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Schoolhouse Canyon…
11 reviews
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Category: Parks
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Casini Ranch
19 reviewsDuncans Mills, CA
Category: Parks
Camp Outback
Rating Details »
8 reviews for Camp Outback
I love to camp out and over the past few years, I've done so many times. From RWB beach just north of Santa Cruz to Burning Man to Mendocino County.
I love, love, love this place, Mike and Tracy are super cool. The showers are luxe! I love that there are no cars next to the camp sites. I love that Mike provides fire wood for the numerous fire pits. There is a new outdoor kitchen Mike just built and many more improvements to come. (zip line, hammock loft, additional walk in camping)
Maybe one day he'll even get flush toilets. But for $15 a night, I don't mind a porta pottie. I've never seen a camp ground with showers for me and 6 of my friends to use all at once!
And be sure to check out his Halloween Haunted House in October! This is one of the best haunted houses I've been to in my 41 years of life!
People thought this was:
- Cool (1)
We camped here for this past weekend and i must say had a blast! i agree, poison oak surrounds the place, every campsite and path. so be very careful!! as far as i know, no one has gotten it yet from our group. will keep you posted :)
a little pricey: $15 per person, no per camp price even if you have 20 people. there are two really amazing hot showers, firepits and picnic tables at each site and electricity to plug in your iPods.... but the porta potties were pretty much 'mountains' by the time we left, and we didn't even stay to camp on saturday night (doubt they were coming to clean them on a holiday since it was the 4th of July).
Mike and his family were very friendly and cool, and firewood always showed up right when we needed it. the place is shaded by beautiful tall trees and gets quite cold at night (i was freezing in the morning fog). the site is an old amusement park complete with abandoned roller coaster and water slide, so cool photo ops. also this time of year there are blackberry bushes EVERYWHERE filled with yummy berries. the campground location is very walkable right into town or to hang out in the river.
People thought this was:
- Useful (1)
Great place! Having showers that will never run out of hot water is amazing. Owners are friendly and the porta potties are a great idea as they get cleaned often (careful Sunday though). The trees and surroundings are very picturesque. Very close to town. You can't hike around the camp because of poison oak.
This will be a new favorite and I would definitely give it 4 1/2 stars. Your a 5 minute walk from town, but you'd never know it. The setting is beautiful and very good for large groups. The amusement park is so amusing/creepy that my brother convinced some friends traveling from Eureka to SF that they had to stop by just to check it out! I personally love the fact that they deliver firewood (Thanks Mike!!) The showers are amazing and the only reason I did not give 5 stars was the Port-a-Potties. Although they are a definite step up from vault toilets (yuck) they still got icky full due to the 3 day weekend. However, I think they would be more than passable if it wasn't a holiday. You can't beat it if you are looking for a nice campsite with the option of civilization nearby, if you want it.
This place has no flush toilets.
Think it over before you come near this place. Sure it has 4 beautiful redwood showers...so then why no toilets, just a couple rows of stinky portopotties?(and I wasn't even there on a particularly warm day) The people are nice, the woods picturesque, and the location is good, but I would never stay here again, especially when there are so many other options in the area.
I had one of my most bizarre camping experiences here last night, which included washing my contacts at a faucet and being woken up by a sheriff searching the camp for someone who had been yelling at 1am. For $15 per person (that's an outrageous $60 for one site and four campers) there is a huge disparity between what you would expect to get for your money and what this campground provides.
Miss Brenna,
Not having to buy firewood, yes that was a nice touch and I did appreciate Mike giving us the heads up that there were kids at the other end of the campsite. Congrats on your wedding, glad this place works for you and yours!
Tired of the usual jam packed, tent next to your car "campground"? Then you should check this place out. The hosts are incredibly accomodating and fun. They bring firewood to your camp for free! They will even light it for you! This place is by far one of the coolest camps around. I have met some amazing people there (sup brenna and dub), and have memories that will last a lifetime. This place kicks ass squared.
Forget KOA. Forget Samuel P. Taylor. And forget that other place with the kitschy little cabins. It's all about the Outback, baybee! A sweet, open-air (but private) shower. An abandoned amusement park. A huge Mutha of a BBQ made from a roller-coaster car. Come July, all the blackberries you can eat. And the coolest camp host EVAR (tell Mike that Mama Bear sent ya).
Much love to VanKleef's, but Outback is my *real* home away from home. I just wish I could give it a higher rating. Check it out online: http://www.thecampoutb...
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9/2/2008: Dear Amelia J.: Sorry to hear you won't be back, but that just means more hot water and Outbackberries for MamaBear =) I personally think that $15/person/night is a bargain for some of the happiest times of my life, and I'm more than happy to pay that knowing I'm supporting 1) a family-owned business, and 2) really, really cool people, so that I can look forward to many more happy times to come. And I love the freedom and comfort that I have Outback that I'd never have at a State campground with rangers breathing down my neck, and I know I'd *never* be able to burn art in a bonfire, have a drum circle, or wander around topless at state park. (I also know that Outback's never purposefully over-booked or will "lose" my reservation, forcing me to sleep in my car overnight in hopes that a site "might open up" the next day. Holla to the MF's at Salt Point!) And while I've had my share of pit toilets at both public and private campgrounds, Outback is one of the few camps I've stayed at where I didn't have to buy firewood or hope that I had a few quarters in the bottom of my bag for a hot shower. It's also nice that while it's family-oriented, there aren't packs of screaming kids running around that disinterested parents are ignoring (hello, Johnson's Beach!).
My partner and I are having our commitment ceremony (IE, non-state-recognized-wedding-type-event) here at the end of the month. It's beautiful up here in early fall, and I couldn't pick a better place to have my ceremony where I could have both room for the ceremony and following celebration, and also "lodging" for everyone that I want to invite (upwards of 150 people), AND be immediately where I plan on "honeymooning". Yes, it's a bit rustic and we'll need a few more porta-potties than usual, and we're gonna have to be creative with storing food beforehand, but I couldn't be more comfortable unless I was hosting this at my own home. I kinda feel like I'm having my wedding in my Uncle Mike's overgrown backyard. That homey-ness means a lot to me, and that's why I keep coming back. (OK, and a hot shower under the stars in the middle of the night is pretty sweet, too!)
I can't wait to be Outback again!
People thought this was:
- Useful (2)
I'd have given it five stars if only it had flush toilets instead of port-a-potties. Everything else is great at this camp. It's walking distance to the town, scenery is beautiful, Mike delivers firewood to your campsite and it's free, showers are great, you can walk to the river and enjoy the beach.
