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Viewpoints

DanaMite

DanaMite founder of Total Escape

Internet Pioneer

totalescape.com  – online since 1996

(before the dot com crash, before digital cameras, before GPS, before social media & way ahead of smartphones)

Sole creative force of Total Escape, Dana Williams left her 3D animation career to start living and working her dream job, online and off. Utilizing artistic talents, computer skills, a vast knowledge of the California landscape and a simple love of nature, to make it all come together for a killer web site called Total Escape.

27 years online means fresh content & updates every month; reworking web code every few years to keep up with various browsers, apps, maps, and wildfires.

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“travel agent to the back woods”

greenhouseLiving close to the earth with organic gardening and rural living, DanaMite strives to offer California residents, new-comers and visitors unique, local destinations, concentrating on the outdoors – well away from overcrowded, busy, urban cities and tourist traps. Total Escape can show you how to discover the secret, hidden spots on your public lands that the gov web sites will not even dare to mention.

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the independent source for California travel

NO CORPORATE sponsorshipCalifornia Camping Photos
No venture capital
No government subsidies
No annoying pop-up ads
No scripts chugging bandwidth
No membership needed

 

Decades without a television set lends plenty of time for studying terrain, topographic maps, GPS coordinates and thousands of photographs to compile more than 8000 pages on just California travel. Far from the daily grind of everyday life, DanaMite continues in educating the public about local travel, camping, family farms, organic cafes, outdoor recreation, respecting the land, responsible use of our resources & how to get more enjoyment out of weekend travels.

outdoor girls

Things that started Total Escape:

 

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YOUR SUPPORT keeps Total Escape going:

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Expert Camping Pro California
40+ years of documenting back roads of California, plus some Baja & Utah too!
utahlover
DanaMite loves Utah, almost as much as she loves California.
tejonpass
Tejon Pass “Cristo’s Umbrellas” art installation 1991. Photo copyright – Kevin Robinson

condor costume

Campgrounds

Ojai Camping

ozenavalley
Highway 33 Camping Ojai, California

Los Padres National Forest / Ojai District:

campground elev spots veg toilet water notes
Holiday Group Camp 2000′ 8 oaks vault creek group site
Middle Lion Campground 3150′ 8 oaks vault creek Rose Valley
Pine Mountain Camps 6650′ 6 pines vault no May-Nov
Reyes Peak Camp 7000′ 6 pines vault no May-Nov
Rose Valley Campground 3450′ 9 scrub vault creek Rose Valley Falls
Wheeler Gorge Campground 2000′ 73 oaks pit piped Matilija Creek
Launch @ Reyes Peak Trailhead

Los Padres National ForestNFS

see also –

middle lion campground
middle lion campground
Creek Camping Lion
Creek Camping @ Lion
Piedras Blancas
Coastal Foothills and Fog with Piedras Blanca backdrop

primitive camp sitesFREE CAMPING
additional NFS camps in the region:

Chumash Quatal Canyon
Chumash Wilderness access via Quatal Canyon

Open Camping in Quatal Canyon
Hwy 33 @ Ventucopa, California. OHV trails and red dirt canyons; Hike into Chumash Wilderness.

The main road parallels the big wash. Quatal Road #9N09 is graded (annually) and usually passenger car accessible; side routes to camps in the big wash or up any canyons may require high clearance or 4WD vehicle. No services in this canyon at all; Cell service is minmal. Gasoline is somewhere along the hwy (near a pistachio orchard).

Wilderness Areas along Hwy 33 –backpacking Los Padres

map of the Los Padres region –

Los Padres mountain towns –

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Rose Valley Falls has a small campground at the trailhead


Campgrounds, Lakes & Reservoirs

Ponderosa Flat Campground

Butt Lake California
Ponderosa Flats Campground

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Lake Camping NorCal

RV camping, tent camping, fishing, hiking, swimming, boat launch, handicap accessible.

Ponderosa Campground – PG&E Campground,  located 3 miles from Lake Almanor

Tucked away off the main drag of Plumas Hwy 89. North end of Butt Valley Reservoir on east shore. Turn off about 6 miles northwest of Lake Almanor Canyon Dam on Hwy. 89, take Butt Valley Road south for 3.2 miles.

Set in a Ponderosa Pine forest along the shores of Butt Lake, part of a system of reservoirs formed by hydro-electric dams managed by Pacific Gas & Electric.  Lake levels can change rapidly with minimal warning.

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Quiet lake in California: No water skiing, jet ski or race boats; only small motorized fishing boats.  Canoeing, kayaking and sail boating are also popular lake recreation. Off road areas nearby.

• Elevation: 4,150′
• Number of Sites: 63
• Camping Reservations: Yes
• Sites Available: Reservations; First come, First serve
• Vehicle Accessibility: Vehicle 32 ft. max. No RV Hookups
• Length of Stay: 14 Days
• Water: Piped; lake
• Toilet: Vault
• Season: Closed for winter, Nov-April
• Fee: Yes
• Operated By: PG&E
• Closest Town: Lake Almanor, CA

Pacific Gas & Electric
Almanor Ranger Station
916-386-5164

Ohio Valley Route
The alternate dirt road access thru Ohio Valley is graded dirt w/ rough roads that may require 4×4 or high clearance vehicles. RVs are not advised to travel this way.

nearby destinations –