California Camping, Outdoor Vacations, Road Trip Ideas, Maps

Total Escape is California, off the beaten path

Escape to the deep snow in the Sierra Nevada, the flowing rivers of Gold Rush Country, or south of the border. Baja California Mexico with secluded beaches, hot springs, remote canyons, petroglyphs, wildflowers. Outside in nature, as much as possible.

We are loosing gorgeous forests annually. More so than ever before. We really are living in a new paradigm. Take this into account when choosing a vacation destination in a burn scar, or dreaming of a rural retirement home, a mountain cabin or a modern homestead. Winter snow, plus heavy logging activity, truck traffic, haz-mat teams and wildfire cleanup. Reforestation and rebuilding will take decades. See the areas affected by wildfires.

#totalescape

Rural California Directory: Now that you've found this independent California resource, you can discover more local destinations online. Find your own rural place, a home way up in the hills, or just a good camp spot for the night. Discover that perfect desert spot for winter camping, petroglyphs, or the best small town museums. We list it here, all outdoors, all local. Travel the back roads of the west, on the cheap. Camp year round, without the fees, from Baja to Shasta. Find secluded spots. Historic, independent inns to remote yurt resorts, yoga weekends to primitive hot springs, RV resorts, or dispersed camp sites. Hiking trails, kayaking lakes, fishing streams, gold mines and ghost towns, and all the topographic maps to go with.

all local: updated monthly

ancient: 25 years online!

We're still here, thousands of pages and decades later. Way outside the city limits, beyond the county line. No wifi, no smart meters, no gaming addictions, no traffic lights, no city noise. Rural living in California still exist. Hike on the weekends, bike to work, boating mid-week, we have you covered for destinations. Find a new boulder garden, a big waterfall, trailhead or an ancient lava cave. Total Escape - Two whole decades online. Not quite obsolete.

Craving the Wild? Before the tweets, the constant memes and paralysis of our current culture, DanaMite started this travel web site way back in 1996. Catchy phrases like, FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) did not yet exist.

Total Escape features abundant real photos of real places. Secluded destinations, camping and lodging, examining the best back roads, side routes, the topo maps (to get you out there). Locals-only travel tips, gear reviews, festivals and events. This unique travel site is updated every month, for the past 25 years!

Juicy content specific only to California. Focusing on outdoor destinations, small towns and budget-minded travel since 1996, we've recreated the weekend getaway - without the crowds. Escape the matrix, the city life, the traffic jams and learn how to avoid the tourist traps. Drive on past the factory outlet malls and the water slides, we've got much more to show you. Way out there, on the back roads, and in the backcountry.

Wilderness in California - more nature, less people.