Even with record-breaking drought conditions, California is still probably one of the most popular states to go camping in. Every year millions of domestic and international visitors go camping in the dozens of national and state parks in this 164,000 square mile state. With its various terrain and features how do you find the best camping spots?
Find the best campsites in Yosemite with Hipcamp and Caliparks
HipCamp and Caliparks, two websites founded by experienced campers Alyssa Ravasio and Eric Bach, not only cover the best camping in the Golden State, but they organize the sites and parks by activities and features.
Want to camp and go spelunking? How about camping and surfing? Maybe a weekend of fishing?
RELATED: Discover California’s East Side – Take An RV Trip Down U.S. 395
Hipcamp profiles campgrounds that are close to the state’s best outdoor activities. The site has recently expanded to feature parks in Oregon, Texas and Florida and the Hipcamp team plans to include more states in the future. You can request that your state be added to their list.
Hipcamp profiles campgrounds and local outdoor activities
Campgrounds can be searched for by location, nearby locations, activities, features and amenities like pet-friendly parks, RV hookups and sanitation and showers. Each location also features topographical maps of the area and user photos. Campers can also request to book a site directly through Hipcamp.
The site also has a blog that features camping tips and tricks, personal experiences, Hipcamp events and some great photos by site writers and visitors.
Hipcamp Journal features camping tips, road trips, recipes and secret camp spots
HipCamp recently built a sister site: Caliparks.org. This site focuses on California public parks searchable near specific areas. The parks have icons for camping, day use, various recreational activities and views. Each location has specific park and camping information, photos, maps, website embed information and comments from users.
Caliparks.org profiles California public parks
Hipcamp was founded by Alyssa Ravasio when she wanted to experience a New Year’s Day sunrise on a beach. After many hours of Web searching, she found the perfect spot. However, that spot happened to have an excellent surfing beach—and she had not brought her surfboard.
With this frustration in mind, Alyssa vowed to create an all-encompassing website that would allow campers to book campsites and show them what is available to do near their chosen campground. Eric Bach, an accomplished outdoorsman and member of The Modern Gypsies trio who won ABC’s “Expedition Impossible” in 2011, came aboard soon after.
Hipcamp has since been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, The New York Times and Condé Nast Traveler.
Photos by pogo_mm/Pixabay and vancrafted
