Over the past year I have had a lot of time to explore California and HipCamp is one of my go-to websites for finding really unique off the backcountry camping, car camping and Glamping experiences that are not listed anywhere else. As we kick off summer I wanted to share five unique camping and clamping trips I have take in California and everything that I packed with me to make them the most amazing experiences.

My hiking journey began more as an exploration of my backyard. I was fortunate enough to be raised in the countryside, on the western slope of a foothill - our front window looking out over the Canadian Rocky Mountains. My brothers and I would be locked out of the house and told to go, explore and play. We built tree-forts in the forest above our house, swam in dugouts intended for irrigation and roamed the quarter section our parents made our home as if we were explorers to a new land. My first hike, in contrast, was a steep scramble up the side of a loose mountain. Far out of my skillset; I had never heard the words “leave no trace” and if you count a handful of gummy bears form a gas station as nutrition, I may have one of the ten essentials. It took me years to learn the basics.