Camp gems unveiled for Memorial Day
If you act now — and conduct a little bit of detective work — you can book a marquee campsite for Memorial Day weekend at a lake, state park or even at Lake Tahoe.
For the holiday weekend, thousands of campsites and cabins are available in Northern California. Starting this weekend, many campgrounds and recreation facilities are opening for the summer season across most of California.
One example is at Lake Tahoe, where boat-in sites at Emerald Bay and drive-in sites at adjacent D.L. Bliss State Park open for the season next Thursday, first come, first served.
Camping cabins at Manzanita Lake at Lassen Volcanic National Park and near Lake Britton at McArthur-Burney Falls State Park will also open and have sites available for reservation for the holiday weekend. There are hundreds of examples like this.
On the other hand, many of the most famous spots have long been booked. They include all the camps on Monterey Bay, all of the trail camps at Point Reyes National Seashore and in the Santa Cruz Mountains and, of course, the camps and lodging in Yosemite National Park. Another no-go is the snowcountry wilderness of the Sierra, Cascade and Trinity-Siskiyou ranges.
Many of the best prospects are at parks and privately run resorts at nearly full recreation lakes, such as Shasta, Trinity, Oroville, Don Pedro and dozens of others, in the Central Valley, Sierra foothills and ShastaCascade area, as well as at state parks in the Redwood Empire.
Here are the details, region by region:
Greater Bay Area
State parks with campsites available: Mount Diablo State Park near Walnut Creek, Butano near Pescadero, Brannan Island State Recreation Area on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Henry W. Coe State Park drive-in sites east of Gilroy, Little Basin near Boulder Creek, as of Wednesday. Reserve at www. reserveamerica.com. First come, first served: Castle Rock Trail Camp; Pantoll walk-in and Bootjack walk-in at Mount Tamalpais. (415) 388-2070.
Best prospect: Henry W. Coe State Park has 81 trail camps, 29 in the more accessible Western Zone, first come, first served, with dozens of small ponds and lakes for fishing and swimming. The catch is that reaching them requires hikes or mountain bike rides that are long and challenging. One alternative is to venture in from the trailhead at Dowdy Ranch, now open on weekends, located off Highway 152 at Bell Station, which provides shorter access to the littleseen Orestimba Wilderness and Rooster Comb area. Information: (408) 779-2728, www.parks.ca.gov.
Forget it: Long sold out for Memorial Day weekend are Chabot and Del Valle regional parks in the East Bay Regional Park District, Memorial County Park (with showers this year) near La Honda, all sites at four trail camps at Point Reyes National Seashore, boat-in sites on the western shore of Tomales Bay, Steep Ravine on the Marin Coast, walk-in camps at Angel Island State Park and all 52 sites at seven trail camps in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Meanwhile, a heads-up: Portola Redwoods opens June 1.
Going fast: Of the 16 trail camps along the 28-mile Ohlone Wilderness Trail (Del Valle through Sunol Wilderness to Mission Peak), all are booked except for four sites near Mission Peak. Reserve at (888) 327-2757, option 2.
Santa Cruz/Monterey: The campgrounds at Sunset, Manresa, Seacliff, New Brighton and Henry Cowell have been long booked full for Memorial Day weekend.
Tahoe region
Lake Tahoe: Emerald Bay boat-in, one of the prettiest campgrounds in America, and nearby D.L. Bliss, with no snow on the ground, open next Thursday, first come, first served. Zephyr Cove is open year-round, Nevada Beach opened two weeks ago, and Fallen Leaf opened Saturday. Meeks Bay probably will open Friday. Bayview, which sits in a pocket with snow near Emerald Bay, with the trailhead to Cascade Falls, won’t open until mid-June. Information: Lake Tahoe Basin District Office, (530) 543-2600.
State parks with campsites available: Donner Memorial, Sugar Pine Point, Tahoe SRA. Reserve at www.reserve america.com. Information: Lake Tahoe State Park Office, (530) 525-7232.
Opening in June: Proposed dates: Kaspian ( June 2), William Kent ( June 2), Echo Chalet in mid-June.
Lake levels: Stampede (83 percent full), Donner (67); note that at Independence (94), access is delayed probably into July.
Central Valley and foothills
State parks with campsite available: Bothe-Napa, Calistoga; Caswell Memorial, Ripon; Clear Lake and Clear Lake cabins; Columbia cottages; Colusa-Sacramento; Folsom Lake SRA; Fremont Peak, San Benito/Monterey counties; Lake Oroville; Malakoff Diggins, Nevada City; San Luis Reservoir; Woodson Bridge (Sacramento River). Reserve at www.reserveamerica.com.
Lake levels: Englebright (103 percent), Pardee (101), Clear (99), San Luis (99), Bullards Bar (95), Indian Valley (93), Tulloch (93), Eastman (92), New Melones (86), Folsom (83), Don Pedro (82), Black Butte (82), New Hogan (78), Oroville (74), Camanche (70), McClure (70).
Redwood Empire
State parks with campsite availability: Del Norte Redwoods, Grizzly Creek Redwoods, Hendy Woods, Humboldt Redwoods, Jedediah Smith Redwoods, Patrick’s Point, Standish-Hickey. Reserve at www.reserve america.com. Forget it: Prairie Creek Redwoods near Orick has become the go-to spot in the Redwood Empire; book far in advance for weekends.
Central Sierra
Crystal Basin: The front country to Tahoe has opened up to Union Valley Reservoir. At Ice House Lake, the boat ramp is open, Northwind opened this month, Strawberry Point opened Wednesday, and Ice House campground will open May 26. At Union Valley, Jones Fork and Lone Rock opened Wednesday, Big Silver opens Friday, and Fashoda, Azalea Cove boat-in/walk-in, Wench Creek and Yellowjacket will open May 26. The Gerle Creek Lake opener will be delayed by storm damage to the access road. Up higher, the campgrounds at Loon and Pleasant lakes are closed by snow. Lake levels: Union Valley (97), Loon (94), Ice House (93). Information: Pacific Ranger District, (530) 644-2349, www.fs.usda. gov/eldorado. Plumas: The road from Quincy to Bucks Lake is open, and Lakeshore Lodge has opened and is renting cabins, and will have the boat docks and RV park open by next week. In the national forest, campgrounds are open at the trailhead for Feather Falls, plus at Lake Almanor, Antelope Lake and Lake Davis. Almanor projected at 84 percent full for the end of the month. Bucks Lake, (530) 2832848; Plumas National Forest, www.fs.usda.gov/plumas. Bowman Lakes: From Highway 20, Bowman Lakes Road is open past Fuller Lake to Forest Road 14 (the road to Grouse Ridge) and then closed by snow. No access to Carr and Feeley lakes (not likely until June) or Grouse Ridge (no projected date). Long-term, there is damage to Bowman Road beyond the Carr-Feeley turnoff with no access to Bowman Lake and beyond to Faucherie. Info: Yuba River Ranger District South, (530) 265-4531, www.fs.usda. gov/tahoe.
Gold Lakes: Gold Lake Road and access to the Lakes Basin Recreation Area, including Sardine Lake, Gold Lake, Salmon Lake and the Sierra Buttes, is impassable and closed, with 4 to 9 feet of snowpack on the road. It probably will not open until mid- to late June. Information: Yuba River Ranger District North, (530) 288-3231, www.fs.usda.gov/ tahoe.
Shasta Cascade
State parks with campsites available: Castle Crags, McArthur-Burney Falls, McArthur-Burney Falls cabins; first come, first served at Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.
Major lake levels: Whiskeytown (99 percent full), Lewiston (97), Shasta (96), Trinity (95).
Lassen Volcanic National Park: Manzanita Lake is snowfree, accessible for kayaks and flyfishing, with trees just starting to bud and a good view of snow-covered Lassen Peak. Manzanita Lake Camping Cabins will open for the season Friday. Reserve at www.rec reation.gov. Manzanita Lake campground will open May 26. Six other campgrounds in the park are projected to be closed for the holiday weekend. Roads are closed by snow in the park’s interior, with no access to Lassen Peak, Bumpass Hill, Summit Lakes, Butte Lake, Warner Valley and Juniper Lake. Information: Lassen Volcanic National Park, (530) 595-4480, www.nps.gov/lavo.