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Free Camping in Anza Borrego Desert State Park

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Free Camping in Anza Borrego Desert State Park
February 23rd – 25th 2026 (2 nights)

Sometimes a spontaneous midweek break is the perfect way to take an adventure.  And, fortunately, there are numerous wonderful places for outdoor adventures to be had near our home in San Diego.  Anza Borrego Desert State Park is one such place.  This beautiful desert oasis, located just two hours east of San Diego, generally has great weather in the winter and early spring.  It’s renown for spectacular wildflower blooms in the spring as well as dark skies for celestial viewing, and hiking trails with unique outdoor scenery.  It’s also an escape for many snowbirds from colder weather environments who fill up the campgrounds within the park during the winter.  Palm Canyon Campground is one of Anza Borrego’s most popular campgrounds and offers hookups for water and electric and is located near the city of Borrego Springs.  This campground has an excellent Visitor’s Center, fun trails, and is a quick bike ride to its cute little town.  It was the first campground we visited after we received our 2020 Scamp 13!  Check out our trip report here.

Although traditional campgrounds can be great, sometimes one just wants to get off the grid — get away from neat rows of RVs, get off the asphalt, not see so many people, and maybe just hear the wind, birds, and other wild animals.  And avoiding the daily rate to rent the campsite pad can be a nice bonus as well!  So, how is this done?  Fortunately, there are plenty of resources for how and where to free camp (also called boondocking) online.    Anza Borrego Desert SP has a website which outlines the free primitive campgrounds within the park.  The free primitive campgrounds are called primitive because they lack water, trash collections, and other amenities/hookups.  No permits and fees are needed at any of these campgrounds.  However, there are still rules — such as packing all trash out and not leaving any traces on the ground (along with many others rules).

Before going out to free camp (whether it’s in a tent, car, van, RV, or travel trailer), it’s important to have a good mastery of one’s equipment, be aware of what and the amount of resources will be used (e.g. food and water, clothing, power, etc.), and have backup / emergency plans in case things don’t go according to schedule (e.g. always let someone know where you will be going and for how long).  Free camping in a travel trailer, like the Scamp 13′, is really nice because the Scamp is fully self-contained with it’s own bedroom, kitchen (including stove and refrigerator), furnace, shower, and entertainment system.  Our Scamp has two onboard propane tanks (offering plenty of fuel to power our stove, hot water tank, and furnace for weeks).  There’s also an onboard lithium battery which provides a large power bank for onboard electronics (such as pumps and lights).  We carry an additional battery to power our Starlink for communications when there is no mobile phone service.  We also carry emergency supplies such as a first aid kit, shovel, off-road tire traction boards, lithium battery engine jump starter, and more.  Here’s a list of our essential items.  We use GAIA GPS and download offline maps for all campgrounds we visit as many adventure locations have no mobile service.

Our plan for this trip was to try “free camping” primitive campgrounds within Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  Blair Valley Primitive Campground and Culp Valley Primitive Campground are well reviewed online and within thirty minutes of each other.  Both campgrounds are high above the desert floor above Borrego Springs, offering 5 – 10 degree cooler weather.

Blair Valley Primitive Campground (2,500 feet elevation)
Our first stop (after fueling at a nearby gas station on a Reservation called Santa Ysabel Roadside, off Highway 79) was Blair Valley Primitive Campground.  It’s located right off the Great Southern Overland Stage Route (a small highway).  Access to the campground is hard dirt and was relatively easy to navigate on its roads.  Because of the rain a couple of weeks ago, there were very large and deep pools of water on some of the access roads, but we were able to avoid these by taking higher adjacent tracks.  The campground is located in a large valley and the number of campsites is expansive (but not expensive — since it’s free!).  Beware:  the farther one travels down into the valley’s access roads, the sandier the roads get.  There were lots of nice sites with plenty of site separation right near the entrance, so we chose one of these when we arrived.  There are pit toilets at the front entrance (good for tent and car campers).  It’s best to arrive mid-morning as the sites are first come first served.  Though, there were a number of sites available at all hours the two days we were there on Monday and Tuesday in late February.

We chose a campsite at the base of one of the boulder mountains surrounding the valley.  Many of the campsites are clearly defined with a firepit.  It was tricky getting our Scamp 13′ level, even using our leveler.  We learned that it’s best to orient the trailer in the direction of the hill as there is much more ability to level front to back with the hitch jack (many feet) than side to side with a leveler (usually only about 6″).  The campsites in the center of the valley, on the flats, were much easier for people to level up.  During our visit, we had 1 to 2 bars of Verizon mobile service — enough to send texts (although sending images was very slow).  There is no water here, nor trash receptacle nor dump station.  We made sure to bring 3 full six-gallon water jugs as well as arriving with our Scamp 13’s 12-gallon fresh water tank completely full.  We saw a handful of other campers during our visit and everyone was very friendly.  Some were travelling across the country.

There’s plenty to do in Blair Valley, and even if you want to just relax it’s great too.  Shortly after we arrived, two F35 fighter jets made a low pass over the valley and pulled out hard, making a radical bank as they turned away!  That was the most noise we heard during our two day stay!  We brought our mountain bikes and road on the Blair Valley Loop trail (sometimes very sandy), which goes on for miles.  There are Indian pictographs and other artifacts to be seen on this route.  There are a number of hiking trails in the area as well.  We enjoyed sitting outside and taking in the beautiful sites and sounds of Blair Valley.  At night, a large owl hooted from a branch extending from a rock outcropping directly overhead!  And, stargazing is incredible as this is a dark skies park.

Culp Valley Primitive Campground (3.400 ft. elevation)
Located about 35 minutes from Blair Valley, Culp Valley Primitive Campground is off Montezuma Valley Road S22 going down into Borrego Springs.  It’s the highest campground in the park and offers cooler temperatures than many of the other campgrounds.  The campground is down a small, almost hidden dirt road and is much smaller than Blair Valley Primitive Campground.  Coming from above, there is no sign, just the dirt road is visible.  A street sign saying Culp Valley Camp is posted for drivers coming up the S22 from Borrego Springs.  There are only about 12 campsites and we estimated only a handful were suitable for small travel trailers.  In turn, arriving here midweek and early in the day is essential.  We would recommend choosing one of the few campsites on the main road and avoiding the lower and higher roads (at least not without scouting them on foot first).  During our visit, the lower and higher roads were extremely rutted and would not be suitable for a travel trailer.

The Culp Valley is not as expansive as Blair Valley, but still is surrounded by mountains with plenty of boulders.  Just like Blair Valley, there are not many amenities other than pit toilets.  And like Blair Valley, the price was right (free)!  There is almost no Verizon service here (we received an occasional one bar).  However, at the top of the Culp Valley Trail, which is a high overlook to Borrego Springs below, there is excellent Verizon coverage!  The half-mile long trail is easy and well defined.  There’s a longer 2.2. mile hike to nearby Pena Springs as well.

Impressions of Free Camping in Anza Borrego Desert State Park
Free Camping in Anza Borrego Desert State Park is amazing.  There are so many different options for camping and each provides a somewhat different experience.  We really enjoyed Blair Valley Primitive Campground for it’s beautiful natural environment and lots to explore.  Culp Valley Primitive Campground provides a smaller feel with a trail that offers a spectacular view of the Borrego Springs valley floor below.  It also is a bit cooler due to its higher elevation than the other campgrounds within the park.

For ease of access, Blair Valley Primitive Campground is the clear winner between these two campgrounds as it is easy to get into, there are seemingly almost an endless number of campsites (and often can accommodate large trailers), and the roads are in better condition (or were at least during our visit).  Blair Valley also provides a nice loop for mountain bike riding.

Free camping takes the visceral feel of nature to another level beyond traditional camping.  Being immersed in all the scenery — the sights and sounds of plants, animals, and stars — without so many people and asphalt around creates an elevated experience.  For those perhaps intimidated to try free camping due to the isolation, Anza Borrego Desert State Park makes the experience easy as the campsite areas are often marked and there are usually other campers and park employees around to provide assistance if necessary.

We can’t wait to return for the Spring wildflower bloom (and perhaps super bloom due to all the rain)!  Perhaps we will try another one of the Anza Borrego Desert State Park’s free campgrounds!

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything right.

Searching for Monarchs on the California Coast

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Searching for Monarchs on the California Coast
January 18th – 26th 2026 (8 nights)

After two weeks of strong winter storms, California was finally given a reprieve.  Clear blue, sunny skies and warm conditions followed.  The nice weather presented an opportunity to finally visit the Monarch Butterfly Grove in Pismo Beach.  We had visited the Grove many times in the past, but only during off season (Spring, Summer, and Fall) when no butterflies were around.  Peak season for the migrating Monarch butterflies is during the winter (with mid-November through December presenting the highest numbers).  With good weather forecast for the next ten days, we planned a last-minute trip which included a visit to Pismo.

We made our first stop on our way up the California Coast in Santa Barbara (about a three and a half hour drive from our home in Carlsbad) to visit our cousin Jon and his family.  We situated the Scamp 13′ in my cousin’s driveway for an overnight stay.  After setting up the Scamp, we had a great lunch at the line-out-the-door Pang Zi Noodle Shop.  We then walked off lunch along the waterfront (there’s an arts and crafts show on Sundays — ) and down Santa Barbara Stearns Wharf Pier.

After walking most of the afternoon, we were ready for dinner!  We met my cousin Jon and his wife Ida at the Santa Barbara Public Market and had a chance to catch up with what’s been going on in each others’ lives.  There are a number of restaurant stalls inside the Public Market, offering a variety of foods.  We had excellent pizza at Ca’ Dario Pizzeria followed by some of the best ice-cream we’ve ever tasted at Rori’s Artisinal Creamery.

The next morning, we went for a long hike with our cousin Jon, his wife Ida, and dog Toby (a Sheepadoodle).  We hiked through the beautiful Elings Park.  It’s the largest privately funded non-profit park in America, at 230 acres.  Everything was so green after all the rain.  During our hike, we discovered the Santa Barbara Model RC club and their small model airport within the park and enjoyed speaking to some of the members and watching them fly their models.  From Elings Park, we hiked through to the Douglas Family Preserve, a smaller park but with spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.  After having a very fun visit with family, we continued our journey north to Pismo Beach to see the butterflies (and our good friend Jim)!

Pismo Beach North Beach Campground is a campground adjacent to the beach behind sand dunes in Pismo Beach.  It’s a very popular campground, offering premium beach side campsites for only $25/night!!!  There is good Verizon mobile phone reception here along with water spigots and a pay RV dump station (currently $10).  We reserved site #83 (pull through site) at the last minute, which is one of the best sites since it is right behind the dunes with a short walk to the beach and Monarch Butterfly Grove.  Sometimes great sites become available at the last minute as people often cancel for various reasons.  The first thing we did after setting up our Scamp 13′, was to visit the Monarch Butterfly Grove next door.  It was late afternoon and cool though, and the butterflies, we were told, were all sleeping!

The next morning we learned that the Monarch butterfly population is at historic low levels this year (down from tens of thousands a few years ago and hundreds of thousands in the 1990’s to only a hundred now).  Some reasons given for the population downturn are increased pesticide / herbicide use, climate changes, and shifts in milkweed growth (the exclusive food source for Monarch caterpillars).  The Monarchs seen at the Pismo Monarch Grove are the “migratory super-generation” that make their way over thousands of miles from Canada, down the coast of California, to the border of Mexico.  A ranger mentioned that because of the heavy rain this past year, there’s a chance the numbers will rebound next year.  There’s an app that allows tracking of some of the Monarchs (they are tracked with an extremely small and light bluetooth transmitter which is attached to their body).

We had a great lunch with our close friend Jim catching up and enjoying the excellent food at Old Juan’s Cantina in Pismo Beach.  We revisited the Monarch Butterfly Grove after lunch and saw more Monarchs which were enjoying the sun and warm afternoon temperatures.  We then walked from the campground down to the beach and along the boardwalk to the Pismo Beach Pier.  The SLO Cal pro surf event was happening during our visit and we had fun watching the surfing from high above on the pier.  Before leaving town for our next stop, we had to try the Old West Cinnamon Roll shop (established in 1972) as it is frequently mentioned as offering the best cinnamon rolls on the West Coast.  It did not disappoint!

Our next stop, New Brighton Beach State Park Campground, is one of the most popular beachfront campgrounds in California.  About a three hour drive north of Pismo Beach, the campground is located close to the cute beachside towns of Capitola and Santa Cruz (home to UC Santa Cruz), offering plenty to see and do.  The campground is at the top of the bluffs, looking down at China Beach and the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary, with some premium campsites offering spectacular ocean views (a number with electric hookups).  We had site #72 ($35/night) which is a good site with a partial ocean view ($50/night for premium sites).  There’s a threaded water spigot nearby and we were able to connect two hoses to directly fill our fresh tank (also using a velcro strap to hold down the water valve).  There is an RV dumpstation at the park exit which accomodates four RVs simultaneously (currently $10).

We had plenty of things to do during our two day stay at New Brighton Beach State Park.  There’s a trail which goes down to the beach from the campground, along the water and then up a stairway back to the campground (about a mile loop).  We saw sea birds and dolphins on our morning walks.  We explored the little town of Capitola (with attractive beach shops, restaurants, and pier).  There are some colorful photo-worthy Mediterranean townhouses (24) and a hotel (17 units) near the pier called the Venetian Court.  They were built in 1924 and represent one of the first condominium style developments on the California coast!  Next, we drove to the town of Santa Cruz, walking along the wharf (recognized as the longest wooden wharf/pier on the West Coast of the United States).  Hundreds of sea lions hang out under the pier on the rafters.  They put on a show, barking loudly and playing.  The sea lions are a lot of fun to watch.  At the end of our visit to Santa Cruz, we enjoyed touring the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center.  Lastly, we hiked The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, a nature preserve with over forty miles of hiking trails.  The Marks family of Salinas, California deeded more than 9,000 acres to the State for use as a public park in 1963.  It’s a forest of dense coastal redwood trees that cover most of the park which provide a peaceful experience.

Visiting family in Oakland was the final stop on our coastal adventure.  Just under two hours from Santa Cruz, “The Town” offers a myriad of fun things to do.  We always enjoy walking in the redwoods, visiting Alameda Island (posh eateries, architecture, and walks), playing pickleball at the local Montclair courts, riding the Bart, and enjoying celebrating birthdays with family and friends.  This time we celebrated a birthday by taking some scenic walks (one through a district with historic Queen Anne style homes), going to our favorite bakery (their almond croissants are phenomenal) and playing pickleball.

On the journey home, we stayed near Bakersfield at the Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area campground to break up the eight hour drive from Oakland to San Diego.  Our lake front site (#41) with full hookups cost $33 for the night.  It’s a relaxing place which we’ve enjoyed before.  Just make sure to avoid visiting in the summer as it can be very hot in the Central Valley that time of year.

We had such a great time on this trip, even though it was planned last minute and we didn’t see that many butterflies.  It shows that sometimes following a goal can lead to detours that become the highlight of the journey!

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything right.

Lake Tahoe, California Coast & Beyond

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Lake Tahoe, California Coast & Beyond
June 25th – July 7th 2025 (12 nights)

Our first major Scamp trip was at DL Bliss State Park, Lake Tahoe about five years ago.  Since then, we’ve taken 43 trips at 162 locations and have spent 290 nights sleeping in our 2020 Scamp 13′ travel trailer.  And, we’ve seen and learned a lot along the way — observing fascinating things, tasting good food, meeting interesting people and making great friends.  When we heard Nevada Beach Campground in Lake Tahoe ranked as the hardest campground to get a reservation at in the United States in 2024, we thought it was time to return to this beautiful oasis in the high Sierra to see Nevada Beach Campground for ourselves.

Lake Tahoe is a large fresh water lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains straddling both California and Nevada.  The lake not only has beautiful beaches with crystal clear water but also popular ski resorts.  And, on the Nevada side of the lake, there are casinos as well.  Emerald Bay State Park, on the southwest shore, is famous for the 1929 Nordic style mansion called Vikingsholm.  Lake Tahoe is also well known for outstanding hiking trails, mountain biking, and other outdoor activities (such as boating, kayaking, waterskiing, stand up paddle boarding, fishing, and horseback riding).

The process to get a reservation at Nevada Beach Campground can be challenging.   The camping season is typically mid-May to mid-October.  To have the best chance at getting a campsite it’s best to reserve six months in advance.  We wanted to be at the campground over 4th of July weekend to watch the popular fireworks show (fireworks are launched from a barge right off the beach close by).  We used numerous strategies to make it happen, but even still luck was involved.  To get a more detailed look at the strategies we used to successfully book reservations, see our article “How to Play Master Chess on Recreation.Gov”.

Our cousin Rebecca and her husband invited us to stay at their cabin in Pioneer, California (between the coast and Lake Tahoe).  So, we drove north along the coast (staying at a few campgrounds along the way) and then crossed inland in the direction of Pioneer and Lake Tahoe.

Carpinteria Campground
Located just south of Santa Barbara, Carpinteria Campground, in the charming coastal city of Carpentaria (known as “Carp”), is on the beach.  Many of the campsites are close together, so make sure to check out the campsite map before reserving.  Check-in is 2 pm., but they let us in at 1 p.m.  We were lucky and were able to reserve site A121 ($45/night + $8.25 reservation fee) at the last minute.  It’s a great campsite as there’s a lot of space around it (a frequent camper at this campground told us we got the best campsite in the entire campground!).  However, to fit into this 24’ campsite, we had to park our car perpendicular to our Scamp 13’.  It’s allowed to hang the trailer over the pad as long as the rear wheels are not on the grass.  We were able to hang about a third of our Scamp over the grass!  The beach and wooden boardwalk are just a short walk across the “day use” parking lot.  The Verizon cellular service was good while we were here.  There are water spigots (no threads) within the campground.  We used the free RV dump station when we left the next morning.  The train runs behind the campground, but the noise didn’t bother us during our visit.

The highlights of our stay in Carpinteria were walking the bluff trail to the seal rookery (about 3 miles round trip) and exploring the town of “Carp” (walking down Linden Avenue).  There are plenty of nice shops and restaurants to enjoy when visiting.  Make sure to grab a bite at The Spot (very popular with locals) during your visit!  The beach is known as the “World’s Safest Beach” due to its naturally calm waters.  The Channel Islands, along with the Santa Ynez Mountains, help to protect Carpinteria from strong winds and waves, creating its relatively calm and safe environment.

Pismo Beach
Our ride up the California coast would never be complete without a visit with our good friend Jim.  He has a policy that welcomes visitors—“if you ever visit Pismo Beach, lunch is on me”.  Since we don’t make it to the Central Coast very often, we enjoy catching up with our friend Jim over lunch.  Our go to lunch place is Zorros in Shell Beach for great Mexican food.  After lunch and spending time getting caught up, we made our way north to Hearst San Simeon State Park Campground (about an hour north).

Hearst San Simeon State Park Campground
Hearst San Simeon State Park campground is spread out between higher and lower elevations.  Our campsite, #24 ($35/night), is high on a hill looking out over the Pacific and probably one of the most spacious sites within the campground.  There was no Verizon reception at our campsite, but it could be had at the top of the stairs close by (as well as near the ranger station entrance).  Water spigots (without threads) are available.  There’s an RV dump station here ($10, we skipped it).

During our stay we visited the Elephant Seal Rookery (lots of giant elephant seals sunning on the beach), the kite surfing beach, Moonstone Beach (moonstones and other gems), and San Simeon Pier (opposite of Hearst Castle).  We’ve seen Hearst Castle many times before, so we skipped it this trip — but, if you haven’t been, definitely go!

We needed to backtrack south on the coast for about twenty minutes and head up the 41 Freeway since the coast highway was closed going north (it’s been closed for a while due to a landslide).  In order to continue our journey to our next campground in Monterey, we took the 101 Freeway.

Monterey Veterans Memorial Park Campground
Monterey is about three hours north of Hearst San Simeon State Park.  The campground is first come first serve and only has thirty campsites suitable for trailers (21’ limit), so it’s best to get there early in the day.  We arrived at the campground on a Friday morning in late June and there were several open campsites.  Our first choice, campsite 6, which is adjacent to a large grass field, was one of the open sites!  To get the campsite, park your trailer in the open site you want to occupy and then walk down to the iron ranger, fill out the form, and put cash/check in the envelope and deposit and place the detached portion of your campsite receipt on the post at your campsite.  Campsites are currently $54/night.  There’s slow Verizon mobile service.  We didn’t see any water spigots, but there is a freshwater hose bib near the top bathroom.  There’s a free RV dump station just outside the campground which we used the next morning when leaving.

To honor veterans, Taps and Reverie are played by loud speaker throughout the campground at 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. every day.

There’s a steep road going from the campground to downtown Monterey, so it’s best to drive into town.  The campsite is very close to the major attractions. (e.g. charming downtown Monterey, Fisherman’s Wharf, Cannery Row, …).  We enjoyed riding the free trolley from Cannery Row to Fisherman’s Wharf.  The wharf was crowded with tourists enjoying the pier and all its shops and eateries.  We walked back from the wharf to Cannery Row and saw many harbor seals along the way.  The famous Monterey Aquarium is a must see attraction if you’ve never been.

Pioneer
Located in a wilderness mountain area between the coast and Lake Tahoe, Pioneer is in the Sierra Nevada foothills at an elevation of around 3,000 feet.  Our cousin Rebecca and her husband Matt recently purchased a cabin here and invited us for a stay.  Their property is on about 10 acres with plenty of room for us to set up our Scamp 13’.  After a tour of their beautiful cabin and property, which includes a river, underground stream as well as a Frisbee golf course, we were treated to a cave adventure at Black Chasm Cavern National Natural Landmark.  The cavern is in the town of Volcano which is about twenty minutes from Rebecca and Matt’s cabin.  It was a warm summer day, so it was nice to descend deep into the cave where the temperate is always 57 degrees.  A guided tour (about an hour) is necessary to enter the cave and take the steep stairs down into the cavern.  The tour descends about 100 feet deep into the cave!  The cave itself is 225 feet deep, with an underground lake system at 200 feet below ground.  Black Chasm Cavern is known for its spectacular displays of rare helictite formations.  There is also a beautiful blue lake 80 feet below the second chamber viewing platform.  We greatly enjoyed this cave tour.  After the tour, we had a delicious dinner at Volcano Union Inn Restaurant and then explored the quaint town of Volcano.

Lake Tahoe – Fallen Leaf Campground (6,332’ elevation)
The drive from Pioneer to Lake Tahoe was about 1 ½ hours.  We stopped at the Kirkwood Ski Area for lunch as we had some time before the 2 p.m. check-in at Fallen Leaf Lake Campground (South Lake Tahoe).  Kirkwood Ski Area is a beautiful place with a small village at its base.  It resembles a scenic European ski town.  There was still some snow visible at the top of the mountain during our visit in late June.  Since the ski resort no longer offers summer mountain biking, the area was very quiet during our two hour visit.  Most of the stores and restaurants were closed.  We enjoyed the solitude, nice weather and mountain views from our Scamp while we ate lunch!

Fallen Leaf Campground is on the south shore of Lake Tahoe.  It’s a large campground consisting of 206 campsites.  Our campsite (site #169A, $47/night, 50% off with a Senior America the Beautiful Lifetime Pass) is right in the middle of the campground and, in turn, exposed to a lot of activity.  Since we reserved last minute, we didn’t have many campsite choices.  In the future, we will reserve a campsite on the perimeter.  Our friends Kat & David recommend campsite #21 if bear viewing is desired.  They said bears came to this campsite every day during their visit (see their video here).  There are threaded water spigots here.  There’s an RV dump station ($10).  There’s no Verizon mobile service at the campground.

This is a great campground to which to bring bikes.  There are numerous bike paths that wind along the edges of Lake Tahoe. There are also several great hikes here, including one with waterfalls (called Glen Alpine Falls) that flows into Fallen Leaf Lake.  Since our stay here was just one night, we chose to hike Maggie’s Peak (considered one of the best hikes in the area).  Our friend Bruce came down from Zephyr Cove to join us on this early morning hike.  Maggies Peak is in the Desolation Wilderness Area and a permit is required to enter (free at the entrance to the hike).  We parked just off the main road at the Bayview parking lot and walked up to the trailhead.  This hike is considered challenging.  There are plenty of steep sections and switchbacks, taking from 3 – 4 hours to make the round trip hike (4 miles total with 1800 feet of elevation gain over 2 miles).  The payoff is an outstanding panoramic view of Emerald Bay. We even ran into some pack goats on our hike!  There’s a private resort next door to Fallen Leaf Campground called Camp Richardson.  Their ice cream shop is a short bike ride from the campground and their ice creams are very refreshing on a hot day (and free Wi-Fi can be had at their hotel – just go inside and ask for the code)!

Nevada Beach Campground (6,100’ elevation)
It’s a 45 minute drive from Fallen Leaf Campground to Nevada Beach Campground.  To get here, you cross the state line and enter Nevada.  Nevada Beach Campground was named in 2024 by the popular online camping website The Dyrt as the hardest campground at which to get a reservation in the entire country!  To learn more about how we secured a reservation, click here.

We stayed at campsite #10 ($47/night, 50% off with a Senior America the Beautiful Lifetime Pass) for six nights.  It’s a prime campsite with a lake view and a short walk to the lake.  There is good Verizon mobile internet as well as water within the campground (threaded water spigot near the bathroom). There’s no RV dump station here, but there is one a few minutes down the road at Zephyr Cove Resort ($10).  We did notice many people using outdoor showers within the campground so as not to fill up their grey tanks.  A ranger I asked said this is OK as long as biodegradable soap / shampoo is used (since the shower water falls directly onto the ground).

This is one of the most beautiful campgrounds we’ve ever been too – the combination of striking views of Lake Tahoe with dramatic snowcapped mountains in the background and awe-inspiring trails through meadows and pine filled forests is amazing.  And, the beach is very beautiful.  Dogs are even welcome on part of the beach!  Even though we stayed through Fourth of July weekend, the campground, with only 54 campsites, never felt crowded.  Definitely bring your bike (our new rack worked out really well) as there are fantastic paved paths through wonderful pines to enjoy. Walking is fine too if you don’t ride.  You can even ride your bike or drive into town and do some shopping at The Shops at Heavenly Village.

We made some new friends, Kat & David, who were camped next to us in their Airstream.  They were extremely generous, and when they learned that I strained my back lifting a 6 lb. water jug (over 50lbs filled) to fill fresh water into the Scamp, they gave us a specialized water transfer pump!  The device allows water to be quickly pumped from the jug at ground level to up and directly into the travel trailer.  So, with a dolly and one of these pumps, heavy lifting is not needed.  This is a game-changer and we will only use this method for fresh water fill in the future.  We enjoyed spending time with Kat & David.  Kat enjoys working with plants and is an avid birder.  And, David is extremely knowledgeable on all things camping and the environment.  David pointed out to us what appeared to be a “T” on the mountain (Mt. Tallac) across the lake from our campsite.  The “T” on Mt. Tallac is a cross shaped snow formation visible in spring and summer associated with interesting folklore, particularly among the Washoe people.  The Washoe people considered Mt. Tallac sacred.  One legend says that if the snow melts out of the cross completely then a harsh winter will be coming to Lake Tahoe.  This natural phenomenon is particularly famous because it was used as the backdrop for the opening sequence of the classic TV show Bonanza (aired 1959 – 1973); the specific location where the opening sequence was filmed was Nevada Beach!

Our friends Bruce, Gracia, and their dog Ben just moved into their newly completed condo next door at The Tahoe Beach Club.  Bruce is an avid hiker and made sure we were up early every morning to complete a hike from his favorites list.  In addition to hiking Maggie’s Peak, we hiked up Round Hill (awesome views of Lake Tahoe) and walked around Spooner Lake.  We also enjoyed playing ball with Ben each morning – he loves to retrieve his ball from the lake.  One of the highlights of our trip was having lunch with Bruce and Gracia at their condo beach club (The Tahoe Beach Club).  We enjoyed burgers on the outside patio with spectacular views overlooking the lake.  And, watching the 4th of July Fireworks show from the campground was the cherry on top!

It was hard to leave our friends and Nevada Beach Campground.  We had such a beautiful time.  We plan to come back next year if possible.

Instead of making our way back to the coast, we chose to return home the more direct route on the US395.  Our next stop, June Lake, is a three hour drive from Nevada Beach Campground.

June Lake – Oh Ridge Campground (7,600’ elevation)
June Lake is often called the “Switzerland of California” due to its stunning alpine scenery and similar characteristics to the Swiss Alps.  June Lake is in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and surrounded by dramatic granite peaks, including Carson Peak.  The June Lake Loop is known for its four pristine glacial lakes (June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake).

We stayed at Oh Ridge Campground and had campsite #27 ($38/night, 50% off with a Senior America the Beautiful Lifetime Pass) — one of the prime campsites up on a hill directly overlooking the lake.  The views of the lake and granite mountain peaks from the Scamp were amazing.  The water spigot near our campsite was painted red, so we assumed the water was not drinkable (although there were no explanation signs and no ranger warnings).  We used it for washing and showering.  There’s also a central RV dumpstation ($10).  The Verizon reception was good during our stay.  During our one night stay, we had a chance to walk down the hill to explore the beach.  It was a warm day and people were having a good time swimming and boating on the lake.

This trip was filled with many fun locations, extreme natural beauty, good food, and a blast of a Fourth of July.  We enjoyed seeing friends and family along the way as well as making new friends at the campgrounds.  Like all trips, this one left us with some ideas for future adventures.  We definitely want to go back to Lake Tahoe as well as try some new high elevation campgrounds in the Sierra (such as Big Pine Creek Campground).  Picking intriguing locations always sets the stage for new exciting experiences.  Travel writer Rolf Potts expressed this idea well when he said, “the secret of adventure is not to carefully seek it out, but to travel in such a way that it finds you.”

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything right.

O’Neill Regional Park — Orange County, California

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O’Neill Regional Park — Orange County, California
May 7th – 9th 2024 (2 nights)

The main purpose of this trip was to have our Scamp’s rear hitch heavily reinforced to sustain the weight and forces of our new bike rack for long distance travel.  Although our Scamp’s rear hitch was already factory welded on both ends (bumper and steel frame), we decided more robust reinforcement would be desirable since we sometimes drive on rough roads and trails with our bikes on the rear hitch.  The last thing we would want is to have the hitch break away from our trailer while driving and have our new rack and bikes dragged on the road behind us (coincidentally, this is exactly what happened to a couple we met during this trip at O’Neill Regional Park – their new hitch broke off behind their trailer and their hitch and $17,000 in e-bikes were destroyed).  Not many bike racks are rated to be used behind travel trailers because of the extreme forces at their rear.  Our new bike rack is travel trailer rated as long as certain conditions are met (the rear hitch must be welded both to the trailer’s bumper and frame, a 2” receiver is used, and bikes must not exceed 42lbs per tray).

Our first stop was at our Cousin Chris’s house in Arcadia (a city in Los Angeles about 13 miles northeast of downtown). Chris is a professional welder and offered to fabricate necessary steel parts and weld them to our Scamp’s rear hitch.  The hardest part of the process is creating the design and fabricating the metal parts which will be used to ruggedize the union of the hitch to the trailer.  Chris is a master craftsman and created some phenomenal parts which he fabricated out of steel in his shop.  After placing all the metal parts to ensure a good fit, he meticulously welded each piece to the existing hitch, bumper, and frame.  While Chris worked, we enjoyed walking his nice neighborhood as well as interacting with “Feathers”, the resident wild Peacock who lives outside Chris’s house.  Feathers is not only big and beautiful but he also has a blood curdling scream which can be heard for miles!  He often flies up onto the roof and screams to ensure other peacocks can hear him (in which they often reply with their own screams from different nearby locations!)!  The welding process took about five hours and we left knowing that our hitch was now very secure.

Side note — in the late 19th century, the founder of Arcadia, Elias “Lucky” Baldwin, imported peacock breeding pairs from India to decorate his estate (now the Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Gardens).  The peafowl thrived on the compound and their population grew with some of them escaping onto the surrounding areas.  The feral peacocks continue to thrive to this day and are protected so they may roam Arcadia without being disturbed.

Instead of driving straight home to San Diego on the same day, we decided to spend a couple of nights at O’Neill Regional Park in Orange County.  A couple of weeks ago we enjoyed our stay at Ronald W. Casper’s Wilderness Park which is close by, so we wanted to try this other regional inland Orange County campground.  O’Neill Regional Park is like Caspers in many ways.  Both parks are run by the OCparks system and have similar beautiful maps and fun programs.  O’Neill Regional Park is on over 4,500 acres, located within Trabuco and Live Oak Canyons.  The campground has 79 campsites and can accommodate very large RVs.  There aren’t any hookups, but there are threaded water spigots and a free central dump station.  Campsites cost $20/night (or $15/night for anyone over 60 or people with disabilities).  We had campsite #34 which was a bit too close to the site next to it (unless you are travelling with family or friends).  Fortunately, we had quite neighbors on the two nights we stayed, but would choose a different site next time with more space between campsites.  There’s a threaded water spigot next to campsite #34 and we used a couple of our hoses to connect to it to refill our Scamp’s fresh water tank.  The Verizon service was good during our stay.  There’s also a free central RV dump station which we used on the way out.

The campground has a very natural feel and is very spread out.  There are numerous day use areas as well as Group and Equestrian campgrounds.  Oak trees are plentiful throughout the park and provide much needed shade when the weather gets warm (which it does since it is about 45 minutes inland from the ocean).  Temperatures were in the low ‘80’s during our visit in early May.  We heard temperatures were supposed to get into the 90’s on the day we left!  Similar to Caspers, ground squirrels are all over the campground and don’t seem to cause any issues with campers (although we spotted one standing up on his hind legs spending some time very curiously inspecting the underneath of our Scamp 13’).  There are plenty of other animals in the park including deer (a man said he and his dog were almost run into by a large deer at night during a dog walk), bobcats, coyotes, mountain lions, raccoons, crows, turkey vultures, and more.  We heard a large animal panting in the bush close to us while on a long hike, but couldn’t confirm what it was…

Like Caspers, there are plenty of trails to ride horses, bikes, and hike.  The trails here were busier during our stay than the back country trails we experienced at Caspers though.  We hiked the Pawfoot, Live Oak, and Coyote Canyon trails, which originate near the Ranger Station at the entrance to the park.  Another fun hike is to start the Pawfoot trail above the campground area (heading toward the Equestrian camping area) and take the short walk past an elementary school filled with farm animals (pigs, goats, sheep, and miniature donkeys) to the Trabuco General Store.  The General Store (open 8 am. – 7 p.m. during our stay) has some unique items, including tamales and homemade fruit preserves.

Make sure to check the weather before visiting both Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Area and O’Neill Regional Park.  Both campgrounds are inland, so it can get warm when the temperatures heat up.  However, a visit in the winter, spring, or fall might just be perfect for enjoying a tranquil setting with fantastic equestrian, hiking, and biking trails.  And, if you live in LA or San Diego, the trip to these parks won’t use much gas or cost much in campground fees.  So, take a jaunt to one of these Orange Country inland regional parks, save some money by camping local, and stop by the Trabuco General Store to stock up on tamales and home jam!

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

Caspers Wilderness Park — Orange County, California

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Caspers Wilderness Park — Orange County, California
April 21st – 24th 2024 (3 nights)

Located a little over an hour north of Carlsbad and just about twenty minutes inland from Dana Point, Caspers Wilderness Park feels very remote.  Situated on over 8,000 acres of wilderness land, the park was originally occupied by the Juanenos, a tribe of Native Americans. Eventually, the city of Orange County purchased the land and the regional park was opened in 1974. The park is notable for its expansive hiking and biking trails, equestrian access, and ranger programs.  Pets are not allowed here.  Although, if you are feeling lonely, there’s a scurry of California Ground Squirrels here that will keep you company!  Otherwise, you can stare up at the sky and watch the large turkey vultures circling.

There are several campgrounds within the park, each with its own focus.  The first campground encountered after driving through the entrance gate is Ortega Flats Campground (13 campsites).  It’s perfect for those who need to have electrical hookups (otherwise, skip this campground as it’s close to Ortega Highway and gets road noise).  The next campground is San Juan Meadow Group Campground (4 group sites), which accommodates large groups of people travelling together.  Farther back into the park is our top choice for setting up your travel trailer (or rv/van/tent) – Live Oak Campground.  It’s the largest campground in the park with 42 dry campsites. However, threaded water spigots are sprinkled throughout the campground. Additionally, there are restrooms and showers as well as trash receptacles.  The next campground, Starr Mesa Equestrian Campground (23 campsites), is for campers with horses.  There are horse corrals and horse trails accessible from this campground.  The final campground is another group campground, Owl/Quail Group Campground.

We arrived in the early afternoon on a weekday and the campground was very quiet.  Our campsite, #36, is spacious and there’s a threaded water spigot across the road.  Campsites cost $20/night (or $15/night for seniors 60 years or older or people with disabilities).  The Verizon service was very fast during our visit.  There’s a central RV dump station at the campground entrance (free for campers).  When we arrived we received a wonderful oversized trail map which illustrates all the accessible trails, their difficulty level, and what type of use is allowed (e.g. hiking/horse riding/biking) – similar to a ski area trail map.  E-bikes are allowed on the park roads but not allowed on the backcountry trails within the park.  There are enough trails to keep one busy for days.  There’s also a nature center (closed during our visit) along with interpretive and ranger programs (including the Space Ranger Program with night talks on space and stargazing).  For those interested in activities outside the campground, Caspers Park serves as a great base for exploring the beaches and towns of San Juan Capistrano (including the famous Mission) and Dana Point.

We brought our bikes and alternated between hiking in the morning (when the skies were cloudy and the temperatures were cooler) and biking in the afternoon (when it was more sunny and warm).  We hiked the moderate trails but only took our bikes on the easy ones to avoid very steep and rocky terrain (along the dry creek bed).  Some of our favorite hikes and rides were the Juaneno Trail (hike), East Ridge Trail (hike), Bell Canyon Trail (bike), Mesa Loop Trail (bike), and Cougar Pass (hike).  The Juaneno Trail is a good easy first hike in the park – it follows and crosses the San Juan Creek and the four miles round trip from the campground takes about two hours.  The longest hike we took (East Ridge Trail from the campground > Cougar Pass > Bell Canyon Trail) was around six miles and took two and a half hours.

We decided to move our campsite on the second morning to the adjacent site #37 for a bit more shade.  The ranger was very nice and said it was no issue to move us.  Since we were moving anyway, we used the free central dump located next to the park entrance to empty our tanks.  The threaded water spigot across the road from site #37 allowed us to fill our Scamp’s freshwater tank using two connected water hoses.

This trip gave us the opportunity to test our new bike rack for the first time.  It’s incredibly fast and easy to use and worked out really well.  The beauty of this rack is that there is no frame contact (protects the frame) and because there are only two contact points (front and rear tires) it takes only seconds to put on and take off each bike.  There are pistons in the arms which makes the process very smooth.  Additionally, because of its internal hitch locking mechanism, there’s absolutely no sway while driving.  We wanted to test the rack on this trip before using it on a longer adventure to Lake Tahoe this summer.  The rack really performed and we look forward to using it in the future.

Caspers Wilderness Park is a gem of a natural area that also has a fantastic campground.  We are fortunate that it is so close to where we live.  It probably doesn’t come up on the radar for most campers because it is a regional county park.  However, as we’ve discovered, even regional parks can have some secrets worth discovering.  In this case, over 8,000 acres of beautiful wilderness is hiding within plain sight minutes from the uber popular beaches and cities of Orange County.  One of the best ways to find hidden treasure is to use maps on specialized camping websites, like this one.  And, once you’ve discovered a regional park you like, odds are that there are other similarly good finds within the same regional park network.  In this case, we’ve already scheduled our next OC Park visit in a couple weeks at O’Neill Regional Park – stay tuned!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

Camping Outside (and inside) the Box in Los Angeles

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Camping Outside (and inside) the Box in Los Angeles
March 22nd – 26th 2024 (4 nights)

What started out as a planned weekend to celebrate my friend’s birthday in Los Angeles, evolved into a trip leading us to discover some hidden campground gems.  Los Angeles itself has very few campgrounds for travel trailers.  According to The Dyrt, there are no public campgrounds in Los Angeles!  One usually has to travel to the distant foothills or the coast to find any places to park a trailer.  We found this to be the case too for many large cities we’ve visited, including San Francisco and Portland.  However, we did discover two nice campgrounds very close to Los Angeles that provide for beautiful natural experiences!

Valley Village, Los Angeles
We needed a spot to stay overnight in the center of Los Angeles since we planned to hike at Griffith Park on Sunday morning.  However, after finding no public campgrounds in the area, we brainstormed possible solutions.  We first tried Harvest Hosts (a subscription service which offers free stays at farms, museums, restaurants, etc.) and found nothing.  We don’t subscribe to their partner service, Boondockers Welcome, which lists private driveways, so we couldn’t determine if any driveways were available to rent.  We also tried Hipcamp, but nothing there either.  Since we grew up in Los Angeles, we thought of relatives living in the city who own homes that might be close to the park and have a driveway.  We got lucky — a relative living only 6 miles away from Griffith Park in Valley Village (a city in the San Fernando Valley) let us to stay on his driveway for the night!

We had a nice quiet evening at our relative’s home with our Scamp 13’ parked under a beautiful large Magnolia tree.  We enjoyed walking the quiet streets of this safe neighborhood in the early evening and morning.  Valley Village dates back to the 1930s when workers at nearby motion pictures studios built homes here.  The area was known for its apricot trees, orange and walnut groves, peach orchards, and cornfields.  It gets hot and dry here in the summer, but fortunately we had good moderate temperatures during our visit in March.  We probably wouldn’t stay in the San Fernando Valley during the summer months, but if we did we would definitely bring our portable AC for our Scamp 13’.

So, if you are travelling and need a place to stay where none exist or it’s not economically feasible, you might be surprised to discover you already have a close friend or relative living in the area who may provide you accommodation.

Malibu Creek State Park
Our friend’s birthday celebration dinner was at Paul Martin’s American Grill, a popular restaurant in Westlake Village (a city a bit north of Los Angeles).  In reviewing the location and campground map, we found Malibu Creek State Park a beautiful campground located halfway between the ocean and the valley in the Santa Monica Mountains.  The campground is only a short drive (about 15 minutes) from Westlake Village but feels worlds away from any city, isolated in a beautiful meadow in the Santa Monica Mountains.  Malibu Creek SP exceeded our expectations in many ways.  The campground is isolated from the rest of the park, so it’s very quiet.  And, it’s located in a beautiful meadow surrounded by tall mountains which light up at sunrise and sunset (reminding us a little of Yosemite).  Many television shows and movies have been filmed here throughout the decades, including M.A.S.H. and Planet of the Apes, with trails and signs leading to the filming locations and providing details.

Campsites at Malibu Creek State Park (no hookups) are $45/night.  We had campsite #62, which looks out directly over the meadow at the mountains (a great campsite).  There’s a central dump, which we were told costs $10 (we didn’t need to use).  Instead, we used our Holy Grail Portable Grey Water Tank Solution which effectively allows us to stay off grid for about five days.  There was acceptable, but not fast, Verizon mobile service during our stay (decent enough that we didn’t need to activate our Starlink Mini service).  We stayed here a couple of nights.

On our first day here, we visited our friends who were displaced from their home in Pacific Palisades due to the historic fire which burned down a significant portion of Pacific Palisades on January 7th, 2025.  Our friends were fortunate in that they quickly found a beautiful beach condo in Malibu which they have rented for a year while their home is being rebuilt.  Our friend Bruce gave us a tour of the fire destruction on the Malibu coast and Pacific Palisades.  Even though we’ve seen images of the aftermath of the fire numerous times on television, seeing the devastation in person was extremely impactful.  Walking through the Palisades village (where we grew up) felt like what we would imagine touring a war zone would be like.  Pictures of the scenes can’t adequately describe what it’s like in person.  After the tour, my friends joined us at our campsite and we sat outside on the grass under the oak trees and enjoyed each other’s company nibbling cheese, crackers, and sipping cold drinks.  While savoring the warm sunny spring day, we noticed a couple of campers having difficulty starting their tow vehicle.  A couple of rangers came by to help them start it with their battery jumper, but after a half hour they gave up.  I walked over and had a chance to use our Hulkman Smart Jumper Starter for the first time.  Being able to deliver up to 2,000 amps peak current, this jumper can even jump 8.5L gas / 6.oL diesel engines!  The Hulkman had their tow vehicle started in under a minute!  The campers were extremely grateful and the rangers were super impressed!

We spent our second day in the campground and park.  The Main hiking trail is up Crags Road, which follows the meandering Malibu Creek.  The small Visitor Center is open on the weekends (we only looked in the windows) and features information on the area.  We hiked up past the Visitor Center, through Ape City (where scenes from Planet of the Apes was filmed), and onto the M.A.S.H. set (a very popular television series which ran from 1972 to 1983 about a medical unit serving in the Korean War).  The weather was perfect and the trails are beautiful.  The Crags Road Trail up to the M.A.S.H. set is easy to moderate with only the last short section a bit challenging due to small rock fields (care is needed to prevent twisting ankles).  The hike was about 6 miles round trip from the campground, with an 837 foot climb, and took about two hours.

We left Malibu Creek SP feeling refreshed and very satisfied of our visit.  The experience felt like being in a very remote location even though it wasn’t too far from any city.

Crystal Cove State Park (Moro Campground)
We learned the street in front of our house was scheduled to be repaved the day we were supposed to arrive home.  So, instead of having to deal with parking our Scamp 13’ on the street and leaving it sit overnight, we decided to extend our stay and chose this beautiful location in Laguna Beach to spend the night.  Moro Campground (Crystal Cove SP) is usually booked solid year round, but we got lucky when a premium hookup campsite (#8) opened at the last minute on just the day we needed.  The premium sites are pricey at $75/night + reservation fee, which comes out to about $83/night (Electric / Water).  We normally don’t pay anywhere near this amount, but did want to try this campground as it has an excellent reputation and is in a beautiful area.  The central dump here is free (and we were surprised the park has 3 dump stations for just 28 designated RV and trailer campsites!).  The Verizon mobile service here was very fast during our stay.

The rangers at this campground are very strict on arrival time (we’ve only seen this strict adherence to the time once before – at Pismo Beach North Beach Campground) – check in is at 3 p.m., and if you show up any earlier (like we did), you are directed to park in one of the beach parking lots (we parked for free at Rock Ridge Beach parking lot and had lunch in our Scamp 13’ and then took a walk along the bluffs overlooking Crystal Cove SP). The campground itself isn’t particularly notable (though some of the front sites have ocean views) as it’s high up on a bluff away from the ocean and the sites themselves are close together.

The main draw of Crystal Cove SP are the beautiful beaches and bluff trails.  There’s also the historic district along the beach featuring beach bungalows (which can be rented) built in the 1930’s.  There’s a parking lot above the beach and one can either ride the free shuttle to the beach or walk down through a tunnel.  One of the beach bungalows (#13) was featured in the 1988 movie “Beaches” with Bette Midler.  The bungalows each have tags that have a number and the name of the bungalow.  The Shake Shack restaurant sits up a flight of stairs from the beach.  It’s usually crowded with tourists and locals forming lines to buy their popular milk shakes (they also serve hamburgers, fries, …).  If one tires of the beach, there’s a free trolley which runs through downtown Laguna Beach (plenty of shops and eateries).

Conclusions
Sometimes a short trip can be configured to become a fun adventure.  When no locations to stay at seem apparent, sometimes out of the box thinking can be rewarding.  You may have a close friend or relative who can accommodate a night’s stay or there may be private alternatives for parking your camper.  Exploring campground maps, like the one available on The Dyrt, can also provide ideas and alternatives for new campsites.  In this trip, we probably wouldn’t have gone out of our way to stay in Los Angeles without the need to attend a friend’s birthday party.  But, it forced us to keep an open mind and find options where none seem to exist and we ended up finding some hidden campground gems.  So, throw away the box, and let your thinking carry you to new horizons!

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

How to Play Master Chess on Recreation.Gov

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How to Play Master Chess on Recreation.Gov

If you’ve camped for a little while, you know that Recreation.gov is the U.S. government’s central travel planning website for 14 federal agencies.  This website is the place to go to make campground reservations at national parks, national monuments, USDA federal forest service areas, and other federal lands.  Real time availability, amenities offered, location information and more can be found for each campground on the website.  Some examples of the most popular campgrounds are:

Upper Pines Campground at Yosemite

Kirk Creek Campground in Big Sur

Twin Lakes Campground at Mammoth Lakes

Nevada Beach Campground at Lake Tahoe

Federal public campgrounds like the ones listed above have become increasingly difficult to reserve due to overwhelming demand.  Reserving a campsite even six months in advance (the standard maximum advance reservation time allowed by Recreation.gov for most campgrounds) often isn’t enough to guarantee getting a spot.  And trying to secure campsites at the most popular campgrounds (like the ones listed above) can be like playing the lottery to “win” a reservation.  The Dyrt, a popular RV travel website, ranked the hardest to book campgrounds in the U.S. for 2024 with Nevada Beach Campground at Lake Tahoe ranking #1.

Seeing The Dyrt report on the hardest to book campgrounds presented a challenge too good to resist.  We’ve already used strategies to successfully book three of the top ten campgrounds on the list, but wanted to see if it was possible to not only secure the #1 spot, Nevada Beach Campground, but also get reservations there on Fourth of July weekend!  This is no doubt a popular summertime destination for campers and their families, plus a winning fireworks show on the lake right under your noses!

What’s Special about Nevada Beach Campground?
Campers here can step right out onto the beautiful soft sandy beach and dip their toes into the crystal clear waters of Zephyr Cove while being surrounded by snow-capped mountains.   With multi-million dollar lake front homes here, it’s no wonder why campsites at Nevada Beach Campground at $47/night are so popular.

  1. Scenic Beauty – The campground offers panoramic views of Lake Tahoe with the Sierra Nevada mountains as a backdrop. Sunsets here are particularly spectacular.
  2. Spacious and Serene – Unlike some of the more crowded campgrounds around the lake, Nevada Beach provides a quieter, more relaxed atmosphere.
  3. Beach Access – One of its biggest draws is the wide, sandy beach, perfect for swimming, sunbathing, paddleboarding, and picnicking.
  4. Proximity to South Lake Tahoe – While offering a peaceful retreat, it’s just a short drive from the lively attractions, restaurants, and casinos in South Lake Tahoe.
  5. Hiking and Biking Trails – The campground provides easy access to scenic trails like the Lam Watah Nature Trail, ideal for exploring the local landscape.
  6. Pet-Friendly – Unlike many Tahoe beaches, Nevada Beach has a designated dog-friendly area, making it a great spot for visitors with pets.

Master Chess Strategies to Employ on Recreation.gov

The 6 Month + 14 Day Strategy

Most campsites on Recreation.gov can be reserved 6 months in advance (on a rolling basis).  So, to reserve a campsite on July 4th, the earliest one can make the reservation is at 7 a.m. (PST) on January 4th.  However, at a popular campground, by January 4th, many if not all the campsites may already be reserved for July 4th!  This is because reservations are allowed to break the 6 month advanced reservation rule if the reservation is made for dates preceding the blocked reservation period.  For example, if a reservation was made on January 3rd for July 3rd, then the reservation could be extended up to 13 days beyond July 3rd (14 day maximum stay limit).  At the time of this writing, reservations may be made for up to 14 days and modifications can be made without charge up to four times (adding/removing dates and changing campsites) as long as the new stay dates are not “completely different”.  In turn, to get a big edge on the competition, plan to make a reservation 14 days earlier than the desired end date.

In our case, we wanted to be at Nevada Beach Campground through July 6th.  So, we counted back the days from July 6th so that our reservation would be 14 days (June 22nd) and then attempted to make the reservation for 14 nights starting June 22nd on December 22nd at 7 a.m. PST.  The upside is that you can try again the next day if all the available campsites are taken on reservation day but there are still open opportunities for the next day.  The downside to this strategy is that although you will get all the money back for the days you don’t use when you modify your reservation, you will be initially charged for the entire 14 days (which in our case was $664) and, in the case of Nevada Beach Campground, there is a long freeze period to wait until you are allowed to shorten the reservation dates (“to ensure fairness, reservation arrival or departure dates may not be changed beyond the booking window until 18 days after booking the reservation.”)  This means that you may have to pay the full 14 day reservation amount on your credit card statement initially, but it will eventually be refunded several weeks later after you drop the days you don’t want to use.

The Day Before Plan

Log onto Recreation.gov the day before making reservations to check which campsites are available for your desired dates.  Make a list of your top 5 campsites.  One useful website,  Campsite Photos, provides images of most campsites (and the Pro version puts green stars on their favorite campsites).  Campendium is another useful website where users sometimes list their favorite campsite.

Game Day Plan

Plan to be on Recreation.gov at least 10 minutes before game time (7 a.m. PST).  Sign into the website and open multiple browsers so that at least three are visible on the computer monitor.  Select the desired reservation dates on each window, click on the desired campsites for each, and then position each window close together so that the Add to Cart buttons are close to each other.  Open the official Time website and position it such that the time and seconds are visible along with the campsite windows on the same monitor screen.  Click the Add to Cart buttons sequentially starting at 6:59:59.  Most likely you will get a message saying the system is working on your first request and the other clicks will be put on hold.  So, it’s really a one shot deal (but having multiple clicks allows you to get the second or third reservation request out in case there’s an issue with the first one – e.g. too early).  The system only allows one account to make a single reservation at a given time.  Therefore, if there are more people in your family household, have each open their own account and be prepared the same way to make the reservation.

Post Game Strategies

If you didn’t get a reservation, check back at 7:15 a.m. (Recreation.gov releases incomplete reservations back into inventory after 15 minutes).  Hit F5 on your PC screen (Cmd + R on Apple) to refresh the website right at 7:15 a.m.  Sometimes people no longer finish the reservation for a variety of reasons (e.g. someone else in family booked, reservation at another location, ….) and a campsite might become available (blue A).

Use the Set Availability Alert button – blue button below listed sites.  Input your start date and the number of nights desired.  You will receive an alert via email as soon as a campsite becomes available.  Make sure you have the ability to log into Recreation.gov on your mobile phone and that you carry your credit card with you.  That way you will be able to secure a reservation wherever you are when you get an email alert.

Use Campflare.com – like the alert button on Recreation.gov, Campflare.com is a free service that will notify you via text/email when your desired dates become available.

Be flexible – if you are able, being flexible allows you to keep trying daily until you are successful!

Have an Alternate Game Plan – don’t sweat it if you don’t get a spot at a popular campground.  Even with all the strategies listed above, it still takes a bit of luck to land a site at one of the most popular campgrounds in the U.S.  Fortunately, there are a lot of campgrounds out there and there are many ways to find alternatives.  For example, Recreation.gov has a list of Available alternatives under the list of sites on every campground reservation page.  And, The Dyrt has a free map which shows most of the campgrounds in your desired area.  If you are flexible and open minded about travel locations, there will likely be a campsite available to you.

Lastly, and most importantly, part of the fun of camping is the joy of playing Master Chess on Recreation.gov and winning.  Oh, and stay tuned for our Nevada Beach trip report in July 2025!

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

A Taste of London & Encountering Asses in Arizona  

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A Taste of London & Encountering Asses in Arizona
December 7th – 12th 2024 (5 nights)

What started out as a planned weekend to celebrate our Uncle’s birthday in La Quinta, California evolved into a trip leading us, in some aspects, across the globe and, then, onto an old gold mining ghost town inhabited by wild burros.

La Quinta
Our first stop was La Quinta, a desert resort community located between Indian Wells and Indio (and close to Palm Desert and Palm Springs – one of nine cities in the Coachella Valley).  About a two and a half hour drive from San Diego, it’s an ideal place to visit in the winter because the days are generally sunny and warm (around 81 degrees high during our December visit).  Many snowbirds come and stay here to escape harsh winters at home and enjoy golf, swimming and other outdoor activities.  We had planned to stay at Lake Cahuilla Veterans Regional Park Campground in La Quinta.  However, when we learned there was going to be a marathon here with restricted access during our visit, we changed our plans and parked our 2020 Scamp 13’ on our cousin’s driveway.  After a really nice family birthday weekend, we departed for Lake Havasu, Arizona (a three hour drive from La Quinta).

Lake Havasu
We stayed at Lake Havasu State Park, which is a beautiful campground directly adjacent to the lake.  We had campsite #22 (electric/water, $35/night, free Central Dump) which is very well spaced out (the view of the lake at this site is mostly blocked though by shrubs at the water’s edge).  Campsites directly on the beach are possible, but very popular and need to be reserved well in advance.  Verizon cellular service is very fast here.  Popular things to do at the lake are water activities like boating, kayaking, swimming, paddle boarding, and fishing.  There are nice trails (like the Mohave Sunset Trail) and bike paths which wind throughout the lowland desert and shoreline.  There are around 28 miniature replica working lighthouses along the lake helping watercraft navigate at night which are modeled after famous lighthouses throughout the United States.  There’s also the Arroyo-Camino Interpretive Garden which showcases the diverse life that exists within the park and this area of the desert.

Just a short drive outside the park, there is the English Village and London Bridge.  Park at the Visitor’s Center parking lot and walk into the English Village.  The Visitor’s Center is a good starting point (located on the mainland side of Bridgewater Channel).  The center sells souvenirs, offers free maps, and there’s a video worth watching detailing how London Bridge was created at Lake Havasu in 1971.  Additionally, there’s a tourist guide who is eager to share information on area highlights.  Right outside the Visitor’s Center is a waterfront shopping area with plenty of boutique and souvenir shops as well as restaurants.  Lake Havasu was created by construction of the Parker Dam on the Colorado River between Arizona and California between 1934 and 1938.  Factoid – Parker Dam is the world’s deepest dam, with 235 feet below the riverbed! London Bridge was moved to Arizona in the late 1960’s as a publicity stunt to attract people to the new community of Lake Havasu City.  The bridge was disassembled and shipped (individually numbered blocks) from London and reassembly was completed at Lake Havasu in 1971.  The bridge is lit up by colored lights for different holidays throughout the year.  During our visit, the bridge was lit up red and green to celebrate Christmas.  There’s a walking path, Shoreline Trail, that meanders along the water offering views of the bridge from different perspectives.

Oatman, Arizona
Oatman is an old gold mining town about an hour from Lake Havasu.  Since there aren’t any designated RV campgrounds in the small ghost town of Oatman, we stayed overnight at Crossroads RV Park in Mojave Valley, Arizona (full hookups, $60/night, fast Verizon internet).  This RV park is a large square cut out of the desert where people mostly come to ride out the winter and tend to stay for months.  Although there isn’t much here, it’s a short easy fifteen minute drive up to the mountain town of Oatman.  Be careful driving up the main highway as it’s common for wild donkeys to stand in the roadway, completely blocking the lanes.  This happened to us, as we had to stop for a few donkeys blocking the road.  We rolled down the window to get a better look and a wild burro and her baby walked right up to us and the mother stuck her face right into our car.  We weren’t really expecting this from wild donkeys.  Later, when we reached Oatman, a shopkeeper told us that the only time one is allowed to pet and feed the donkeys is in the town.

Oatman, Arizona was once a booming gold mining town.  In the early 1860’s, gold was discovered in these Black Mountains.  In 1915, two prospectors struck gold worth $10 million and the town’s population quickly grew to over 3,500 in one year.  The town was named after Olive Oatman, a 14 year old girl who was captured (along with her younger 8 year old sister, Mary Ann) and enslaved by Native American Indians in 1851 (who killed her parents and four siblings, known as the “Oatman Massacre”).  Her older brother Lorenzo was left for dead but survived. He tried to get help, but wasn’t successful in rescuing his sisters.  Olive and her sister were held captive for one year and then traded to the Mojave people.  Mary Ann died of starvation and Olive spent four years with the Mojave Indians, during which time they tattooed her chin with blue ink to signify her tribal enslavement.  Olive was repatriated to American society five years after the attack.  She became an oddity in 1860s American culture because she was the first known White woman with a Native tattoo.

Oatman is now a ghost town, a reflection of the early American Wild West.  Now, the main street is lined with tourist shops selling t-shirts, western leather products, and other souvenirs.  The old post office and jail are small relics of the past which still remain.  There’s even a wild west gunfight (times change daily, so best to call Outlaw Willie) in front of the old Oatman Hotel (the site of many alleged paranormal sightings).  Despite its fascinating history, the main attraction here are Oatman’s wild donkeys (as it’s one of very few places in the United States where it is legal to feed and pet them).  Each burro has their own name and they display unique and interesting personalities.  A young burro, named Diego, is known to kick his front hoof against shop doors which sell donkey food (many stores here sell a bag of donkey pellets for around $1).  We witnessed Diego in action and, fearing the glass might break, the shopkeeper opened the door and gave Diego some food (further reinforcing this behavior).  We saw another donkey walk inside a shop and block its entrance!  There are posted warnings that these donkeys are wild and may bite and kick, but we didn’t witness any menacing behavior.  On the contrary, all the donkeys we pet and fed had very sweet temperaments.  We even overheard one tourist say that these donkeys are tamer than the one she keeps at home.  It is wise though not to stand behind any donkey because they sometimes get into quarrels amongst themselves and sometimes kick back from their hind legs.  And, when feeding them, keep the food in your palm with hands wide open so fingers are not nibbled along with the snack!  The donkeys were surprisingly gentle with our hands, not biting the hands that feed them.

After a great trip, we chose to stop in Newberry Springs at The Barn 66 (a Harvest Host location free for members) on the way back home to make the 5 ½ hour drive more manageable.  The Barn 66 is a notable bar restaurant on the old Route 66 and is in the middle of nowhere (almost halfway between Oatman, Arizona and San Diego with Barstow being about twenty minutes away).  We read they have great pizza and burgers, but we found their hours to be variable and the Barn wasn’t opened when we arrived for a late lunch.  Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, however its decline started in 1956 when President Eisenhower signed the Interstate Highway Act.  The new interstates, especially the I-40, diverted traffic away from Route 66.  Today, only about 85% of Route 66 can still be driven.  The transition away from Route 66 was a death blow to many small towns including Newberry Springs where The Barn 66 is located.  We parked our Scamp 13’ in the Barns 66’s dirt parking lot, surrounded by old dilapidated buildings adjacent to Route 66 (now with only occasional car traffic).  The I-40 interstate is visible in the distance from the parking lot with car and truck traffic buzzing non-stop 24/7.  There are also trains which run at all times of the day and night and were sometimes very loud with their horns blasting (note to light sleepers!).

We had a blast relaxing at Lake Havasu and discovering the old west in Oatman, Arizona.  It’s amazing there are so many places to uncover which have such unique history.  And, having a small travel trailer lets one immerse oneself in these bygone eras.  Learning about a significant piece of London history located in Arizona on the Colorado River was really interesting!  And, playing with the burro descendants of the gold miners and watching their funny antics made a lasting impression.  Although this was a short trip, it expanded our horizons.  And, we learned that being a wise ass isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

Reflections on Owning a 2020 Scamp 13’ for Five Years

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Reflections on Owning a 2020 Scamp 13’ for Five Years (Nov. 2024)

Note:  This is a follow up article to one written after two years of owning our Scamp

It’s already been five years since we took delivery of our new 2020 Scamp 13’ from the factory in November 2019!  It seems like just yesterday when the friendly Scamp driver pulled up to our house in San Diego after making the several day drive from Backus, Minnesota.  Since that time, we’ve taken 39 trips to 148 locations and have spent 266 nights in our Scamp!  To see complete articles on every trip we’ve taken, click here.  It now seems like a good time to reflect on our decision to buy our 2020 Scamp 13’ and what’s happened over the past five years.

We were very hesitant before purchasing our 2020 Scamp 13’.  We never had a travel trailer before, or even camped anywhere.  We were used to travelling, but did so by airplane and staying in spiffy hotels.  Before getting our Scamp, we had already travelled to six out of seven of the world’s continents (all but Antarctica) — but had hardly seen any places in the U.S. or Canada.  We figured that travelling by land would be a great way to see North America.  But, we weren’t sure if we would even like camping or towing a trailer.  We could have rented a used travel trailer to get some idea of what it’s like, but, instead, decided to go all in without a trial since it had been in our dreams for awhile.

At first, we did a lot of online research until we narrowed our choice to the Scamp and a few other models. We seriously considered other brands, including Airstream, TAB, and Safari Condo, before choosing Scamp.  And, we visited dealerships and spent a lot of time comparing models.  We even flew to Quebec City, Canada to visit the factory of Safari Condo!  For a detailed article on how we compared different trailers, click here.  We also visited a local Scamp owner who was referred to us by Scamp who owned a Scamp 16’.  She was very friendly and let us check out her trailer and told us stories about her adventures.

We ultimately chose Scamp due to its construction, features and size.  We wanted a fiberglass trailer because fiberglass trailers have a reputation of excellent quality and longevity generally not found in other trailer construction types.  We also desired a trailer we could fit in our garage and tow with our four cylinder car.  We did modify our garage height so we could have our Scamp at home (great for getting ready for trips) and not have to pay monthly storage fees or spend time driving to RV storage lots.  Click here to see how we raised our garage height from 7’ to 8’ to accommodate our Scamp 13’.  We learned that in California, trailers 16’ or shorter aren’t subject to yearly annual registration fees (it’s just an inexpensive permanent trailer plate fee every 5 years – currently $10), so getting a small trailer made good economic sense as well.

Our concerns about getting a travel trailer were quickly dissolved after taking delivery and experiencing our first couple of trips.  Although there was a learning curve, it wasn’t very steep.  When something didn’t work like we expected, we figured it out (sometimes by calling Scamp).  We also made good friends on trips and a few became excellent references for answering trailer questions.  Towing the trailer didn’t take much time to get used to (here are a couple of articles on our experiences towing and how we hitch up — towing and hitching up).  We learned a lot as we took more trips and rigorously documented our Scamp journey by blogging so others might benefit from our experiences.  Our Scamp blog not only lists all our trips, but also everything we have encountered along the way and all the modifications we have made on our Scamp 13’.

Having a small travel trailer has allowed us to travel considerably more often and more spontaneously than we would have if travelling by air / car / hotel.  It’s great being able to schedule a trip on a moment’s notice whenever we want.  Although campgrounds can be difficult to get into during peak months, we’ve always been successful at either booking last minute (if we didn’t make a reservation in advance) or finding alternatives.  And, it’s satisfying knowing that we will be sleeping in our own comfortable bed with our own clean bedding (and not having to be concerned about extra fees or hidden nightmares).  Additionally, the cost differences between taking a trip in our Scamp and reserving a hotel room are substantial.  Since we usually stay in State and National Parks, we generally don’t pay more than $40/night for a campsite (and, if you are 62 years old or older, National Parks and other federal lands, such as BLM & Forest Service parks, slash these costs in half if you buy a Lifetime Senior America the Beautiful Pass — currently $90 including fees).  A lot of campgrounds in the Eastern Sierra are run by the Forest Service and fees are generally around $32 / night (so, someone who has a Lifetime Senior America the Beautiful Pass would only pay 50%, or around $16/night at these campgrounds).

The average daily rate of a hotel room in the US was $148 in 2022 (Statista).  That’s at least a $100/night savings by travelling in a travel trailer versus staying in a hotel.  A simple calculation based on the 266 nights we’ve already stayed in our Scamp 13’ over the past five years shows we would have spent at least $39,368 (266 nights x $148/night average) for hotel rooms had we opted to stay in average priced hotels instead of buying our Scamp 13’ (which cost around $18K, including shipping)!!!  For an article on how we selected options and purchased our Scamp 13’, click here.  And, generally, prices for nice hotels in California are well north of $200/night.  And, hotels within National Parks (if they are available) tend to be very expensive.  For example, room rates at the Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite National Park currently range between $578 and $1,347 per night.  Travelling in a small travel trailer brings other cost savings as well, such as not having to go out to eat for every meal.  We enjoy great home cooked meals in our Scamp for most days of our trips (although we do enjoy going out to eat occasionally).  Driving instead of flying plus renting a car can also be less expensive.

Over the past five years, we fortunately haven’t had any significant issues or maintenance costs with our 2020 Scamp 13’.  There have been some minor issues (e.g. replaced exterior door handle, bathroom door handle, hookup valve handle,  toilet spring cartridge kit, shower drain pump, and shower valve — all of which we installed ourselves), but nothing very expensive.  We take our Scamp 13’ to Sonrise RV every two years to have the bearings repacked and greased and the brakes adjusted (about $200).  And, we replaced the standard battery with a SOK 100ah lithium battery ourselves (now priced about $300) — click here to see how we did it.  We had a shop install a RedArc DC-DC battery charger (about $1,000) for fast charging of our Scamp’s lithium battery when we drive.  We have replaced the Scamp 13’ tires once ($50/tire) and plan to replace them every three years regardless of wear (see this article for more details).  We do most repairs ourselves, but a local shop could also easily do them for someone not wanting to do work on their trailer themselves.  We wax our Scamp 13’ every spring with our favorite marine wax.

Putting aside how doable buying and using a small travel trailer is and the potential huge cost savings small travel trailers provide compared to other types of travel, the main question for us when getting a travel trailer was “will this be fun?”.  Looking back over the past five years, the answer for us to this question is a resounding yes!  We have had so many outstanding adventures and met so many good friends during our travels, that getting our 2020 Scamp 13’ has been extremely fun and rewarding.  And, one of the biggest benefits of owning a small travel trailer is being able to stay in highly desired locations only possible by having one (such as inside a State or National Park).  We’ve been to so many beautiful areas with the closest hotel/motel lodging being thirty minutes or more drive away.  And, experiencing these places at night takes the park experience to another level (e.g. many animals come out at night and hearing and seeing them is fantastic!).  Plus, the quiet spent in nature once the day users leave is very special.  For anyone considering buying a small travel trailer, we would highly recommend the experience.  Owning a small travel trailer might change your life for the better!

 

Disclaimer:  You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale.  These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences.  However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer.  It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything

Falling for Color in the Eastern Sierra  October 13th – 20th 2024 (7 nights)

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Falling for Color in the Eastern Sierra
October 13th – 20th 2024 (7 nights)

One of the most spectacular places in the country to see the annual fall leaf color change is in the high Sierra.  Leaf peepers from all over the world come to the Sierra to feel the chill in the crisp fall air and observe the vivid colors which pop in yellows, oranges, and reds.  October is usually the month to go, but the actual timing per location varies.  One notable website tracks the color changes by offering onsite reports (the website published two feature articles about our adventure on their website during our trip).   The first article was about our experience at Sabrina Lake — click here to see the article with our photographs.  The second feature was on our visit to Lundy Lake Campground — click here to see this article with our photographs.

In order to get a good chance of seeing some fall color, we scheduled stops at various locations in the Eastern Sierra.  Our leaf peeping locations included two sites in the Aspendell area (above Bishop at around 9,000 feet elevation–at Sabrina Lake Campground and Four Jeffrey Campground), a stop at Lundy Canyon Campground an hour north near Mono Lake (elevation 7,800 feet), and lastly a visit to Convict Lake Campground (7,500 feet) near Mammoth Lakes.

Many of the campgrounds are either closed or closing at the middle to end of October, so it’s very important to research which campgrounds are still open if planning a visit this time of year.  Winter can bring extremely strong storms, including snow, and this area often becomes inaccessible after the first storm or two.  And, it’s not uncommon for a surprise snow storm to hit even in early October when campers are still at the campgrounds so it’s important to pack accordingly (this happened to us at Lundy Canyon Campground)!

Come prepared with your propane tanks full (ideally two tanks) as the weather can get very cold at night.  It was sunny and pleasant during our visit with temps in the high 60’s / low 70’s, but the evenings and mornings were cold (in the high teens and low 20’s)!  We set our furnace to keep us warm at night and early mornings, and were very glad we were sleeping in our 2020 Scamp 13′ instead of a tent!  We set a record on this trip by burning through an entire tank of propane in just six days!

Fuel stop tips:  we discovered a few good low priced gas stations during our drives — 5 Points Petroluem (Adelanto, CA), Fort Independence Travel Plaza (Independence, CA), and Yuhubi Nobi Gas Station (Bishop, CA).  Gas stations in Mammoth Lakes and Lee Vining (which we avoided) were significantly more expensive (around $2 more per gallon) than the service stations listed above.

Food stop tips:  the Alabama Hills Café (can be crowded on weekends) for great American food (Lone Pine) and the Lemon Food Truck for great Mexican food (Independence) make good stops for nourishment and help break up the long drive into the Eastern Sierra.  Glen’s Taqueria Food Truck (Independence) was also recommended to us, but we didn’t get a chance to try it.

Lake Sabrina Campground
This is a first come, first served campground with about 20 campsites.  There is no cell phone service here, but they do have potable water spigots, trash cans, and vault toilets.  Note:  the Cardinal Village Resort down the road offers free Starlink WiFi service (good enough even for phone calls).  We arrived at around 2:45 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, figuring most people would have left the campground by the end of the weekend.  However, when we arrived, we found only two sites available!  Fortunately, the site we selected (campsite #20, $34/night) was not easy to spot, yet a very good one (we drove right by it on our first pass and the campground host showed us where it was)!  Make sure to bring either cash or a check for the iron ranger box.  The campground is very scenic and is situated along the Middle Fork Bishop Creek.  The abundant aspens in the campground had already starting turning color, with popping yellows.

The trail at the end of the campground off of North Lake Road led us through some spectacular fall foliage in magnificent red, orange, and yellow leaves.  We also drove up North Lake road to North Lake (a small lake popular for fishing) and enjoyed some stunning scenery of the fall color changes.  Sabrina Lake is about a mile and a half up the road.  There’s a trail that goes around the lake as well as a boat rental house.  The high Sierra mountains pose magnificently in the background thousands of feet above the lake.  One of the most popular activities here is fishing for trout, and even in October we saw a number of fishermen and fisherwomen.  But, probably the most popular activity in this area was taking photos in front of the lake and several leaf peeping worthy backdrops.

Another trip highlight included testing out a new tech toy.  We purchased a Starlink Mini for this particular trip and had ample opportunity to try it out at Lake Sabrina Campground.  There is no phone service near here and it was nice to conduct some additional research of the area, stay up to date on the news/weather and emails, and contact friends and families via calls and texts when not hiking or exploring the area.  The Mini is great because it is very compact (about the size of a laptop), the router and power supply are internal, and it uses low power (we can run it for hours on our Jackery 500).  We are able to store it in the small closet cabinet we constructed in our 2020 Scamp 13′ along with our laptop and tablet.  To set it up, just point it north and use the app to make fine adjustments.  We found the speed to be very fast (over 100Mbps download and around 10 Mbps upload).  We chose the roam plan which, at the time of this writing, is $50/month for 50GBs of data (additional GBs of data cost $1/GB).  We only used 11GB of data during our entire eight day trip (including streaming a few news broadcasts from Sling).  The plan can be paused (by the month) when not travelling. The upfront cost of the Starlink Mini hardware is currently $599.

Camp Four Jeffrey
Just about fifteen minutes down the road from Sabrina Lake Campground towards Bishop, Camp Four Jeffrey is off South Lake Road in the direction of South Lake.  Camp Four Jeffrey is a larger campground (with only the first 30 campsites reservable during the time of our visit) and has potable water spigots and an RV dump station (with two dumps) — dumping is free if you are camping here.  There’s no reliable cell phone signal, but signals come and go throughout the day and night in various locations throughout the campground.  For a more reliable cell phone signal, there’s a utility access dirt road across the main road that climbs for about 1/2 mile and overlooks Forks Campground down below.  We’ve found a reliable signal here on this as well as a past visit.  (Link to previous report).  Additionally, there’s a cell phone lot between Camp Four Jeffrey (although we didn’t try it) as well as the free Starlink service at the Cardinal Village Resort.  Or, if you have Starlink yourself, it works great at the campground.

This is one of the most dramatically scenic campgrounds we’ve been to as it’s surrounded by high Sierra mountains (covered in snow most of the year, with very little snow visible this fall).  Also, aspen trees grow throughout the campground, and were presenting full fall yellow popping color.  There’s a creek that runs through the campground and many campers enjoy fishing here.  We chose campsite #45 (not sure why we were able to reserve it since it’s not in the first thirty campsites and no other campsites were able to be reserved in this loop when we made reservations) because it sits high above all the other campsites and has dramatic views.  Some of the water spigots at the entrance are threaded and we used one to fill up our Scamp 13’s fresh water tank on the way into and out of the campground.  There are also unthreaded water spigots through the campground.

We spent a couple of days here and enjoyed hiking through the fall colors in the area as well as at Cardinal Village Resort.  While staying here, we decided to go back up to the Sabrina Lake area (since it is only about 10 minutes away from Camp Four Jeffrey) and drove up North Lake drive to North Lake.  We were rewarded with vibrant fall foliage at the lake.  There were quite a few people wading into and fly fishing in the lake.  After exploring, we enjoyed a satisfying burger lunch at the Cardinal Village Resort (they make pie daily here too).

Lundy Canyon Campground
After a couple of beautiful days at Camp Four Jeffrey, we made our way down the mountain to refuel in Bishop (Yuhubi Nobi Gas Station) and then drove north on Hwy 395 for an hour to Lundy Lake Campground (passing Mammoth Lakes and June Lake) .  We heard the leaves were changing color here too.  The campground is up Lundy Lakes Road just past the town of Lee Vining and Mono Lake.  Cell phone coverage ends shortly after entering the canyon and climbing up towards Lundy Lake (Lundy Lake is about five minutes past the campground, with hiking trails).

Lundy Canyon Campground (7,660′ elevation) is primitive with rough roads and no amenities.  There’s not even a camp host.  Instead, once we found a campsite we liked (#10) at this first come first serve campground (36 campsites along a 0.8 mile long scenic bumpy road), we took our cash ($16/night) for our two night stay and deposited it in the iron ranger box which is located near campsite #20.  Campsite #10 is surrounded by aspen trees that were bright yellow during our visit.  Most of the campsites were empty while we were here midweek in mid-October.  An evening rain storm made many campers leave as we were arriving, including a camper with a Scamp who left early fearing the Tioga Pass could get closed by snow.

After lunch, we drove around with the intention of checking out Lundy Lake, but the storm was fast approaching with fog and drizzle making hiking and taking pictures challenging.  So, instead, we headed down the canyon road to Mono Lake to check out the Tufas!  The Visitor’s Center was closed for the winter, but we briefly surveyed the gift shop which had a lot of books, t-shirts, and other souvenirs available for purchase.  After our store visit, we drove to the South Tufas, which are incredibly otherworldly rock like figures which naturally inhabit the shores and waters of Mono Lake (a must see).  Parking is either $3/person or free with an America the Beautiful Pass (which we displayed in our windshield).

Tufas are formed when calcium flows up from springs under the lake bottom and bonds to carbonates in the lake water, forming calcium carbonate (a type of limestone).  The calcium carbonate builds up on itself over time, gradually forming a tufa tower.  When the lake level drops, the exposed tufa stops growing.  A visit to the South Tufas is a fantastic way to explore the scenery and observe the magnificent and fascinating tufas.  There are paved paths and boardwalks which meander along the shore for at least a quarter of a mile.  There is free dispersed camping in the area near the lake, but the bookstore was unable to provide a detailed camping map.  Certain areas are off limits to camping, including the South Tufas and Navy Beach (where you can kayak), so further research is needed before planning a camping visit near the Tufas.  There are a lot of trails in the area including Panum Crater, so lots to do for a fun few days.  We hiked the rim of Panum Crater (entrance is one mile from the bumpy dirt road and driving speeds are less than 10 miles/hour). It was, however, worth the drive to see the stellar views of Mono Lake below.  The crater was formed by a volcano that blew its top, leaving a ring around a crater and a plug (volcano top) in the middle.

A cold rain storm swept through at night.  It was about 30 degrees around 7 a.m. in the Lundy Canyon Campground and our car was covered with slush.  By 11 am the sky had cleared, it had warmed up to 60F, and we travelled up the road to Lundy Lake and took the Lundy Canyon trail hike.  The road going up to the trail head was in disrepair with large holes and big deep puddles, so we parked right outside the Lundy Lake Resort (closed for the winter) and hiked up to the trailhead.  We spent a couple of hours walking the road and then up the trail to the third lake and back to our car.  The most scenic part of the hike was the lower part just above Lundy Lake Resort — there’s a pond and a fantastic view of a tall newly snow-capped mountain top.

On our last evening at Lundy Canyon Campground, the wind blew and we could only see white looking out our Scamp’s windows.  We enjoyed a good movie with our furnace keeping us toasty inside our Scamp.  The wind howled all night.  The campground and mountains were blanketed with snow the next morning.  The temperature was down to 19 degrees at 7 a.m.

We met a couple of ladies at the campground who encouraged us to drive 30 minutes further north to Bridgeport and walk the charming town with shops and especially the trading post (they had purchased some fine Navaho turquoise jewelry there which they were proudly wearing).  They also recommended taking a soak at the Travertine or Benton Hot Springs in that area as well.  We filed this information away for a future trip as we were just about to leave camp!  Next: Reservations at Convict Lake Campground were awaiting us!

Convict Lake Campground
Convict Lake is beautiful location with dramatic mountains surrounding a pristine lake.  The area has been featured in some commercials including Nature Valley and Delta Airlines as well as a number of movies including Star Trek: Insurrection (1998).

On the way up to Convict Lake, make sure to use the free RV dump station (if necessary).  This RV dump station is not labeled and easy to miss (we drove right by it on the way up to the campground).  The dump station is on the left just past the Convict Lake Resort (on the right side) and is notable for a number of orange metal posts.  There are two dump stations (side by side) along with a separate area for potable fresh water (threaded hose).

Convict Lake Campground has views of dramatic mountains which tower over the lake.  From the campground, it’s easy to walk to the lake and the Convict Lake Resort (which has a fine dining restaurant {$$$$} as well as a bar / lounge for simpler less expensive food).  A number of the campsites here are first come first served which can make the campground look fully booked when trying to reserve a site online even though there may be first come first served spots available.  We found that there were plenty of open campsites on the weekend and we selected campsite #7 ($37/night).  Campsite #7 has good space around it and spectacular views of the mountains (the lake is slightly above the campground, so it’s not visible).  There’s minimal to no cellphone service here (but free WiFi at the resort as well as an open sky for great Starlink).  There are water spigots within the campground as well as bathrooms.

We had a great salad and pizza dinner at the Convict Lake Resort next door (the bar/lounge section).  In the morning, we enjoyed taking the easy 2.5 mile hike around the lake (which took us about an hour).  Convict Lake is about fifteen minutes away from Mammoth Lakes; so, it’s easy to spend time doing other fun things in Mammoth Lakes if one has extra time or wants to try some different eateries, ride bikes and/or do some shopping (see our June trip report for more information on Mammoth Lakes).

Since it’s a long drive back home from Convict Lake (about eight hours with stops), we decided to split the trip in half and spend the night at either Fossil Falls Campground (BLM, $6/night) or Red Rock Canyon State Park Campground.  We first tried Fossil Falls (which we have stayed at in the past) on a late Saturday afternoon, but it was full (there are only a limited number of campsites that suitably accommodate RVs – sites 4, 5, 6, & 8).  The dirt rocky roads at Fossil Falls were in much worse shape than when we previously visited, so we would no longer recommend a stay here. Instead, we continued on about an hour further south to Red Rock Canyon State Park campground.  It’s a beautiful desert campground with towering red rock cliffs.  Many of the campsites are at the base of the cliffs.  The campground was almost full when we arrive late Saturday afternoon, but we did find a nice pull-though spot (#24 / $25/night)!  More information on both of these campgrounds can be found on our previous trip report here.  We are really glad we broke up the trip home as it made the drive much easier.  We left Red Rock Canyon SP early on Sunday morning (5:30 a.m.) and were home for breakfast (9:30 a.m.) and with plenty of time to wash our Scamp 13′, Volvo XC40, and do our laundry!

This trip was remarkable in many ways.  There’s something special about travelling off season in the fall with crisp mountain air and beautiful fall colors.  We were very fortunate in that the leaf color change was peaking at most of the locations we chose.  The fall colors were so dramatic during our visit that it was inspiring.  And, experiencing a surprise snowstorm at night and waking up with snow covering the ground was awesome!  We also learned about new locations which we may explore next July when travelling to Lake Tahoe (these locations include Mono Lake dispersed camping, Bridgeport, the Travertine hot springs, and Bodie Ghost Town).  We expanded our communications options to include satellite (with our new Starlink Mini) and will never look back.  Each of the locations on this trip had very limited or no cellphone reception and we greatly appreciated the ability to connect when off grid for an hour two each day (including the additional safety having communications provides).  Lastly, getting up in the Sierra mountains brings a form of serenity which is hard to achieve anywhere else.  The remote location, natural beauty, and fresh air reinvigorate the soul. John Muir described this feeling well in his quote: “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.”

 

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