Top 6 Beginner Backpacking Trips in California
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Top 6 Beginner Backpacking Trips in California
Sometimes, a backpacking trip is a medicine that you didn’t know that you needed. As modern humans with a firm reliance on technology, it seems that we have lost touch with our screen-free ancestors. Sometimes, however, those instincts and urges come creeping back, and some modern humans do strange things such as wander into the Alaskan wilderness only to die in an old school bus. The untamed wild still holds an appeal, perhaps even more so because of our recent disconnect from it. What most people fail to realize is that California is a haven for awesome beginner backpacking trips!
When you are backpacking, nature suddenly takes a much more active role in your life. While on the trail, you must bend to the rules of the earth, rather than physically mastering it with asphalt and steel. It is beautiful to release this impulse for control, and to let the world exist in its original form. It is a relief to let yourself be formed to the world, rather than letting it form to you.
What better place to achieve this rebirth than in the wilds of California?
The wilderness— contrary to a popular belief spread by shows like Survivor where the contestant knows how to survive with a piece of string and a five-inch multitool— is accessible to adventures of all levels of experience. This article goes over the best backpacking trips in California for beginners.
Generally, a beginning backpacker will evaluate the appropriateness of their hike choice based on the following factors:
- Access to civilization. How far is help if something were to go wrong?
- Access to water. Finding water can be one of the most stressful parts of backcountry hiking.
- Physical difficulty of hike.
- Popularity of hike. If the hike is popular, there is the downside to having to share the trail with the general population, but the upside of having human support and contact immediately available.
- Do you have to make your own, is there a campground, or are there established sites?
- How difficult is it to get a permit?
Extremes in any of these categories can categorize the hike as easy or difficult. To make your job of picking an appropriate hike for a beginner backpacker easier, we have compiled a list of the best backpacking routes in California for the beginning backcountry hiker.
#1 - Point Reyes
If you’re worried about the physicality of backpacking, cease and desist, because this hike is only four miles long round-trip. You will need a permit, however, for this short and fun-filled trek. Located on the Point Reyes National Seashore, the quintessential Coast Camp spot is incredibly popular and sometimes the permits can be claimed for months in advance. Part of the appeal may be the vault toilets, water spigots, food lockers, and BBQ pits, but more likely it is the coastal beauty and accessibility of this adventure. For the duration of this entire trek, you will only be about an hour away from civilization. This adventure is great to build and flex those trip-planning muscles!
Once there, you can swim, observe wildlife, go on little exploratory hikes of the surrounding area, or fish. The area boasts everything from caves to waterfalls, so even the most unenchanted city slicker will fall in love with this easy coastal getaway.
#2 - Barker Valley
This destination in the Palomar Mountains in the Cleveland National Forest in the San Diego County presents a wonderful opportunity to escape the city for a weekend. The distance is about 6.5 miles, which translates to an easy three hours of hiking with about one thousand feet of elevation gain. The San Luis Rey River cuts through the valley, which simultaneously ensures access to drinking water and places to cool off. Even though you can cool off in some watering holes, the recommended seasons for hiking this trail are fall, winter, and spring. It simply gets too hot in summer.
You will need to get a permit for this hike. However, once you get down into the valley, you can choose any flat site that you wish. The river is waiting for you to splash your toes and fill your water bottles. The meadows and tall trees and ample bushes are the main draw of this hike. As if that weren’t enough, this trail does permit dogs.
#3 - Trans-Catalina Trail
You won’t need planes, trains, or automobiles, but you will need a boat to get to this quintessential Californian hike. A ferry goes to Avalon on Catalina Island from San Pedro, Long Beach, Newport Beach, or Dana Point; or you can take a ferry from San Pedro to the island town of Two Harbors. The length of this hike is almost 40 miles with an elevation gain of 9,600 feet, though that number may be a bit higher if you have to circle back to take the ferry out of the same harbor, rather than starting at Avalon and ending at Two Harbors.
There is water available at all the campsites, which you will need to reserve ahead of time (but the permit for this hike is free!). The appeals of this hike are obvious: it’s easy to get to, yet still far away enough for it to feel like an utterly new world. You get to camp on the beach at Parson’s Landing Campground. This island is known for its sightings of bald eagles, bison, and the Catalina Island fox. Oh, yeah, and the ocean views on all sides will take your breath away.
#4 - Half-Dome in Yosemite National Park
This iconic trip is about fifteen miles long. While it is astonishingly easy in terms of logistics, make sure that you bring your courage for climbing the cables; this maneuver of using cables to climb up wooden planks can be thrilling, to say the least.
You will need the Half-Dome permit and a backpacking permit for this hike, but logistic difficulties end there. Your basecamp will be at the Little Yosemite Valley Campground, not only featuring water and toilets, but also lockers to put your backpack in to protect it from bears. The recommended way to do this trip is to reserve two days at this campground. This way, you can hike in the first day, summit Half-Dome the second day, and then hike out the third day.
The best part? Everything. Absolutely everything. From the views, to the people, to the ease of camping, to the adrenaline-sparking adventure of climbing the cables, this hike is often a trip that gets people addicted to backpacking.
#5 - Sykes Hot Springs
This wonderful hike combines the passion of backpacking with the typical California love of swimming. The Sykes Hot Springs are in the Ventana Wilderness, which became protected in 1969. Around that time, the small, warm pools became the ‘groovy’ place to hang out. It is right next to the Big Sur River, so you don’t need to worry about access to water except for the eight miles that you spend hiking along the ridge. The hike is 20 miles round trip, starting from the Big Sur Ranger Station to the hot springs themselves. Campsites are scattered all around the river as you approach the springs.
This hike is good for beginners because of its relatively easy access to civilization, its proximity to water, and its popularity. On weekends, the springs are flooded with hikers. Like most natural hot spring destinations, this makes for one big party.
The perk to this longer hike is that you get to relax in the hot springs at the end of the day. Clothing is optional, of course.
#6 - The Lost Coast Trail
To begin, this hike is a through-hike from Mattole Beach to Shelter Cover of around 25 miles, which means that you will need a shuttle. Over the course of these 25 miles, however, there is almost no elevation gain, unlike the undulating climbs of the Trans-Catalina Trail. You will need a permit for this wonderful ocean-side trail in the King Range National Conservation Area, which makes the experience a little sweeter for all that not everyone has access to it. Don’t spend too much time worrying about being able to get a permit; California’s enviable climate ensures that you can conquer this trail almost any time of year. Water is also readily available via streams every few miles or so.
The isolation on this hike, though something to consider when deciding whether it is the right choice for you, can be part of the appeal. On a few of the beaches, the only thing that you will hear is the crunching of your boots on the rocks and the sounds of the waves. Prepare to get to know yourself and the coast of California on a whole new level after this trek!
Top 6 Beginner Backpacking Trips in California - Conclusion
California is a huge state, and it is riddled with backpacking trips perfect for the beginner and expert alike. Once you start out with these beginner routes, you will be ready to tackle the meatier routes that really take you into the backcountry.
Trust us. A healthy dose of nature is what you need.
If you’re looking for more outdoor destinations, check out our articles “Best Bay Area Backpacking Destinations” as well as “5 of the Best Adirondacks Backpacking Loops“. Happy traveling!
