Camping // Swimming Spot - No Sharks

RightCoastBias

RightCoastBias

F8TRED
Looking to take my 6 year old out on her first camping trip in the next week or two. Looking for a spot without a bunch of people/drunks/meth heads within 3 hours drive or Oakland, her car patience aren't great.

Ideally we'd have a spot with some slow moving water, I've got a few I've Moto camped at in the Sierra, but looking to some others for suggestions. My daughter mandates nowhere with sharks. Bears and Coyote are okay by her.

We'll be in my 4Runner with ATs, so a bit of off-road to the spot would be rad. Just don't want to get too gnarly and end up getting an airlift out. I've got my SPOT, so there's some safety net and I've got the ability to handle most other situations.

A bonus would be somewhere we could shoot some .22 and/or a BB gun.
 
auntiebling

auntiebling

megalomaniacal troglodyte
Staff member
i would not reccommend anywhere in the central or san joaquin valleys because it's going to miserably hot, both air and water.

Shaver Lake, and Huntington Lake east of fresno have good car camping, and you could drive to national forest land where you can shoot.

shaver is probably right on your 3 hour drive limit, huntington about 30 minutes farther. huntington is a nicer lake IMO
 
Entoptic

Entoptic

Red Power!
Bridgeport! Might be a little more than three hours but it has everything you mentioned.

I camp there to get away from all the campers lol.
 
KooLaid

KooLaid

Hippocritapotamus
RightCoastBias said:
Looking to take my 6 year old out on her first camping trip in the next week or two. Looking for a spot without a bunch of people/drunks/meth heads within 3 hours drive or Oakland, her car patience aren't great.

Ideally we'd have a spot with some slow moving water, I've got a few I've Moto camped at in the Sierra, but looking to some others for suggestions. My daughter mandates nowhere with sharks. Bears and Coyote are okay by her.

We'll be in my 4Runner with ATs, so a bit of off-road to the spot would be rad. Just don't want to get too gnarly and end up getting an airlift out. I've got my SPOT, so there's some safety net and I've got the ability to handle most other situations.

A bonus would be somewhere we could shoot some .22 and/or a BB gun.
Click to expand...

Head up towards bass lake. That's where we were for a few days of riding around the 4th. Moto/camp/4x4 friendly/free but the water is bloody cold in the streams. Beware though, once 3-4am rolls around it is bone chilling cold and we had issues during this holiday time with ass holes in trucks running the kids off the dirt roads. Plenty of shooting areas. Greys Mounain, Texas Flat, Shut eye peak.
 
ctwo

ctwo

Merely Rhetorical
I just got back from camping at Lake Don Pedro. Heat wasn't too bad down on the lake and was there on the hottest days of the week (95).
 
KWeezyXB12

KWeezyXB12

SKRRRRRRRRRRRT!!!!!!
Lake Folsom. You can camp but still right in town if you need anything. Granite beach is a nice beach for kids and adults to swim
 
gixxerjeff

gixxerjeff

Dogs best friend
Based solely on the thread title, I'd put a tent next to the pool at a nice hotel and call it done. :teeth
 
Kim

Kim

It’s cold in Colorado
We camped at Lake Camanche 4 or 5 times when I was in middle school. Big lake, tons of camping spots, fishing, boat rentals (maybe ski rentals?) and a general store. We got lucky and got a spot right next to the water one year that was cool.

http://www.lakecamancheresort.com/

oh I missed the part about off-roading. I dont think you can do that here.
 
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DTM74

DTM74

It's not my fault...
Faucherie or Bowman Lake. It's hard to get to so there's minimal people/yahoos there.
 
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