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Great spots to go camping


ally

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Seeing as summer is on it's way, some of us like to go camping. I thought it might be interesting to hear about some of the great camping spots in and around everyones area

One of my BC favorites is on the westcoast of Vancouver Island in and around Tofino. A beautiful stretch of beach that really has to be seen to be appreciated. Rain is alway's a possibility but during late July and early Aug. it is heaven on earth. Plenty of lodging for the faint of heart but prices are a little steep in peak season. Being close to the ocean, fires are permitted all year round. Anyone thinking of travelling to BC this summer should definately think of taking this in while here. Oh yeah, you can catch Coho from the shoreline quite easily :)

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summercampingat10mileswestofinde-1.jpg

That's where I went camping last summer. A nice place with big trees and many lakes around the area plus good hiking that will lead you to mesmerizing views. The camping location is called Onion Valley, about ten or fifteen miles west of a small town called Independence. It's right next to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. Onion Valley sits at an elevation of 9185 feet. A most excellent place to go camping. I still have the Tom Harrison Kearsarge Pass - Rae Lakes Loop topo map for the next time return to that wonderful place.

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Wow. Amazing places folks. Looks like bigfoot country to me. :D

I'm envious of people with those kind of remote wildernesses on their doorsteps. I haven't got any camping places like that near me but I often like to chill and sleep out under the stars on the west coast of the Isle Of Wight (near to where I live).

Camping with a tent wouldn't be permitted in this particular spot but nobody knows if you just sleep there with a sleeping bag. Take a few beers and whey hey!

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Lassen Volcanic Wilderness (awesome volcanic features as well as Mt. Lassen) and the Trinity Alps which has many lakes and beautiful vistas. Once met a guy hiking there who only carried a day pack so I asked him what was up with that (I had 60lbs on my back). He said,"I got a sleeping bag, a fishing rod, some cooking oil, and several Jiffy Pop Popcorns...I catch a fish, make the popcorn, fry the fish in the popcorn pan, then wad up the popcorn pan when I'm done, and toss it in my pack." Pretty clever I thought.

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cliffs_of_the_neuse.jpgneuse_cliffs.jpg

Cliffs of the Neuse State Park, Seven Springs, NC

Never camped there but I have done lots of hiking there over the years. We also used to skateboard down the spillway until park rangers would run us off. It's a very beautiful spot and is noted for it's mountain-like terrain despite being many hours away from the NC mountains.

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Lassen Volcanic Wilderness (awesome volcanic features as well as Mt. Lassen) and the Trinity Alps which has many lakes and beautiful vistas. Once met a guy hiking there who only carried a day pack so I asked him what was up with that (I had 60lbs on my back). He said,"I got a sleeping bag, a fishing rod, some cooking oil, and several Jiffy Pop Popcorns...I catch a fish, make the popcorn, fry the fish in the popcorn pan, then wad up the popcorn pan when I'm done, and toss it in my pack." Pretty clever I thought.

I went to Lassen on a day trip from Reno. A longer drive than I anticipated, but it was beautiful country. I really liked the drive from Susanville up into the Sierras. Lassen reminded me of a mini Yellowstone because of the steam vents and waterfalls.

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Gotta love camping. I plan to do the whole west coast of North America ( hopefully next year ) and I'm slowly but surely getting myself equiped to do it. I've been looking into buying one these

http://golittleguy.com/cms/ I like the idea of a quick set up :D

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Galiano Island. A short ferry ride from Vancouver.

A bunch of us used to go for the July long weekends.I haven't been in here in years.

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Beautiful spot Babs ! Like you, I haven't been there for years either. All of the Gulf Islands are great and easy to get to. If camping is out of the question, we should think about doing a day trip sometime.

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Somewhere very close to my heart is the Yorkshire Dales (If any of you have seen the movie Calendar Girls, that was filmed there) Beautiful area, beautiful landscape.

The falls at Ingleton

Ingleton_falls_08.jpg

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I have Vancouver on the top of my want to visit list Ally. A nice place in eastern Canada and very beautifull is the 1000 Islands. I have been going there for 37 years and my mother unfortunatley sold our cottage just outside of Alexandria Bay NY. Across the border are Gananoque and Kingston and Brockville, Ontario.

I've never been to Thousand Islands but my youngest son was there a couple of years ago. He loved it !

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Somewhere very close to my heart is the Yorkshire Dales (If any of you have seen the movie Calendar Girls, that was filmed there) Beautiful area, beautiful landscape.

The falls at Ingleton

Ingleton_falls_08.jpg

Beautiful MHD! Must get across the pond one day. We'll do lunch. B)

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Somewhere very close to my heart is the Yorkshire Dales (If any of you have seen the movie Calendar Girls, that was filmed there) Beautiful area, beautiful landscape.

The falls at Ingleton

Ingleton_falls_08.jpg

Looks great ! The Lake District is beautiful too. I have family in the area and have been a couple of times over the years.

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The water is very clean in most of it. St Lawrence River. Just a beautiful place. I highly recommend it. Far more fun that Niagra Falls.

Well if your out this way Yukon, a trip to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are an absolute must.

Everyone seems to go to Whistler but if you ask me, it's way too expensive to go see another mountain when we have plenty of them right on our doorstep

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I went to Lassen on a day trip from Reno. A longer drive than I anticipated, but it was beautiful country. I really liked the drive from Susanville up into the Sierras. Lassen reminded me of a mini Yellowstone because of the steam vents and waterfalls.

I too have been to Lassen! It really is a neat place...it's definitely got a lot of variety, being volcanic and everything. Steam vents, waterfalls, the cinder cones, nice lakes, REALLY nice streams/rivers for fly fishing...I LOVED Kings Creek when I was little. It's not in the middle of a bunch of trees like a lot of streams; it's out in the middle of a meadow, and you can see the mountains in the background...it's really cool.

Around here...hmm. There's Anza-Borrego, but being a desert, it's definitely NOT a summer place, unless you want to know what it feels like to be in a frying pan. If you're into off-roading, though, Ocotillo Wells is really popular once it cools off. There are a lot of campgrounds in Cleveland National Forest (west of Anza-Borrego)...I've been to Dos Picos, Mt. Laguna (first place I saw snow), Lake Morena, and Lake Cuyamaca...they're all pretty nice. I don't think Lake Cuyamaca is like it used to be, though...I'm pretty sure that area was burnt in the fires. None of it is half as cool as Lassen is (small mountains, boring pine trees/chaparral), but you've got to work with what you've got. I REALLY want to go to Yosemite sometime.

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Lot's of great spots here.

Ashley National Forest.

Moab.

Zion Canyon/Canyon Lands.

Bear Lake ( also part of Idaho).

Lake Powell.

Fish Lake, Moon Lake, lotsa lakes.

Spanish Fork Canyon.

Flaming George.

To name a few. Too tired to post pics, maybe another time. I do love our state.

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Lot's of great spots here.

Ashley National Forest.

Moab.

Zion Canyon/Canyon Lands.

Bear Lake ( also part of Idaho).

Lake Powell.

Fish Lake, Moon Lake, lotsa lakes.

Spanish Fork Canyon.

Flaming George.

To name a few. Too tired to post pics, maybe another time. I do love our state.

How long has George been out? :D

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summercampingat10mileswestofinde-1.jpg

That's where I went camping last summer. A nice place with big trees and many lakes around the area plus good hiking that will lead you to mesmerizing views. The camping location is called Onion Valley, about ten or fifteen miles west of a small town called Independence. It's right next to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park and the John Muir Wilderness. Onion Valley sits at an elevation of 9185 feet. A most excellent place to go camping. I still have the Tom Harrison Kearsarge Pass - Rae Lakes Loop topo map for the next time return to that wonderful place.

The High Sierras was always my fave place to go in California. Also the area around Bodie. :)

bodie98du0262.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
If your thinking of camping in California better do it before Arnie closes all the state parks!!!!! :angry:

That would be a drag. I was hoping to use some of them next year but have decided to hit Vancouver Island instead. Hope to stay there for about a month if I can swing it

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Best place on the East Coast: OBX.

I'm fairly certain its the only place on the East Coast, besides the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia you can watch both the sun rise and set over water with no land in sight.

I shall be making my 7th trip down starting Monday evening. Swell, bonfires, freshly caught flounder and shark, booze, boobs, water spouts, off roading til you're 4 inches shorter, Dirty Dicks, Bubba's BBQ, dollar PBRs at Teach's Watering Hole, the little old lady Park Ranger in the golf cart, Billy Mitchell Field and its low flying visitors, meeting Canadiens (because we always do), meeting Jersey folk (because we always do), pulling my feet out of the water while that 7 ft shark swims under my board (because he always does), staring at the Lighthouses in joy, roaring down the beach at 40mph with the sun in my face, a drink in my hand and a joint between my lips still hasn't gotten old..I've just gotten older.

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Best place on the East Coast: OBX.

I'm fairly certain its the only place on the East Coast, besides the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia you can watch both the sun rise and set over water with no land in sight.

I shall be making my 7th trip down starting Monday evening. Swell, bonfires, freshly caught flounder and shark, booze, boobs, water spouts, off roading til you're 4 inches shorter, Dirty Dicks, Bubba's BBQ, dollar PBRs at Teach's Watering Hole, the little old lady Park Ranger in the golf cart, Billy Mitchell Field and its low flying visitors, meeting Canadiens (because we always do), meeting Jersey folk (because we always do), pulling my feet out of the water while that 7 ft shark swims under my board (because he always does), staring at the Lighthouses in joy, roaring down the beach at 40mph with the sun in my face, a drink in my hand and a joint between my lips still hasn't gotten old..I've just gotten older.

If you haven't done so already you'd probably enjoy reading Jimmy Buffett's Outer Banks diaries from last fall that he posted in the Journal section of Margaritaville.com. I have lived and vacationed in the Southern Outer Banks region for years but still need to take that ferry trip to the Northern Outer Banks sometime in the near future.

My latest camping recommendation:

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Mt. Mitchell State Park, NC

I have hiked from the top of Mt. Mitchell to Black Mountain Campground at the base many times over the years. Always a very nice (and exhausting) hike.

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^ Ocracoke Island is beautiful and downtown Ocracoke is any pirate lovers dream. The boat ride from Ocracoke to Hatteras is about 20 minutes, as opposed to the 2 1/2 hour ride to the mainland. We camp in Frisco off the beach so we're about 10 minutes south of the Cape. Billy Mitchell Airfield is a stone's throw away. There is a 10 degree difference in ocean temperature depending on which side of the cape you're on. The waves are usually small on the south side because the way the currents run, but there is usually something to ride off the Lighthouse. You just have to mind the sharks, but they don't bother you. I've stayed up north, the town of Waves, which is nice. There's a famous break called "S-Turns" just north of Avon that is fun. There's a house on the beach, literally on pilings and in the tidal zone that is in serious deteriation. They filmed that Richard Gere/Diane Lane flick there a few years back, "Nights in Rodanthe??" Other than that, I've never stayed anywhere else, just passed through..which is still a treasure to behold.

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