Southern California dispersed camping suggestions

vintageracer

To Infinity and Beyond!
Good time to SELL all your camping gear, tents, campers, RV's, trailers and prepped 4WD vehicles to all the newbies looking to "Explore the Great Outdoors". Like everything else newbies do in life they too will be done with the camping/glamping experience by early to middle 2021 and selling at a huge LOSS all the crap they bought for their new experience hobby. By then life and going back to WORK to earn a real income and not a government handout will screw up their best camping plans in 2021.

Lot's of great deals on campers, RV's, camping equipment, boats, jet ski's, side by sides, Jeeps, 4WD drives and other stuff coming to you in 2021 when the new where's off and reality of life, work and payments on all the crap the newbies bought in 2020 hit's home.

Let's git ready to BUY BACK CHEAP next year all the crap we sold em at an inflated price this year!
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I just drove through that area on Friday and it was 111º. Not sure I'd recommend camping out there right now.

For what its worth, I have spent every single weekend for the last 3 months exploring all my favorite places in central and so Cal, most which require modified 4WD to get to, and ALL of them have been PACKED with people. I mean EVERYWHERE. And any 'out of the way' places that no one used to know about are now packed with drone-wielding, soy-latte toting vegan Youtubers with a Subaru and a RTT. Do I sound a bit cynical? yea... The internet & Gaia have made map-reading a non-essential skill and all the "secret" spots can be figured out with a little time on Reddit. Anywhere you go is going to be unusually crowded, particularly now with Covid when so many people aren't working (whether or not they are being paid). If I was in Pomona, I'd be heading for the trails up in San Bernardino National Forest - check out the Holcomb Valley area. There are some cool spots to dry camp out there, but you wont be alone, even mid-week.
Same for Norcal, Oregon and Washington. Even my neighbor who is the poster boy of anti camping is currently piloting a RV in Oregon some place. Which is why my boat is seeing more use in a week than it has all of 2018. LoL
 

Attachments

  • 98855057-CCCD-4BDE-A2F9-9EAEEAB1B3C2.jpeg
    98855057-CCCD-4BDE-A2F9-9EAEEAB1B3C2.jpeg
    78.9 KB · Views: 27

calicamper

Expedition Leader
Good time to SELL all your camping gear, tents, campers, RV's, trailers and prepped 4WD vehicles to all the newbies looking to "Explore the Great Outdoors". Like everything else newbies do in life they too will be done with the camping/glamping experience by early to middle 2021 and selling at a huge LOSS all the crap they bought for their new experience hobby. By then life and going back to WORK to earn a real income and not a government handout will screw up their best camping plans in 2021.

Lot's of great deals on campers, RV's, camping equipment, boats, jet ski's, side by sides, Jeeps, 4WD drives and other stuff coming to you in 2021 when the new where's off and reality of life, work and payments on all the crap the newbies bought in 2020 hit's home.

Let's git ready to BUY BACK CHEAP next year all the crap we sold em at an inflated price this year!
Yep same for vacation houses. Already seeing a tiny slip in spike prices, by April/May I hope to see 300k off the places I’m eyeing. I’ve bought every dip the last 3 major market crashes so far its been a money maker?
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Good time to SELL all your camping gear, tents, campers, RV's, trailers and prepped 4WD vehicles to all the newbies looking to "Explore the Great Outdoors". Like everything else newbies do in life they too will be done with the camping/glamping experience by early to middle 2021 and selling at a huge LOSS all the crap they bought for their new experience hobby. By then life and going back to WORK to earn a real income and not a government handout will screw up their best camping plans in 2021.

Lot's of great deals on campers, RV's, camping equipment, boats, jet ski's, side by sides, Jeeps, 4WD drives and other stuff coming to you in 2021 when the new where's off and reality of life, work and payments on all the crap the newbies bought in 2020 hit's home.

Let's git ready to BUY BACK CHEAP next year all the crap we sold em at an inflated price this year!
Right on the money!:cool: We overheard a young guy bragging about getting $1100/week between state unenjoyment and Trump money. He was bummed the job was calling him back.
 

quickfarms

Adventurer
And yet, at the same time we members here inadvertently become part of the problem, as we continue to respond to others’ inquiries about cool places to go on outings...and share our secret sweet spots with them.

Doing that of course is part of what we’ve signed up for, but it’s starting to make me wonder whether I still should so quickly share this kind of info, especially when I keep reading about how crazy crowded, noisy and trashed even these last remote secret sweet spots have become these days.

There simply are too damn many people recreating outdoors (many with no good sense of tread lightly ethics), the of over use of social media and availability of hi tech mapping gizmos make nothing secret or sacred any more, and worse yet, the use of our outdoors is becoming more and more defined by the uncaring, ignorant, selfish lowest common denominators of our society.

View attachment 601066

So, what’s the solution? We easily could have a separate thread on this topic.

That photo looks like trash dumping and not nasty campers unless they were using a bunch of junk from there house.

Dumping trash in undeveloped areas has been an issue for longer than I can remember.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CSG

hankgs

Adventurer
I concur with the previous posters- We went to the Eastern Sierra's (off 395) to our usual out of the way-non campground-hidden spots - It was looking promising until I got to our fav spot and some guy and his wife from AZ were camped out in their Tundra with a 4WCamper... Then our alternate had a group of at least 5 vehicles. It was insane everywhere- "Campgrounds" were loaded with groups, new RV's, generators and trash... Mammoth-June Lake loop PACKED. F^^k this Covid crap!
 

calicamper

Expedition Leader
I concur with the previous posters- We went to the Eastern Sierra's (off 395) to our usual out of the way-non campground-hidden spots - It was looking promising until I got to our fav spot and some guy and his wife from AZ were camped out in their Tundra with a 4WCamper... Then our alternate had a group of at least 5 vehicles. It was insane everywhere- "Campgrounds" were loaded with groups, new RV's, generators and trash... Mammoth-June Lake loop PACKED. F^^k this Covid crap!
Seriously wait till March buy a boat. It still takes some skill to get places by boat. Kids and I were out chasing porpoises three days this week. I almost have my 11 yr old and 8 yr old trained as sailing crew to the point I can almost do foredeck (my racing boat spot). The 11 yr old is a pretty solid helms man err girl. My 8 yr old needs more beef to handle trimming ?
 

iluvdrt

Brat Driver
I think the deserts are generally still pretty empty, especially if you go on the real trails and not places like Blair Valley. Itll be cool enough soon to start heading out there again.

One of my favorites is Santa Rosa Mtn, but even now its starting to become more and more visited, even in the more difficult sections. Several years ago you could be the only guy on that mountain. Thomas Mtn has become insane because of the amount of trail maintenance the parks are doing to allow more people to get in.

Almost anywhere off of 395 is hit or miss, even places I would never of thought I would see people. Still some good gems out there though, you just need to get a map and start experimenting and exploring. I spend lots of time on google satellite hunting down trails, zooming in on promising spots, and then building tracks into my GPS. Sometimes they are a flop, and other times I can get it right. The trip is the fun IMO.
 

tj90

Member
CA has the largest population of dispersed campers right now - watch-out for the used needles.

I saw my first used needle on FS area above SLO, CA on Cuesta Ridge. I was bummed to see it, but not surprised as it is pretty close to that coastal town. I
 

CSG

Explorer
With at least 40 million people in California, the best chance you have to get somewhere and not see all the crowds from what the internet has done to destroy back country camping is park and start hiking. GAIA and similar are the ruin of dispersed camping in places like California. I wouldn't dream of sharing the places I know.
 

F350joe

Well-known member
had this California lake all do ourselves for 6 days a few weeks ago. So warm it steamed at night. The known places are packed, key is to find a place that is not on youtube. This spot goes in the never share list. 36D38B5E-EA3A-4F07-AB19-67E3B4C84D88.jpeg
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
Good time to SELL all your camping gear, tents, campers, RV's, trailers and prepped 4WD vehicles to all the newbies looking to "Explore the Great Outdoors". Like everything else newbies do in life they too will be done with the camping/glamping experience by early to middle 2021 and selling at a huge LOSS all the crap they bought for their new experience hobby. By then life and going back to WORK to earn a real income and not a government handout will screw up their best camping plans in 2021.

Lot's of great deals on campers, RV's, camping equipment, boats, jet ski's, side by sides, Jeeps, 4WD drives and other stuff coming to you in 2021 when the new where's off and reality of life, work and payments on all the crap the newbies bought in 2020 hit's home.

Let's git ready to BUY BACK CHEAP next year all the crap we sold em at an inflated price this year!
You're right n the money
With at least 40 million people in California, the best chance you have to get somewhere and not see all the crowds from what the internet has done to destroy back country camping is park and start hiking. GAIA and similar are the ruin of dispersed camping in places like California. I wouldn't dream of sharing the places I know.
I started surfing in 1965. The early surf movies and the Beach Boys popularized the sport,followed by the magazines and surf movies, Shaun Collin's surf number forecast, but the death blow was the Internet. It used to be guys would get a bit loose-lipped around the fire with a few beers and shots and give out hints. In the late 60's we'd head down in marginal vehicles because that's what we drove. We fixed them when they broke down or the ever resourceful,and kind Mexicans(Latinx now I've read) would go out of their way to help you. The Internet enabled keyboard warriors to brag about spots they've been and even include GPS coordinates. The next time they went it was packed. There's no stopping it aside from going back to the old school and chug some beers,drink a couple of shots and hand out hints. You don't feel too good the next day but you have a clear conscience.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,538
Messages
2,875,658
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top