All "Overnight Escapes" Stories in Southern CA

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  Sea-nic Stay & Stroll

  Charmed. That’s about the best word to describe the way you’ll feel when you stay at Mendocino’s Sea Rock Inn. Its location couldn’t be better: just outside the village and overloo

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  Cabin on the Coast

  So you’d like to camp on the wild Mendocino coast … except for—you know—that whole pitching a tent and sleeping on the ground thing? A-OK! Actually, it’s KOA! Yes, Manchester Beach

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  Meet Margaret!

  You have an adventurous side and enjoy lakeside solitude, but you don’t want to be too far from your comfort zone. Time to meet Margaret! Tucked just north of Kirkwood and just off

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  Emerald in the Woods

  Green Valley Lake, nestled at 7,000 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains right between Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead, has all the watery charm of those popular bodies of water, just on a smaller scale, and decidedly without crowds—or motorized boats. It's also got camping, including first-come, first-served options.

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  Clearly Castaic

  Dip out of the heat and into the water at Castaic Lake, aquatic heart of the Santa Clarita Valley. It’s hard to beat it for a cool day trip or a getaway weekend campout—a reservoir

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  Ojai’s Wet Side

  Just a few miles west of the serene, artsy community of Ojai is the very different world of Lake Casitas—fabled among bass fishers, and delightful for anyone who enjoys playing on

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  Malibu Creek State Park

  Yes, Angelenos, you can escape city lights and view the Perseid meteor shower at Malibu Creek State Park Campground—so close to the big city, but it feels like it’s a galaxy away.

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  Shealor Stunner

  Robust mountains, striking slabs of granite, and deep green pine reflections make Shealor Lake near Kirkwood resort a jewel of the El Dorado National Forest. Reach this alpine oasis on a 1.3-mile hike.

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  Great Is an Understatement!

  Tucked against the Utah border in eastern Nevada, Great Basin is a hiking wonderland of 13,000-foot peaks, ancient forests, sub-alpine lakes, and marble limestone caves.

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  Island Traverse

  As the largest of the Channel Islands, Santa Cruz also has bragging rights to two mountain ranges. For a grand (and grandly scenic) tour, lace up the boots and go on a 15-mile (one-way) backpacking trek that traverses the eastern side of the island.

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  High in the Angeles

  Yes, Angeleno—you can camp in beauty and solitude without having to leave LA County! Buckhorn Campground, high in the Angeles National Forest just 36 miles up the Angeles Crest Hig

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  Pretty View Campground

  Chula vista means “pretty view,” and whoever named Chula Vista Campground in the Los Padres National Forest was right on the mark. The views extend all around and even upward to th

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  Holcomb We Haven't Camped Here?

  Holcomb Valley is just a few miles north of Big Bear Lake, but this broad expanse of meadows and ponderosa pines feels far removed from all the lakeside hubbub. It’s the perfect pe

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  Kayak to a Remote Beach Camp

  Lava Wall. The name alone shouts adventure—and the place loudly delivers. This towering volcanic cliff is the backdrop to a remote beach campground on Catalina Island that you can only reach by boat.

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  California's Serengeti

  When people talk about our great golden state, rarely included in that conversation is the Central Valley’s Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, or, as we call it: California’s Serengeti. It’s home to some of the most spectacular concentrations of waterfowl in the entire continent, and fall and winter are prime times for viewing action.

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  Lighthouse ZZZs

  It’s the closest point of land to the Hawaiian Islands in the continental United States and it might well be the best view on the coast. The historic 115-foot lighthouse tower at P

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  El Lobo

  Embark on a 13-mile hike that takes you across part of Santa Rosa Island’s interior, down a canyon, and along a spectacular coastline of cliffs, coves, and tide pools.

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  This Skunk Doesn't Stink

  On Santa Rosa Island, an all-day hiking expedition to Skunk Point unfolds like chapters of a geographic fairy tale. You’ll cross several distinct terrains on a 11-mile lollipop loo

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  The Comeback Pine

  The Torrey pine is now the rarest pine in the United States. On Santa Rosa Island, you can visit one of its last seaside groves—with some trees dating back 250 years—on a 4.5-mile

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  Fisherman's Friend!

  Finding a secret hike and hidden campsite in one outing? Get outta here! No seriously, get outta here. Head to the southern part of Orange County’s Cleveland National Forest, where

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