Sunset The Camping Issue 2021

It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, a lastminute road trip to a campsite a mere 30 miles from my house. I’d had my second shot, the skies were clear after a week of rain, and evening temperatures were in the delightful slumber-inducing low 50s. On the California Parks web site I found the last spot available in Malibu Creek State Park, possibly the closest cushiest campsite in the L.A. area. Here, between the coast and Calabasas—Kardashians notwithstanding—you can commune with herons, hawks, ground squirrels, and coyotes, amble through oak savanna, and wade a stream where steelhead trout swim. It was the sort of outdoor hard reset I needed. I closed my laptop, threw a steak in the cooler, and in an hour we were eating that steak in the quiet of nature,…

With camping at National Parks having been prohibited for most of last year, the pent-up demand will likely turn Recreation.gov’s booking calendar into a grid of x’d-out dates this summer. But all is not lost, thanks to these apps that can unlock access to private land throughout the West. For RVers rolling through wine country, Harvest Hosts (harvesthosts.com) lists bookable vineyards, some with hookups. The Van Life App (thevanlifeapp. com) caters to overlanders looking for safe private spots, site reviews, and community. Hip Camp (hipcamp.com) remains the go-to for tons of reviews and photography for scouting and booking private sites from afar.…

The wide-open spaces and natural grandeur of Colorado have made it a favorite destination for road-trippers easing out onto the highways this summer. Lucky for them, the state also happens to be home to some of the West’s best motels, a category of lodging that’s gained in popularity over the past year due to the simple fact that rooms open straight outside, giving guests easy access to fresh air. The Amigo Motor Lodge in Salida was one of the first movers in the motel revival and set the standard with its Tuft & Needle mattresses, subway-tiled bathrooms, and Malin+Goetz toiletries, and all-around cozy minimalism. The new LOGE Breckenridge caters to outdoor adventurers with its in-room hammocks and bike storage. In Pagosa Springs, choose from Motel SOCO, a one-stop crash pad…

Pamela Shamshiri, the founder of Los Angeles–based Studio Shamshiri is an unlikely camper. If you’ve seen her award-winning restoration of the Ace Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, glamorous Ojai retreats, or regal estates in California wine country, you’ll be forgiven for thinking she’s not the kind of person who chooses to sleep outside very often. But the Shamshiri glampsite is a thing to behold, a rustic-luxe, casbah-meets-Orvis immersive nature experience. There are sheepskins and kilims layered over Japanese camp chairs from Snow Peak and shish-kebab feasts prepared over portable gas stoves. Word of Shamshiri’s enthusiasm for getting outside traveled to Texino, an L.A.company that outfits Mercedes Benz camper vans. “We’re doing our first-ever custom-designed camper for Texino,” Shamshiri says of the collaboration, which will be released later this year. “It…

The California summer camp experience is just as deep and storied as its East Coast counterpart, but with a Western twist. Kids sleep on rustic open-air platforms at Jameson Ranch camp and feel the ocean breezes in the Santa Cruz mountains at Kennolyn Camps. They spend hours in the cold, clear water at Skylake in Yosemite, unplug at Farm Camp in off-grid coastal Sonoma style, or retreat to the remote woods at Bar 717 Ranch at the southern edge of the Cascade Range. When my kids returned from their first session at Farm Camp, after weeks spent feeding and caring for pigs and goats, gardening, hiking to the Pacific, and sleeping under the stars, they had acquired two distinctly Western traits: Their favorite camp meal was pozole, and they knew…

All Regions PLANT To extend the harvest, plant seedlings and seeds of the same vegetable (broccoli or lettuce, for example) on the same day. MAINTAIN Before adding plant waste to the compost pile, chop it up—or run over it with your power mower—to speed decomposition. Prune deciduous fruit trees as soon as they are done fruiting, to help keep trees smaller and fruit within reach. When planting annuals, pinch or prune off flowers and buds to direct all initial growth to the roots and help avoid transplant shock. PROTECT Spread a thick blanket of straw between plants in vegetable gardens to help prevent weeds and slow moisture loss. Water and turn the compost pile. It decomposes quickly in hot weather. Take preventive measures to protect your home from fires: Remove dead limbs and leaves from trees and shrubs. Cut tall…