# California Camping Guide

> A curated, opinionated guide to the best camping in California. Built by two people who kept giving friends the same advice.

California Camping Guide is a curated editorial guide to the most incredible camping destinations in California. Not a database. Not a directory of every site in the state. Just the places we think are genuinely worth your time — from Big Sur to Joshua Tree, the Lost Coast to the Eastern Sierra.

## What California Camping Guide Does

- **Recommends the best campgrounds** at 24 California destinations with curated picks for every shelter type
- **Explains the camping landscape** through 11 topic guides (free camping, reservations, dogs, families, stargazing, glamping, seasonal)
- **Compares destinations** head-to-head for trip planning (Big Sur vs Yosemite, Joshua Tree vs Death Valley, NorCal vs SoCal)
- **Shows current conditions** with weather, tides, sunrise/sunset, and seasonal context on every destination page
- **Cites its math** — a Bayesian scoring methodology that is published, not hidden

## Features

- 24 destination guides spanning the coast, Sierra, desert, and far north
- 11 topic guides covering the questions that come up most
- 3 head-to-head destination comparisons
- Interactive California overview map with destination pins and park boundaries
- Live weather conditions via Open-Meteo on every destination page
- Tide data via NOAA for coastal destinations
- Wildlife observations via iNaturalist
- Global search with fuzzy matching (⌘K / Ctrl+K)
- Dark mode, installable PWA, iOS splash screens

## Coverage

- 24 destinations across every region of California
- 9 national parks: Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Redwood, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles, Channel Islands
- 6 regions: Wine Country, Gold Country, Eastern Sierra, High Sierra, Central Valley, Central Coast
- 3 coastal stretches: Big Sur, Lost Coast, Mendocino
- 1 state park: Anza-Borrego
- 1 wilderness area: Mount Shasta
- 11 topic guides and 3 destination comparisons
- Curated campground picks informed by thousands of reviews, tagged across 23 categories

## Methodology

Every pick is backed by a published methodology, not a gut feeling. We read 14,608 Hipcamp reviews and 1,604 public-land reviews, applied Bayesian adjustment so small-sample 4.9 ratings don't beat large-sample 4.6 ratings, and normalized demand by shelter type so the best tent campground isn't dragged down by its RV numbers. The full writeup lives at /about/methodology.

## Tech Stack

- Next.js 16 with React 19 — Framework
- Tailwind v4 — Styling
- Vercel — Hosting and deployment
- Porkbun — Domain registration
- MapLibre GL, OpenStreetMap, CARTO — Maps
- Open-Meteo — Weather data
- NOAA — Tide data
- iNaturalist — Wildlife observation data
- Hipcamp — Private-land campground data and reviews
- Google Analytics — Aggregate pageview analytics
- BN Axel Grotesk, BN Pelican Script, Lydian Bold — Typography
- Figma — Design
- Warp — Development
- Notion — Documentation
- Linear — Project management
- Claude — AI assistant

## Authors

California Camping Guide was created by Julian Bialowas and Daniel Tomko.

Julian Bialowas is a Canadian-American designer and photographer. He designs at Hipcamp, operates publicarchive.studio, and has spent years documenting the wild edges of California. His work has been featured by Apple, the App Store Editors, Outside Magazine, Chronicle Books, and Gestalten Books. He has collaborated with AllTrails, Subaru, REI, MEC, GFC, Airstream, Huckberry, The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, and Eddie Bauer.

Daniel Tomko is a data analyst at Hipcamp with an instinct for finding the spots that are worth the drive. He authored the methodology behind the guide's 84 picks.

## Origin Story

California Camping Guide started because two people at Hipcamp kept giving friends the same camping advice over and over. This is that advice, organized — a reworking of the 1970s California State Parks pocket guides, reimagined for the screen.

## Navigation

- [Homepage](https://californiacamping.guide)
- [About](https://californiacamping.guide/about)
- [Methodology](https://californiacamping.guide/about/methodology)
- [Design](https://californiacamping.guide/about/design)
- [Contact](https://californiacamping.guide/contact)
- [Terms of Use](https://californiacamping.guide/terms)
- [Privacy Policy](https://californiacamping.guide/privacy)
- [Credits](https://californiacamping.guide/credits)
- [Sitemap](https://californiacamping.guide/sitemap.xml)

## Destinations

Every destination has its own page with curated picks, a map, live weather, and editorial context:

- `/destinations/yosemite` — Yosemite National Park
- `/destinations/sequoia` — Sequoia National Park
- `/destinations/kings-canyon` — Kings Canyon National Park
- `/destinations/death-valley` — Death Valley National Park
- `/destinations/joshua-tree` — Joshua Tree National Park
- `/destinations/redwood` — Redwood National Park
- `/destinations/lassen-volcanic` — Lassen Volcanic National Park
- `/destinations/pinnacles` — Pinnacles National Park
- `/destinations/channel-islands` — Channel Islands National Park
- `/destinations/anza-borrego` — Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
- `/destinations/big-sur` — Big Sur
- `/destinations/lost-coast` — Lost Coast
- `/destinations/mendocino` — Mendocino
- `/destinations/lake-tahoe` — Lake Tahoe
- `/destinations/eastern-sierra` — Eastern Sierra
- `/destinations/high-sierra` — High Sierra
- `/destinations/mount-shasta` — Mount Shasta
- `/destinations/wine-country` — Wine Country
- `/destinations/gold-country` — Gold Country
- `/destinations/central-coast` — Central Coast
- `/destinations/central-valley` — Central Valley
- `/destinations/sf-bay-area` — SF Bay Area
- `/destinations/los-angeles` — Los Angeles
- `/destinations/san-diego` — San Diego

## Topic Guides

- `/guides/free-camping-california` — Free Camping in California
- `/guides/reservation-guide` — How to Actually Get a Reservation
- `/guides/camping-with-dogs` — Camping with Dogs
- `/guides/family-camping` — Family Camping
- `/guides/last-minute-camping` — Last-Minute Camping
- `/guides/glamping-guide` — Glamping in California
- `/guides/stargazing-camping` — Stargazing Camping
- `/guides/spring-camping` — Spring Camping
- `/guides/summer-camping` — Summer Camping
- `/guides/fall-camping` — Fall Camping
- `/guides/winter-camping` — Winter Camping

## Comparisons

- `/compare/big-sur-vs-yosemite` — Big Sur vs Yosemite
- `/compare/joshua-tree-vs-death-valley` — Joshua Tree vs Death Valley
- `/compare/northern-vs-southern-california` — Northern vs Southern California

## Contact

- General, press, support: hello@californiacamping.guide
- Julian Bialowas: julian@californiacamping.guide
- Daniel Tomko: daniel@californiacamping.guide
- Full contact page: https://californiacamping.guide/contact