How to snag a lastminute campsite
Trying to reserve a trail camp for a Saturday night at a Bay Area park might feel like looking for a polar bear in the desert. Campsites at Point Reyes National Seashore and Angel Island State Park are sold out for Saturday nights through the end of the year with a few scant exceptions.
Yet at parks off the radar, you can still find openings. For this Saturday night, for instance, sites are available at Black Mountain at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve on the Peninsula, Ohlone Wilderness in the East Bay hills, and the wildlands of Henry W. Coe State Park east of Gilroy.
At Big Basin Redwoods State Park, with nearby Boulder Creek and on the coast at Rancho del Oso, five trail camps are sold out for Saturday nights through the month. Yet across the Santa Cruz Mountains, nine trail camps with 52 campsites are wide open for November, including many sites on Saturday nights.
Fall and early winter in the Bay Area can provide the best camping of the year. You often get some of the best weather and clearest nights, fewer people and, if you can wrangle days off during the week, your choice of destinations and sites anywhere.
Region by region, here’s not only what can work, but what does not:
Angel Island State Park
Synopsis: A campsite reservation for a Saturday night at one of nine trail camps at Angel Island is one of the hottest tickets in town. Details: For campers, the island becomes your own after the last ferry of the day departs. You get sensational night views of the lights of the Golden Gate and San Francisco, jawdropping sunrises, sunsets and Bay views that make the experience camping at Angel Island like no other. Saturday nights are virtually sold out through the rest of the year. The only Saturday night available is Dec. 21, and the following Saturday, Dec. 28, is sold out. Yet to put it in perspective, Sunrise has sites available next week, Monday and Tuesday. As November arrives, space remains available at Sunrise, Ridge and East Bay, Mondays through Thursday. $30 per night per site. Reserve at www.reservecalifornia.com.
Contact: Angel Island State Park, 4154355390, www. parks.ca.gov.
Point Reyes National Seashore
Synopsis: Weekdays and weekends are as far apart as the North Pole and South; weekends have only a few sites open through the end of the year.
Details: Longdistance views of Drakes Bay and nearby treks to wilderness beaches, coastal landmarks and lookout landmarks make camping at Point Reyes one of the best experiences on the Pacific Coast. The first Saturday night available at Point Reyes is Nov. 30 at Glen Camp, with sites also available on the Saturday nights of Dec. 14, 21 and 28. The other camps sell out faster; at Sky Camp, the first Saturday night available is Dec. 21, one site is left the same night at Wildcat. The first Saturday night opening for Coast Camp is Dec. 28. Now the good news: If you instead select a Monday through Thursday night, you get your pick of location, Wildcat, Sky, Coast or Glen, and often site of your choice. $20 per night per site. Reserve starting at 7 a.m., six months ahead to the day, at www.recreation.gov.
Contact: Point Reyes National Seashore, 4154645100, www.nps.gov/pore.
Elsewhere: Other hikein/ walkin camps are available in Marin County at Marin Headlands, nps.gov/goga; China Camp State Park, reserve at www.reservecalifornia.com; Mount Tamalpais State Park: Pantoll walkin, Bootjack walkin, firstcome, firstserved; Steep Ravine walkin sites and camping cabins, reserve at www.reservecalifornia.com.
East Bay hills
Synopsis: Trail camps in the Ohlone Wilderness could provide an outlet for many who find themselves out of luck for Saturday nights at Point Reyes and Angel Island.
Details: The Ohlone Wilderness Trail spans 28 miles from Del Valle Regional Park through Sunol Wilderness to Mission Peak and has 16 trail camps along the way. They are sold out for this Saturday night, but after that, have good availability through the rest of fall, including weekends. $5 per person per night, plus Ohlone Wilderness Permit (good for a year), $4 online. Reserve at 8883272757, option 2. Contact: www.ebparks.org.
Elsewhere: Sibley’s littleknown trail camp has available sites; Chabot is sold out for October weekends and then closes in November for tree removal. Trail camps at Black Diamond Mines, Morgan Territory and Round Valley close Nov. 1.
Contact: East Bay Regional Park District, www.ebparks.org
Peninsula
Synopsis: The littleknown trail camp at Black Mountain has good availability through November. Details: The Black Mountain Trail Camp is perched at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve off upper Page Mill Road. It features nearby sandstone formations that look like a movie set and views across the South Bay. Sites are available this Saturday, as well as Nov. 9, 16 and 23, with your choice of dates on weekdays. $2 per person per night. Reservation protocol: View site availability calendar at www.openspace.org, then follow online protocols. Contact: Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, 6506911200, www. openspace.org.
Santa Cruz Mountains
Synopsis: State Park officials showed insight and wisdom by reopening the trail camps for winter use in the Santa Cruz Mountains, when visitors are lightest, waterfalls are flowing and you can create a pristine experience.
Details: This can be an exceptional time to hike the 33mile SkylinetotheSea Trail, from Castle Rock through Big Basin to Rancho del Oso. Starting Saturday, Nov. 2, campsite availability is good at all eight trail camps: Sunset, Twin Redwoods, Alder, Lane and Jay and Big Basin Redwoods; Slate at Portola Redwoods, Trail and Waterman at Castle Rock; and Butano Trail Camp. Note: At Waterman Gap, no water is available (to be fixed next year) so bring your own. $15 per campsite per night
Reservation protocol: For trail sites in Santa Cruz Mountain, go to www.parks.ca.gov/ ?page_id=26658 (trail camp page) — scroll down and click on “trail camp calendar.” When available site and date site are determined, return to home page, scroll down and click on “Trail Camp Request Form.”
Contact: Big Basin Redwoods State Park, camp desk, 8313388867, www.parks.ca.gov.
Santa Clara County
Synopsis: Henry Coe always provides an escape hatch, and with the Dowdy entrance closed, the ambitious few on foot or mountain bikes could turn the Orestimba Creek area into a personal wilderness.
Henry W. Coe State Park, Gilroy: The best jumpoff spot is the Hunting Hollow Trailhead (east of Gilroy, not park headquarters east of Morgan Hill), to Kelly Lake and beyond to Coit Lake and Mississippi Lake. The Park has 81 trail camps, including 29 in the easiertoreach Western Zone. Many ranchstyle ponds are available; take your pick. $5 per person per night, plus parking fee.
Onthespot note: The Dowdy Ranch Entrance out of Bell Station on Highway 152 is closed. That means access to Orestimba Wilderness and Rooster Comb can require roundtrip hikes or mountain bikes of 30 miles or longer.
Contact: Henry W. Coe State Park, 4087792728, www.parks.ca.gov.