I'll second that.  Most of the time when I was a kid we camped in the
Eastern Sierra, and I have continued the practice when possible.  U.S. Hwy.
395 mostly runs the backslopes of the Cascades and Sierras, and you can
easily cross over to the coast on a number of different routes once you get
in the L.A./Orange County vicinity.  Spectacular vistas.  Convict Lake is
beautiful.  As Jeff notes the Forest Service campgrounds that prevail are
low on fancy services (usually a water spigot somewhere and the pit toilets)
but make up for it with usually less crowds and beautiful views.  In
mid-summer it does get a bit crowded, mostly on the weekends, but I don't
think nearly as badly as the coast.

Donna, 87 Syncro

On Wed, Apr 30, 2008 at 12:34 PM, Jeffrey Olson <jjolson@gwtc.net> wrote:

> Check out the roadhaus reviews of campgrounds.  The east slope of the
> Sierra nevada have wonderful forest service campgrounds that don't have
> running water and have only pit toilets.  They're off dirt roads.  My
> favorite campground - traditional  - is at Convict Lake just south of
> Mammoth Lakes...
>
> Jeff Olson
>
>
> Don Hanson wrote:
>
> > You might also consider an inland route during one leg of your trip
> > south.
> > The east slope of the mountains along the west coast, gets much lighter
> > traffic and has some pretty nice areas.  Camping without reserving spots
> > is
> > not too difficult, if you  are able to get along without the
> > "Tourist/Motorhome/Phot-op/Campfire Program" style of amenity that many
> > think of when they go 'camping'.  Many public lands still allow the
> > public
> > to use them without fees, but be sure to take care of these areas if you
> > do
> > camp out in an "unstructured" spot like I almost always do.
> >  There are state parks in California along the coast, but these are
> > almost
> > always full of reserved campers in mid-summer,  so if you plan on
> > camping in
> > the more popular parts, you just have to reserve ahead or go "Private"
> > like
> > to a KOA or other commercial camp area.
> >  The Oregon coast is very crowded on weekends..unless the gas costs keep
> > some people home this summer.
> >  I like to travel using those Topo map Atlas books..DeLorme, etc.  They
> > have plenty of campsites and points of interest marked on the maps and
> > lots
> > of small back roads that are interesting alternatives to the main
> > routes..
> >  Don Hanson
> >
> >
> >
> >