Posts Tagged rv camping
10 Days in the Mountains – Part one – Mt. Madonna Santa Clara County Park
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun, Mt Madonna County Park, Santa Clara County Parks on July 19, 2010
Our 4th of July week vacation with the travel trailer was spent in two sets of mountains: Mt Madonna (in the Santa Cruz Mountains) and Shaver Lake (in the Central Sierra National Forrest).
The actual 4th holiday weekend we spent close to home in Mt. Madonna County Park. This was a very nice getaway and allowed for hiking, biking and even some very fun strawberry picking!
Mt Madonna Facilities
The park is tucked up in the mountains above Gilroy, CA (map). The RV sites are spacious and shady, and many of the facilities are fairly new. The bathroom/shower building by our site seemed almost brand-new and was a very short walk from our trailer. The campground offers power and water at the campground RV sites but no sewer. There is a dump station at the campground though that is very conveniently located.
One word of warning about the road at the campground turn off (at Pole Line Road). It is really steep! Use your lowest gear if you are pulling anything when driving up the road. It is an almost constant climb to the ranger check-in station. The first time up it can be a little hairy.
Kids castle at Mt Madonna County Park
Right next to our campsite site the kids found a grove of redwood trees in what is called a “fairy ring.” Younger redwood trees grow in a circle around the stump of an older tree and take nutrients from the old tree. The kids thought it looked like a castle because the stump was hollowed out making a perfect lookout/castle. This provided HOURS and DAYS of fun for the children staying in the RV campground for the weekend.
During our stay there we noticed the campground was not as full as the website had indicated. I’ve noticed many times people book a reservation but just don’t show up. It’s always a good idea if you can’t initially get a reservation to try again a little closer to your desired arrival date. You may be surprised a month or so before you want to go…you may actually get in!
Kids at the Miller Ranch Ruins
Our first morning there we went on a guided hike to the Henry Miller Ranch Ruins. Only the foundations remain of these historical homes, which would have been considered legendary in their day. Henry Miller and his family would love to come to Mt. Madonna in the summer and enjoy the coolness and beauty of the area. It is a short hike, but bring bug spray. the mosquitoes were out on our hike.
The week before our trip to Mt. Madonna, Sunset Magazine’s ran an article on spending a day in Watsonville, which is just on the other side of the ridge in the valley from our campground.
Of the activities listed, we choose to take a bike ride along a wetlands reserve park which was scenic and beautiful. The ride began at the wetlands center which we should have taken more time to explore, but the kids were rearing to get going on their bikes. Luckily there were several informative wildlife stations with information about what you were looking at along the way.
Claire picking strawberries
After the wetlands we headed to a “pick ‘em yourself” strawberry farm. It was really fun and the strawberries were very tasty. We ran into some friends from San Jose, who had done just what we were doing … following the Sunset Magazine article and enjoying their day.
Sunday (the 4th of July) we decided to go to Morgan Hill for their fireworks show. The fireworks were set to music and were very well coordinated. It was a good experience and the kids had a great time. We were able to take the back-roads back to Mt. Madonna and were in our beds before 11 p.m.
Our final day at Mt. Madonna started with a bit of high fog which burned off quickly but left a breezy day. We looked at the park map to see if there was anything we could do before pulling out. There was an accessible trail to visit historic twin redwoods which had been deemed to be almost 250 years old! We headed out on our bikes to visit the trees and walk a bit on a little wooded trail.
Ben tries to climb the giant redwood
We spent the rest of the morning cleaning the trailer for the next leg of our holiday trip which would take us to Shaver Lake and Camp Edison in the Central Sierra Nevada. The kids spent the time in the magical castle and enjoying Mt. Madonna to the very last minute!
Wrights Lake: It was a beautiful week
Posted by Family RV in California camping, Eldorado National Forrest, Family RV Fun, Wrights Lake on August 18, 2009
The kids are loving life at Wrights Lake
Well we just got back from Wrights Lake and boy did we have a good time.
If you don’t know where it is, Wrights Lake is located 30 minutes South of Lake Tahoe in the Eldorado National Forrest. The lake looks up at the majestic rocky peaks of the Sierra Nevada and Desolation Wilderness.
We left early Monday morning from our home in San Jose and were up at the lake by 2pm.
The road coming in to the Wrights Lake Campground
When we saw the Wrights Lake campground sign and then caught a glimpse of the lake, we were beside ourselves to find our camp site and get out on the lake.
This is the place where we caught the RV bug last summer when we tent camped here. We thought, wow this is great but sleeping in a tent and cooking over the campfire is just ok. So one month later we bought our Thor Cal travel trailer and yes the rest is history and being chronicled in this blog.
So we spent a full week at Wrights Lake this year, six nights and seven very full days coming home late Sunday evening. We filled our days canoeing on the lake, playing on the beach and trying our luck at fishing up the filler stream for the lake (no we didn’t catch any fish, but we saw a lot of them). Wrights Lake is a totally non-power boat lake. You can only have canoes, kayaks and sail boats on the lake. So this means the type of people who come to the lake are the more “environmental” types and also the campground is quieter in the evening. If you have a power boat I recommend you go to Icehouse reservoir which is on the road to Wrights Lake (about 10 miles below the lake).
The family canoeing on Wrights Lake
We also met a lot of friendly people. And many of them with children the same age as our kids. Our last night we were invited to dinner with a family who were having a sort of family reunion. The grandfather has been going to Wrights Lake since the 1940s!
Camping Recommendations for Wrights Lake
If you are passing through Placerville on your way to the lake (and your a Safeway shopper), I highly recommend you stop at the Palcerville Safeway (at the Missouri Flats off-ramp). Buy your food there and then fill-up at the Safeway gas station. You can save up to 60 cents a gallon.
Check-in at the campground isn’t until 2pm, so plan a late afternoon arrival.
There are two campgrounds. The one closest to the lake is for tent campers only (sites 1-19). The campground for sites 20 -68 inlcude spaces for RV camping (though no power or water hookup. It’s dry camping only).
One note about water: It isn’t allowed to hook a hose up to the facet to fill your water tank. So bring a large water bucket to fill you tank (I bought a six gallon jug for future trips).
The best spaces for RVs are on the side of the campground of sites 38 – 68 . The campground road is wider and easier to maneuver.
The picture on the right is of a tree on the side of the campground with the narrow road. As you can see many an RV has made its mark.
So we had a great time and will be back next year. And next year we plan to do some hiking up in the hills above the lake. There are many small alpine lakes nestled up among the granite cliffs.
Reservation Information
- CALL 1-877-444-6777, four days to six months in
advance of your first night’s stay.
- WEBSITE: www.Recreation.gov
The campground is generally open between late June and mid-October. These dates are affected by snow conditions. The campground is at about 7,000’ elevation.
Location: 23 miles east of Placerville on Highway 50, 11 miles north on Ice House Road (Forest Road 3), 9 miles east on Forest Road 32 (Wrights Lake Tie Road), and 2 miles north on Forest Road 4 (Wrights Lake Rd).
RV Accessories: Why You Should Use a Surge Protector
Posted by Family RV in RV Accessories, RV Camping on July 22, 2009
The below video is an example of what happens to your RV when you get bad (too high or too low voltage) power from the RV park. It isn’t pretty and it cost us $300 to fix it.
Get the surge protector mentioned in this video:Portable Surge Guard
RV Travel News on July 22, 2009
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun on July 22, 2009
- RV rolls over steep cliff as RVer walks dog
July 15, 2009
- Luckily no one was hurt – except the RV (picture included).
Always use the park brake!
RV Travel News on July 15, 2009
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun on July 15, 2009
- The Pit Falls of Trying To Get RV Technical Advice
July 13, 2009
- This is a good article on where to go when you have questions about your RV. What I usually do is first try to find the answer in the RV manual, then the equipment manual and then try an online forum.
RV Gas Mileage: How to Beat High Gas Prices!
Posted by Family RV in Getting Better Gas Milage, Money Saving Travel Tips, RV Camping, RV Travel on July 14, 2009
This video from Sean Michael of the Long Long Honeymoon has an excellent message about beating the high price of gasoline. In another words there are many ways to go RVing.
Though gas isn’t as high as it was last summer, it is still probably the largest item you pay for on your RV trip.
RV Travel News on July 13, 2009
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun on July 13, 2009
- Finding Family and Child Friendly US Beaches
July 8, 2009
- Good article on family friendly beaches throughout the US. On the west coast they mention Coronado beach in San Diego and Capitola beach in Santa Cruz. Both great beaches.
RV Travel News on July 1, 2009
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun on July 1, 2009
RV Travel News on June 24, 2009
Posted by Family RV in Family RV Fun on June 24, 2009
- Best Theme Parks & Amusement Parks in the West US
June 24, 2009
- This is a good article on the best amusement parks in the Western US. My family and I have only visited two of them. As our kids get older I know we will be visiting more on the list.
Camping at New Brighton State Beach
Posted by Family RV in California camping, Family RV Fun, RV Camping, RV Travel, Western USA RV Parks on June 18, 2009
We had a really good time at the New Brighton State Beach park. The state park is located off of Highway 1 just outside of Capitola, CA.
It is a state park (though its not threatened of closing with the Cal budget crisis) sitting on the bluffs above the beach. We had power and water, but no sewer (there is a dump station at the entrance to the park).
A nice campground, though the sites were a little close together. The best sites, the ones with a great view of the ocean, don’t have power and cost extra ($10 more a night on top of the $35 a night).
New Brighton is one of the best camp sites you can stay at in the Cal state park system. It has a nice beach below the buffs and it is 10 minutes from the Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk.
See the video for the highlights of our trip.
