Northern California 12/28 - 1/1

[be-lost]

Hey guys, decided to skip the new year's Eve madness and we are taking off for a few days of camping. Heading up North from the SF Bay area. Anyone headed out?

Unfortunately, we are not 4x4. Got plenty of cold weather gear and 2 labs!

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[infennonlabs]

Where you headed up North? I'm headed to Guernville (Russian River) for some wine and cheese and up to Point Arena for some light house and maybe fishing

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[be-lost]

Plan so far is to take hwy 1 and stick to low altitudes to avoid super cold nights :) maybe go as far up as Redwood NP. Nothing is set, though.

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[infennonlabs]

Nice should be a good time. Are you going to do the Lost Coast?

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[be-lost]

Nice should be a good time. Are you going to do the Lost Coast?

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Do you mean hike? Not this time around.
When will you be around Russian River?

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[infennonlabs]

No, meant driving the Lost Coast trail. Friday through Monday.
Guernville
Sebastopol
Healdsburg
Boonville
Point Arena are the areas I'll be at.

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[bobthetj03]

Just a little north of Boonville is Hendy Woods State Park. It's a nice park with quite a few camp sites for tent and RV camping, plus some nice hiking trails. Also, if you venture up the Lost Coast, you can take Usal Rd. to Usal Beach for dispersed camping. The trail head is a bit challenging to find, but the trail to Usal beach is 2wd doable.

 

[infennonlabs]

Usal is definitely on my list to check out

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[Saints&Sailors]

Usal is definitely on my list to check out

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There are some other threads about Usal Beach / Lost Coast Trail. Search for them for more info. In the past we had a number of reports of inconsiderate locals ruining the experience although this time of year you may fare better. We went in May a couple years ago and ended up not even camping there due to everyone behaving like an asshat.

 

[infennonlabs]

There are some other threads about Usal Beach / Lost Coast Trail. Search for them for more info. In the past we had a number of reports of inconsiderate locals ruining the experience although this time of year you may fare better. We went in May a couple years ago and ended up not even camping there due to everyone behaving like an asshat.

Yeah saw some of those posts. Sad.

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[4xFar Adventures]

You can't run Usal Rd. duing the winter season. You can drive the turnoff at Hwy 1 to Usal Beach all year, but there's a gate not far past the wood bridge to prevent travel along the rest of the road.

https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/transportation/road-closures

 

[infennonlabs]

You can't run Usal Rd. duing the winter season. You can drive the turnoff at Hwy 1 to Usal Beach all year, but there's a gate not far past the wood bridge to prevent travel along the rest of the road.

https://www.mendocinocounty.org/government/transportation/road-closures

Ty

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[be-lost]

If only i had seen this before I lost cell signal! Haha. We stayed at Stillwater, VanDamme and Hendy. I am just a beginner and finding routes off road that are doable it's turning to be a challenge. I might need the gurus to suggest some guides/books. Lots of roads I thought we could go on were closed. I'm really looking forward to learning more and hopefully going out with some of you folks.

Hendy was, indeed, very nice. It got quite cold in my 25f sleeping bag!

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[4xFar Adventures]

If only i had seen this before I lost cell signal! Haha. We stayed at Stillwater, VanDamme and Hendy. I am just a beginner and finding routes off road that are doable it's turning to be a challenge. I might need the gurus to suggest some guides/books. Lots of roads I thought we could go on were closed. I'm really looking forward to learning more and hopefully going out with some of you folks.

Hendy was, indeed, very nice. It did quite cold in my 25f sleeping bag!

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Start with this book.

Were you running into road closures because of snow, or other reasons? Part of trip planning (even for a day) is checking for road closures, especially this time of year. What are you driving? I'm in SF too, and would be more than happy to meet up sometime and answer any questions:)