Bay Area Roksliders

colonel00

colonel00

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Jun 19, 2013
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So, unless things change drastically in the next couple of weeks, I'll be taking a 6 month gig living and working in the San Jose/Milpitas area. Luckily my company is picking up the housing costs because you people are crazy that live out there :D

Anyway, I'd love to hear suggestions of places to camp both nearby and within a decent drive for quick weekend trips. I'd like to find some good spots with dark skies for night photography but I imagine I will have to head east for a ways to find that. I'll also have my fly/tenkara rods and packrafts with me so if anyone has any suggestions of come good streams to fish or float, that would be great also.
 
My condolences Sir. I'm probably jaded, but I hope and pray every day for everything west of the coastal range to become it's own state or break off and fall into the ocean.

You might be able to find enough solitude for some night shots if you head up 17 towards Felton.

You can float any of the larger rivers, the Sacramento, the Feather, the American from Auburn to Folsom lake is pretty good. I'm not up to speed on any smaller ones but there's plenty that lead into the Delta. Pretty good fishing in the delta.

It's a long drive, but if you're ever in the Fresno area hit me up and I can point you at some good spots in the Sierra's around here.
 
You will be Okay, its an awesome place on earth, just the politics and cost of living sucked for me. I grew up about 60 miles north of san jo. head north either up the coast or towards redding. the mendecino nat. forest has some great lil lakes to trout fish. the eel river, Klamath & the Sacramento up north of red bluff are also good for salmon and big trout. I never spent much time in the sierras south of lake Tahoe. but the entire northern part of the state is pretty nice with several wilderness areas. the yolla bolly and trinity alps wilderness are amazing places. in the north east is the warner mountains. Eagle lake has amazing trophy trout fishing. frenchmans resv and lake Davis are also very good. google earth the trinity alps and you will be impressed. best of luck
 
There's some beautiful places up here around Redding, already mentioned are the Trinity Alps and Yolly Bolla's. Another one you might want to check out is the Marble Mountain Wilderness. If your up this direction I'd definitely try and fish the Sacramento river around Redding. Some fantastic fly fishing. I've got a few friends with drift boats and also a friend of mine guides the river, get ahold of me and I can put you in touch with them.
 
colonel00 said:
So, unless things change drastically in the next couple of weeks, I'll be taking a 6 month gig living and working in the San Jose/Milpitas area. Luckily my company is picking up the housing costs because you people are crazy that live out there :D

Anyway, I'd love to hear suggestions of places to camp both nearby and within a decent drive for quick weekend trips. I'd like to find some good spots with dark skies for night photography but I imagine I will have to head east for a ways to find that. I'll also have my fly/tenkara rods and packrafts with me so if anyone has any suggestions of come good streams to fish or float, that would be great also.
Click to expand...

Check out the Ohlone Wilderness Trail and Henry Coe, lots of places to get lost within a stone's throw from SJ.
 
Henry Coe is a massive place I live about 50 min. South of San Jose in Hollister. About a 1/2 hour from me is pinnacles national park. It's an awesome place to get lost in. I highly recommend it
 
Straight up the coast into Mendocino Co will put you into some real good woods with alot of blacktail, bear, and some pigs.The Eel river is a nice big river with some fishing. MAJOR lyme ridden tick area and ALOT of poison oak. Use permethrin and DEET if traveling off trail in that region.
 
Though admittedly I haven't spent any time in Mendocino, I have never seen an area with more ticks and poison oak than the central coast. There's a hillside North of Hearst Castle on highway 1 we named 'tickzilla' after working there for a couple weeks. And definitley learn what poison oak looks like if you are going out in the hills of CA.

Great advice VH
 
I work in the same area. There are no dark skies within 4-5 hrs of the bay area. There are a few observatories a short drive from you. There are areas to backpack and camp nearby, but I do not find them interesting. Although, Henry Coe (suggested above) is ok. There are open spaces and parks everywhere for you to get training hikes or runs (local elevation ranges from -10 to 3500ish feet). I know a local Rokslider that fly fishes. I will ask him to shoot you a message.

Some close gun clubs:
Gun Range rifle pistol handgun shotgun firearms ammunition target bullseye shooting skeet trap clays San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Altos, Mountain View, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Fremont, San
Sunnyvale Rod and Gun Club | Cupertino, California
Home

Archery Ranges (and there are more not too much further away):
Bowhunters Unlimited
Black Mountain Bowmen Archery Club & Range
http://www.kingsmountainarchers.org/
http://www.redwoodbowmen.org/
http://mountmadonnabowmen.com/
 
Thanks. I've actually been debating whether I want to bring any firearms out here. Since this is only temporary (right now) and I'm not fully versed in California gun laws, I wasn't sure if it was worth it. However, it would be nice to be able to get out and shoot every so often. I might bring my bow but I don't have any plans for any bow hunts this year so it may just be an unnecessary item.

Talking about firearms, does anyone have a quick and dirty rundown of the laws I should be aware of? If I did bring anything out, at this time at least, it would be a hunting rifle or two and perhaps a handgun or two. One handgun would be a .44 magnum revolver which should be fine I think. What do I need to know about semiauto handguns?

On the dark skies, that's what I was finding as well. A cool site called Dark Sky Finder pretty much shows that I have to make it to Yosemite to get some decent skies.
 
Thanks again to everyone. I have a couple PM's from some people and I will be in contact. As it stands now, I fly home tomorrow and start the drive back mid week. I should be in place by next weekend and I'm sure I'll be itching to get out and do some stuff soon.

One thing I was thinking about was some recommended spots that I can throw up a tent very close by. My job is very dynamic so I can't always plan on having two full days off on the weekends. Thus, there might be weeks like this one where I end up working a portion of Saturday and may not have time for a a drive and a hike. Any nearby places worth checking out where maybe I'm just "car camping" but at least getting out and pitching a tent? Preferably not a crowded campground but anything will do I guess.

To anyone else, if you need an excuse to get away for a day or two to "help a new guy in town out and show him some spots", feel free to drop me a line :D

I should also add that as I look up some of the suggestions like the Henry Coe area, it seems you have to reserve sites well in advance. As mentioned above, some of these trips may be a bit spontaneous. I'm all for supporting the parks but paying for a site each time and not knowing exactly when I'd be able to get away may not be the easiest. I'd really love to find some spots where I can escape to on a whim while not violating any laws or park rules.
 
Last edited:
KMBH said:
I work in the same area. There are no dark skies within 4-5 hrs of the bay area. There are a few observatories a short drive from you. There are areas to backpack and camp nearby, but I do not find them interesting. Although, Henry Coe (suggested above) is ok. There are open spaces and parks everywhere for you to get training hikes or runs (local elevation ranges from -10 to 3500ish feet). I know a local Rokslider that fly fishes. I will ask him to shoot you a message.

Some close gun clubs:
Gun Range rifle pistol handgun shotgun firearms ammunition target bullseye shooting skeet trap clays San Francisco Bay Area, San Jose, Cupertino, Saratoga, Los Altos, Mountain View, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Sunnyvale, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Fremont, San
Sunnyvale Rod and Gun Club | Cupertino, California
Home

Archery Ranges (and there are more not too much further away):
Bowhunters Unlimited
Black Mountain Bowmen Archery Club & Range
http://www.kingsmountainarchers.org/
http://www.redwoodbowmen.org/
http://mountmadonnabowmen.com/
Click to expand...
Thanks for this list. Going to save this for reference and check out the archery ranges as soon as my release arrives.
 
check out lake del valle, brushy peak or sycamore grove in Livermore if you want to do a day hike. Or stay at a campground on the lake

Mt Diablo is also a good spot for a day trip.

Have you visited california before or do you have any interest in the more touristy spots?
 
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