Camping with limited time can be a pain, but sometimes you want to get out of the city even just for a night, which is how we found the wonders of Lake Sonoma. Just two hours from the city, its easily manageable for a Saturday-Sunday jaunt and you get a lake thrown in as well. What makes the place really neat is that they have boat-in only campsites accessible only by water (hence the "boat-in only" part) that are totally secluded except for the two or three other sites in the cove. So if you got a group together you could feasibly take over an entire cove or stretch of land. Or, if you're like us and go before the summer rush, you could end up with the whole area just for yourself. Of course you have to get out there, but that's where the adventure (and the marina comes in). They've got everything from kayaks to motor boats and you can rent them on a daily or hourly basis. We decided to Lewis and Clark it.
Did I mention there are spots right along the water?
Don't think they get many visitors until the weather heats up and the kids get out of school. Nice and mellow while we were there and (though the water was too cold for much more than toes) I did get to hang out in a bikini all day with only chipmunks to gawk at my whiter shade of pale.
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Want to row, row, row your boat? Created and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lake Sonoma offers all manner of nature-y entertainment from fishing and swimming to hiking and horse-ing and I'm sure a few more things in between. All the campgrounds, except the group stuff are on a first-come-first-served basis and when we were there that didn't seem to be a problem at all. Lots of sites are boat or hike-in only and if you can do either of those you'll probably end up with much more seclusion and space. From San Francisco it's a straight shot up the 101 north to Healdsburg and then a short but very pretty drive west through wine country along Dry Creek Rd to the park's headquarters where you can gather info and pick an available site.