10 North Coast hot spots for cool-weather camping
Before his son and daughter were grown, Windsor resident Brad Jacobs sought out rainy weather for the weekend getaways he took every winter with each of his kids, now in their 20s. They were sheltered from the weather by a canopy over the table, a steady fire and the car at night, allowing dry conditions for one-on-one time playing games, working puzzles and even doing homework, he said.
Sometimes they were all alone in the campground, or almost alone, inviting wildlife to venture out of hiding into areas they seldom visited in summer.
“It was so quiet and clean, and so many animals came out ...,” said Jacobs, 53. “Everybody thought we were crazy, but the kids loved it. Gosh, we would sit there and be bundled up with the fire going. It was just wonderful.”
The arrival of brisk weather and short days is a signal for many people to retreat indoors, seeking refuge in the warmth and constancy of home and hearth.
But hardy souls know the cool weather months are a special time to get outside and explore the North Coast, joining nature in the warm glow of autumn and the stillness left behind by summer’s crowds.
The fog has cleared and the wind died down, leaving days so bright and clear it’s hard to turn your gaze from the weather-sculpted coastline at the continent’s edge.
When the rain arrives - in the years it does - it brings a sense of renewal, dampening the soil and drawing forth rich, earthy smells that suggest fruitfulness and new life, campers say. The early nights and lowered mercury make a campfire and a cup of cocoa that much cozier and cuddling an essential.
“Generally, this is the best time of year,” said Damien Jones, supervising Sonoma Coast ranger.
Cool-weather camping is a holiday tradition for some. State and county park personnel say demand at some campgrounds is as high at Thanksgiving as it is for Fourth of July. Christmas, too.
Dungeness crab season also brings out water lovers and die-hard fishing fans, usually in November.
Later in winter, by January and February, the gray whale migration gets underway, as the huge animals head south to Baja California for breeding, only to return north a month or two later, hugging the shoreline with their young en route to feeding grounds in the Bering Sea.
But for many, the lure of the coast is more primal, more internally driven.
Theo Michaels, a longtime coastal camper who recently left Petaluma for Lawrence, Kansas, and graduate school, said she thinks of cool weather camping as a chance “to see a lot of behind the scenes secrets of what really happens when humans aren’t around.”
Michaels, 36, said the slant of the light and the quiet encourage memories and stillness from within, heightening senses and reminding her of her own resiliency.
“It challenges you to feel those elements out there, to stand in the rain, to know what it feels to be cold and to know that your body is capable of adjusting, which I think sometimes we forget,” she said.
Of course, the right clothes and equipment are essential. But many people love the sound and feeling of the rain, the drama and beauty of a storm coming in across the waves toward shore.
“I enjoy the dignity of walking calmly in the rain,” said Wagner, who works in information technology. “It seems kind of Zen. I enjoy the wet smell of nature. You get the clean air, you get the little dripping sounds and the birds chirping along with it. It’s still stimulating all the senses but a little less frenetic than I’m used to.”
If the weather becomes too harsh, you can just take a hike and go back home to sleep, said Evan Saunders, floor manager at Sonoma Outfitters outdoor recreational gear.
“The beauty, especially for local residents, is that it’s really not that far,” he said.
Opportunities for camping along the North Coast abound, both nearby and not quite as near, with each venue offering its own ambiance and outdoor experience. Generally, the farther behind one leaves population centers, the more solitude awaits on the other end.
Point Reyes National Seashore
1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station
With 40 individual sites spread across four hike-in-only campgrounds, sprawling Point Reyes National Seashore allows campers to get out on their own two feet and relish the kind of self-reliance that minimalist camping permits - away from the noise of roads and combustion-engine vehicles. The walk to camp ranges from 2-7 miles, though campers can extend the hike by mixing and matching routes within nearly 150 miles of trail. Like the park itself, the campgrounds offer varied settings, from a bluff-top meadow overlooking the ocean to a quiet wooded valley or a hillside with broad ocean vistas. Some are closer to beaches than others. The 111-square-mile park is packed with wildlife, including tule elk and marine mammals galore, and includes some of the coast’s top whale-watching venues.
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