miles, areas where you'll likely be alone at your own lake. The Yosemite vibe without the Yosemite crowds.
posted by slipperynirvana at 9:06 AM on November 18, 2006

I live in Reno and from what I can tell the snow is only down to 9000ft...8500ft at the most (at least on my side of the hill). So, this leads me to believe that anything around Tahoe under that elevation is good to go! Just to be on the safe side I would go down to about 5000ft or so for Thanksgiving weekend. So, I would probably either go to Emigrant Wilderness (as slipperynirvana suggests), Desolation Wilderness (a bit above 5000ft) or somewhere around Auburn, Nevada City, Cool, or Placerville. There is a ton of great hiking around these parts.

I think the Whiskeytown/Shasta area would be great too. Except for Mt. Shasta itself that area is at a relatively low elevation.
posted by rlef98 at 4:02 PM on November 18, 2006

drstein, I'm driving a Jetta (front wheel drive, clearance isn't too bad for a sedan, but couldn't handle anything too muddy). I could maybe borrow a truck, though.

Right now, I'm split between the Escondido/Lost Valley area, which I'd never heard of but looks interesting, or going all the way to Death Valley (even though it's a 9-hour drive, going the south way as Opposite George said). But I'm still looking up some of these other ideas like Emigrant and Whiskeytown and the area around Nevada City. (And tkolar, Henry Coe has been on my list for a while to check out, though it's probably not where I'm headed this time.)

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions and for the on-the-ground snow reports.
posted by salvia at 12:48 AM on November 19, 2006