Expert: Steve Summers - 8/28/2001

Question
I want to go camping with friends for my 21st birthday.  We go to UCLA. I'm looking for something not too far away that people have an excuse not to come, but far enough away so the wildlife/foliage is something other than the California sage scrub of the Santa Monica Mtns. A lake, heavy trees, or total desert is nice. I've considered Joshua Tree but don't know which site there is best (there's about 10 diff. locations there).  We're also 21, so something not too quiet at night would be nice.  Or, if you know of any  2-3 day, not too amateurish horseback trips nearby, that  would be great, too!

Answer
I'm not a fan of SoCal Mountain camping, having been to the Sierras. For mountain camping, the Sierras make the local mountains look pathetic. However, Yosemite is 6 hours away, and Sequoia is about 5 hours. In the eastern Sierra, Mammoth is about 4.5 hours away.

At Joshua, the Ryan campground is my personal favorite.

You didn't mention it, but how about beach camping? You can't beat the sunsets. My favorites are Carpinteria and Doheney. Carp is only about 1.5 hours from UCLA. You can kick back, enjoy the sun and the waves, then kick back in your campsite and enjoy a few brewskies.

You can check out state campgrounds at www.reserveamerica.com or by calling 800-444-7275. Yosemite and other national parks can be reserved at reservations.nps.gov.

Have fun,

Steve