California Camping
Book Review

Pacific Coast Highway Travel's California Camping book review rates the 20th anniversary edition of Moon's complete guide to over 1400 tent and RV campgrounds.

Camping in California

One of the most viewed book reviews on our website is the Moon Guide to West Coast RV Camping by Tom Stienstra. The same author has also written Moon's guide to California Camping, and although this one covers the whole state and not just the west coast, it will be incredibly useful to anyone planning a west coast camping trip.

Over 1400 tent and RV campgrounds are covered in great detail in this mammoth guide of almost 900 pages, along with a wealth of other material and advice about camping in California. It includes money-saving tips, advice on campfires, and how to keep the critters out of your food, and out of your hair.

Moon California Camping Guide Sample Page

Best California Campgrounds

The author opens the book by listing his best California campgrounds, using different criteria. Among the ones along or close to the west coast are:

Best Scenic California Campgrounds

Doheny State Beach
Seacliff State Beach
Angel Island State Park
Santa Rosa Island

Best California Campgrounds for Families

Serrano, near Los Angeles
El Capitan Canyon, near Santa Barbara

Best California Campground Island Retreats

Santa Catalina Island Boat-In
Santa Cruz Island
Two Harbors, near Los Angeles
Santa Rosa Island, near Santa Barbara
Angel Island State Park, near San Francisco
Anacapa Island, near Santa Barbara
San Miguel Island, near Santa Barbara
Little Harbor Hike-In, near Los Angeles
Parsons Landing Hike-In, near Los Angeles

Moon California Camping Guide:
Best Campgrounds

California Camping Tips

There are then over 50 pages of camping tips, most of them general and a few applicable to camping in California. After these comes the main section, the descriptions of campgrounds, and this runs to almost 800 pages. It's divided regionally, starting with the Redwood Empire and ending with the California Deserts.

If you're looking for info on Pacific Coast Highway campgrounds then there are sections on Mendocino and Wine Country, the San Francisco Bay Area, Monterey and Big Sur, Santa Barbara and Vicinity, Los Angeles and Vicinity, and San Diego and Vicinity.

Moon California Camping Guide Sample Page

California Campground Descriptions

The biggest chunk of the book is, of course, the descriptions of the individual campgrounds. Each starts with a row of icons letting you know facilities, such as hot springs, pets permitted, swimming, fishing, or wheelchair access. Each site also gets a Scenic Rating out of 10, based purely on how beautiful the campsite and its setting are.

You're then given the rough location ('five miles north of Crescent City'), and then the page number and reference for the map that it's marked on - and there are lots of maps in the book, although they're not detailed enough to enable you to find the exact spot. You'll still need directions or GPS. Fortunately the campsite write-ups end with directions, phone numbers, websites and any other practical information you might need.

Each campsite then has a long paragraph of general introduction, to give an overview and a feel for the place ('It is two miles away from the Turtle Bay Museum and close to a movie theater.') The next section of each entry covers Campsites and Facilities, while the final section tells you about Reservations and Fees. The current rates are given in dollars, with a note of any periods of closure, and whether reservations are accepted or not.

Camping in California

Comprehensive California Camping!

The work the author put into this book must have been enormous. Imagine how long it would take simply to get the nightly rates for over 1400 places, let alone the other ton of information.

Oh yes, and the author is no run-of-the-mill fact-gatherer, either. Tom Stienstra has been the National Outdoor Writer of the Year twice, and California Outdoor Writer of the Year five times. So as well as being filled with facts, the book is well-written too.

If you're going to be a serious California camper, the book will more than repay the cost by saving you a huge amount of time. Essential. Buy it on Amazon.

Other books pages

Washington State Travel Guide
The Washington State travel guide from Frommer's covers hotels in Seattle, driving the Pacific Coast Highway, Olympic National Park, where to eat and more.
Pacific Coast Highway Moon Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip guide from Moon covering California, Oregon and Washington
Los Angeles Travel Guide
The Los Angeles travel guide book from Lonely Planet also covers San Diego and Southern California, including Palm Springs, Santa Barbara, and Disneyland.
Napa and Sonoma Guidebook
The Napa and Sonoma Guidebook to California Wine Country is from the Moon Handbooks’ travel guide series with reviews of wineries,vineyards, and wine tastings.
Coastal California Guidebook
Lonely Planet's Coastal California guidebook is the ideal travel guide for driving or cycling the Pacific Coast Highway from the Oregon border to Mexico.
West Coast RV Parks
One of the best guides to West Coast RV Parks, covering campgrounds in California, Oregon, and Washington, is West Coast RV Camping from Moon Guides.
California Coast Guide
One of the best California coast guides is the California Coastal Access Guide, describing the coast’s beaches, National Parks, State Parks, with many maps.
Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast
Lighthouses of the Pacific Coast, published by Voyageur Press, is a guide in words and pictures to historic lighthouses along the Pacific Coast Highway.
California Living and Eating
California Living and Eating by Eleanor Maidment is a handsome coffee table book celebrating the food and lifestyle of the Golden State with 80 tasty recipes.
Epic Drives of the World
Epic Drives of the World from Lonely Planet describes 50 of the world's most exciting road trips, including, of course, the Pacific Coast Highway.
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trips: Lonely Planet Guidebook Review
Review of the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trips book from Lonely Planet, which includes a California Driving Guide, by the Pacific Coast Highway Travel website.
Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the Pacific Coast Highway Road Trip Guide book covering the drive from Vancouver to San Diego.
Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews an Olympic Peninsula Travel Guide published by the Beautiful Pacific Northwest website.
Guide to the Olympic Peninsula
Moon's Spotlight Guide to the Olympic Peninsula covers hotels, restaurants, and sights, including Forks, the Olympic National Park and other places.
Culture Trails
Pacific Coast Highway Travel reviews the book Culture Trails by Lonely Planet, which has a section on Vintage Hollywood alongside 51 other perfect weekends.
Northwest Wine Country
Northwest Wine Country is a food and wine lover's guide to vineyards, fine dining, accommodation, restaurants in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, British Columbia.
Cycling the USA West Coast
Lonely Planet's Guide to Cycling the USA West Coast is a bicycling guidebook for anyone touring California, Oregon and Washington by bike.
Frommer's Guide to Seattle
The Frommer's Guide to Seattle has good information about the city and side excursions to the Olympic National Park and elsewhere, plus free city and area map.
Green Guide USA West
The Green Guide to the USA West from Michelin covers California, the Pacific North West, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, New Mexico, and even Kansas and Alaska.
Brewpubs and Good Beer on the West Coast USA
Brewpubs and good beer are at the heart of the Good Beer Guide to the West Coast USA which lists the best bars and breweries from Seattle to San Diego.
Vintage Hollywood
Vintage Hollywood in Los Angeles is an extract from the Lonely Planets book Culture Trails.
Pacific Coast Highway Guides. Book and ebook hotel guides to PCH
Pacific Coast Highway guides include our own printed book and ebook guides to the best hotels along the PCH, available in paperback, PDF and Kindle formats.
Road Food Guide
West Coast Road Eats is a road food guide covering the Pacific Coast from California through Oregon to Washington, giving the best road trip food stops.
Santa Barbara Guidebook
The Santa Barbara Guidebook from Moon Handbooks also covers California’s Central Coast with Ventura, San Luis Obispo, wine country, and Hearst Castle.
Books About the Pacific Coast Highway
Books About the Pacific Coast Highway in California, Oregon and Washington including travel guidebooks, route guides, restaurant guides, and many more.