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Campgrounds near Sacramento – a personal guide

Our family gets especially excited when the summer comes, because this is what we consider our outdoor season. We love to spend time outside camping, hiking, biking, and enjoying just about any other outdoor activity. We are lucky to live in a place where we have a variety of opportunities to enjoy family time outdoors. We are creating treasured family memories on our trips, and will like to share with you several of our camping and hiking tips which can help you enjoy your time outdoors as much as us too if you live in Sacramento or you are coming to visit:

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  1. Sly Park is a favorite campground to all our family. It is located on 4771 Sly Park Road, Pollock Pines. From there you get stunning views of the Jenkinson Lake, as well as an option of many various hiking trails. There is a beautiful beach, where the children enjoy playing and boating. This great place is just 45 minutes away from Sacramento and yet it feels like you are in close touch with Mother Nature there. There is a general store, vault toilets and picnic tables, as well as opportunities for fishing, hiking and boating.
  2. Collins Lake – located on 7350 Collins Lake Road, Browns Valle, this is another favorite campground near Sacramento, where you can rent a boat or marina, go fishing, enjoy the beach and swimming. There are playgrounds and an ice cream shop for the kids. For the ladies, there is good news too – there are showers as well as flashing toilets there too. It is a good idea to make reservations if you plan going camping here on a holiday, because it can be crowded.
  3. Lake Berryessa – located by Highway 128, Napa, it is an hour drive from Sacramento and is absolutely beautiful. There are a few campgrounds around the lake you can choose from. There are a wide variety of amenities you can choose from, such as boating, hiking, fishing as well as children’s playgrounds. No flushing toilets though – there are vault toilets available only.
  4. Fallen Leaf Lake – this lake is a bit further from Sacramento, it is at 2165 Fallen Leaf Road, South Lake Tahoe. It is located in the woods which gives you a real proximity to true nature. There are bear lockers for the food! There are some general stores, showers and flushing toilets there. There are also yurts for rent which have lamps and electric heaters as well as beds, if you do not feel like camping out in the woods.
  5. Bothe State Park – located at Calistoga camping, Napa, this place is a dream camping site for those who love wine. Here too there are camping sites, as well as available Yurts for rent. There is a swimming pool, as well as possibilities for hiking, biking and camping. Yes, there are flushing toilets and showers there.

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Here are a few of our family camping tips to make your trip better and more enjoyable:

  1. Freeze a gallon jug of water for the trip, so you have a big block of ice to keep your food and beverages cold during the trip. As it melts you will have drinking water too.
  2. Freeze burritos ahead of time, so that you have quick and easy meals ready for the trip. They will be transported easily and will keep other food and beverages cold during the trip. Then, just grill them and eat them.
  3. Use Tic-tac boxes to store various spices which you will be using for cooking and grilling.
  4. Don’t forget to take some instant coffee with you.

So these were our suggestions for excellent camping sites for those of you who are in Sacramento or are planning to visit, there is nothing better than spending your weekend outdoors, in the nature with your favorite people!