Wilderness Camping Options Near San Fran Late March

[EngiNerd]

Calling Northern California Mustachians!  I'll be visiting San Fran in a couple of weeks with some friends and we decided to bring backpacking gear to camp back country one night.  I didn't realize that much of yosemite gets too much snow for backcountry camping.  Are there any other great, not really crowded outdoor and remote camping with say 3 hour drive of SF?  Would love to see some redwoods! 

[mustachianteacher]

I think you can choose between the Mendocino area and the Big Sur area if you want to keep it as close to SF as possible, but both will still be cold at night. Neither is really what I think when I hear the word "wilderness," but there's nothing similar to the Sierras outside of the state!

[ysette9]

First of all, I have to warn you that you'll get a friendly bum-kicking here for calling the city "San Fran". The locals allow the city to be called either "San Francisco" or "The City". Abbreviating "SF" in writing is also okay. :)

Now that we have that out of the way, if you are truly looking for back-country camping then I recommend Henry Coe state park. It is south of the bay area in the Morgan Hill area and is the biggest state park there is. It is a fantastic treasure for backpacking so long as you don't go in the summer/fall when it is hot and dry. This winter and spring it should be glorious with rolling green hills and very few people. Have fun!

[ysette9]

Point Reyes and Big Basin are both lovely. In fact, the Bay Area and surrounding area is just packed with fantastic hiking and camping spaces. This is one of the many great things about the area. Point Reyes and Big Basin will have more people than Henry Coe so it just depends on what type of experience you are looking for.

http://www.everytrail.com/guide/best-bay-area-backpacking <-- A quick search came up with this list of suggestions. I've been to every place except the Ohlone Wilderness Trail and can attest that all are lovely in their own way.

[Urchina]

I've never been, but Pinnacle National Park is just a couple of hours south of the Bay, and looks like it has fine camping and hiking (though perhaps not much backpacking), as well as quite a lot of rock climbing: http://www.nps.gov/pinn/index.htm