• Yosemite National Park is one of hundreds of public campgrounds in California.Yosemite National Park image by Bobby4237 from Fotolia.com
  
  When it comes to camping on public land, few places in the world can match California. Featuring a wide variety of terrain, natural features and weather conditions, California has literally hundreds of public campgrounds that are either operated by the state or by the National Park Service. These campgrounds are located throughout the state and have their own distinctive characteristics.
  
  

Hollister Hills SVRA

• The Hollister Hills State Vehicular Recreation Area is situated near the Pacific Ocean and south of San Francisco. A big attraction at this public park is the fact it has two areas for off-highway vehicles (OHVs) with 86 miles of trails. The park also holds periodic motorcycle events. In these two areas are multiple campgrounds. The Upper Ranch OHV area has two sites for camping, while the Lower Ranch area has five. All of the campgrounds have flush toilets and drinking water, while one campground in each section is equipped with showers. There are no RV hook-ups at any of the camping sites. The park has a store that sells firewood.
  
  Hollister Hills SVRA
  7800 Cienega Road
  Hollister, CA 95023
  831-637-8186
  parks.ca.gov
  
  

Big Basin Redwoods State Park

• Situated 65 miles south of San Francisco, the Big Basin Redwoods State Park has both family and group camping sites. The park has 146 family campsites located in four campgrounds. All of the sites have picnic table and fire rings, and most of them have wooden storage cupboards. Piped drinking water, rest rooms and showers are found in all the campgrounds. There are no hook-ups for RVs, but the park does have dump stations. Visitors can also opt to stay on primitive tent sites or in cabins. Big Basin has a store across from the park headquarters that sells groceries and camping supplies. Next to the store is a gift shop with clothes, postcards and various souvenirs. The headquarters has a museum that helps guests learn about the redwood forests and wildlife in the area. Phones are also located next to the park headquarters.
  
  Big Basin Redwoods State Park
  21600 Big Basin Way
  Boulder Creek, CA 95006-9064
  831-338-8860
  parks.ca.gov
  
  

Yosemite National Park

• The world-famous Yosemite National Park has 13 separate campgrounds from which guests can choose. One of them is the Upper Pines Campground, which is located in the Yosemite Valley and near Curry Village. Situated at an altitude of 4,000 feet, the campground has 238 sites that can accommodate both RVs and tents. Each campsite has a fire ring, picnic table, and food locker. There are bathrooms with flush toilets and drinking water nearby. Showers and groceries are available at Curry Village and at the Housekeeping Campground. A dump station is also located at the Upper Pines Campground, which has three campsites that provide wheel chair access.
  
  Yosemite National Park
  P.O. Box 577
  Yosemite, CA 95389
  209-372-0200
  nps.gov