Help needed on California campsites....

Hello everyone. A group of friends, 15 of us, are looking to go camping somewhere in California. Last year we went to Zion Ponderosa and it was great because we had a private campsite which allowed us to stay up late and not disturb those who sleep early at regular campsites.

This year we wanted to go somewhere near a body of water, either a ocean or lake, and have a similar seclusion as we did last year. When we were in Utah we initially stayed at a regular campground but were relocated the private campground because apperantly we were a bit too loud, didn't realize that quiet time started at 9 pm. I am asking if anyone here can recommend a beautiful private campground near a body of water in the West Coast. We live in Las Vegas and would like to keep the drive under 6 hours. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance. -Seven

Hello and welcome to the RTA forums !

With only a small number of regular contributors to the forums, it is unlikely that you will get the answer you are looking for, [but you never know !!] so I thought I would just say Hi, and good luck with your search.

It's nice that you realise the needs of other campers, and respect the quiet time that most go away for, as someone who uses campgrounds, I appreciate it.

I know exactly what you mean - the kind of campsite you are describing is about perfect for me. When camping, especially with my friends, I like to stay up late talking, drinking, maybe playing some guitar without having to worry about disturbing others.

The problem with your request is that those sorts of sites can be hard to find in the best case - but when you've got such a large group and you want to be right by a body of water, that's going to increase the difficulty level of finding such a place rather significantly. I can't think of any place specifically that I've been in that area that would fit all of your needs.

Since your group is of significant size - one thing you might look at is to find "Group Camping" sites in state parks. These often times are set pretty far away from the rest of the campers and you wouldn't have to worry as much about restrictions. Otherwise, you should probably grab a campground guidebook and just start calling around to a bunch of private facilities and see if they have what you are looking for.

I figured it would difficult to find such a location. Thank you for your responses.