The Town Square in NorCal's Arcata

You’ve heard the saying for decades that the “busiest shopping day of the year, if the Friday after Thanksgiving”. This one particular day dubbed “Black Friday” (for all the media to expand upon), is just another perfect day to travel in California. Think of how uncrowded the rest of the state will be.

• drive the open roads
• escape the madness at the malls
• discover new destinations

Black Friday in California

Black Friday sales California can be found at every mall in the urban areas and the big cities. Or you might try a different approach to holiday shipping and visit unique, village shops in the small towns – while vacationing too. Book a local lodge for a few nights and make a whole weekend outta it. These small mom and pop businesses really need your dollars more than ever and they will appreciate your patronage.

Black Friday Vacation

Escape the hustle and bustle this holiday season and head for the hills. If you are hard up for ideas, than this site is the perfect spot for you. We only feature local road trips for California – and all outdoor recreation. No airfare, no rental cars, no worries… we have you covered. Hike the local mountains, bike the coastal trails, fish the biggest river, off-road the nearest OHV park, soak in a desert hot springs, or explore the giant redwood grove.

Use the menus to the left here to find something new. Or better yet, check out the Cali A to Z list for an alphabetized list of all destinations.

Northern Gold Country Shopping

California River Maps

There are many gorgeous rivers in California that are perfect for camping and fishing, but none are located in Southern California. None! Yep, you read that right. If you think about it, Cali is half desert! The majority of our natural water in our state is coming from the north – so take this as a warning: you might need to drive a few hours to find your ideal river camp.

The easy-to-access waterways are found mostly along highways in the Sierra Nevada – or way up in NorCal. Deep granite gorges carved out by glaciers, surrounded by forested peaks is only half the appeal. High elevation lakes, waterfalls, big trees, abundant wildlife, and the alpine villages are all part of the Sierra Nevada experience.  Raft, kayak, fly fish, hike, bike or just camp out next to a big, rushing, flowing river. Our selection of California maps will get you narrowed down to a specific region, so you can find that perfect river campground, or explore and discover the back roads – for the most seclusion.

NorCal Rivers:

EEL RIVER
KLAMATH RIVER – Klamath NF Map
MATTOLE RIVER
NAVARRO RIVER
6 RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST
RUSSIAN RIVER
SALMON RIVER
SMITH RIVER Recreation Map
TRINITY RIVER – Trinity NF Map

Sierra Rivers:

AMERICAN RIVER – El Dorado NF Map
FEATHER RIVER Recreation Map
FEATHER RIVER – Plumas NF Map
CONSUMNES RIVER – Stanislaus NF Map
KERN RIVER – Sequoia NF Map
KINGS RIVER – Sierra NF Map
KINGS RIVER – Kings Cyn NP
MERCED RIVER – Sierra NF Map
MERCED RIVER – Yosemite NP
MOKELUMNE RIVER – El Dorado NF Map
OWENS RIVER – Inyo NF Map
STANISLAUS RIVER – Stanislaus NF Map
S YUBA RIVER Recreation Map
YUBA RIVER – Tahoe NF Map

LOCAL TIPS

KERN: The Kern River is the most popular of all the rivers due to it’s proximity to SoCal. Hurried, stressed-out, Angelinos can be at this destination in under 3 hours which makes it a very busy place in summer months. So, let it be told, that summer is not the best time to enjoy the Kern. If you do plan a summer outting, make sure you head for the Upper Kern (10+ mi N of Kernville) or the North Fork of the Kern (out in Monache Meadows) where 4×4 is often needed. The Lower Kern River has only 2 developed campgrounds: Hobo (closed for winter) and Sandy Flat (open all year). Numerous primitive camp spots are available along Old Kern Canyon Rd, which paralells the Hwy 178 on the south side. Fire danger is great in this area, so pay extra close attention to signs and fire restrictions.

YOSEMITE: Take note, this is the most popular park in the whole state. The majority of campers want to stay right on the river when they visit Yosemite National Park, but that is just plain old impossible, since reservations go fast and there is only so much room for everyone in this enclosed, narrow, precious valley. This particular park has some major floods (recently 1997 & 2005) that wipe out bridges, the road ways, all the old wooden cabins (at Yosemite Lodge) are gone and only half of the campgrounds are still available. Yosemite has had 11 winter floods since 1916 that have caused substantial damage to property.

3 Yosemite Campgrounds are located next to the Merced River (inside Yosemite Valley)

• Lower Pines Campground
• North Pines Campground
• Upper Pines Campground

Way up in the Yosemite high country (which is only open a few months outta the year) the Tuolumne Meadows Campground is located next to Tuolumne River.  All these campsites must be reserved well in advance!

USGA topo maps California

Tahoe Topo Atlas

The United States Geological Survey team has been working hard since 1897 to research and create the maps you might need to enjoy the great outdoors. Government produced maps include – USDA, NFS, USGS

California Mountains Maps
Topo Maps CA
River Maps California

California National Forest maps, Wilderness maps, Topographical atlas

The USGS is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology, geography, geology, and hydrology.

• Map Wilderness
  a selection of wilderness areas and recreation routes
• National Forest Maps
  all individual California National Forest maps
• Regional Map Sets
  bundled map packages for specific region in CA
• CA Map Topo Atlases
  spiral book of topographical data plus satellite images in CA NF
• Recreational Maps California
  detailed maps for popular peaks, parks, rivers & forests

Dome Lands Wilderness

Interesting California map links -
Recent Earthquakes CA & NV
USGS.gov
Science In Your Backyard: California
Topographic Maps of California
Broer Map Library – California

Sequoia Map, #1 seller on Total Escape

MOUNT ABEL, California

So many misspell Abel like Able, its a wonder anyone can find this place.

But what a nice find it is! Camp O Alto Campground, among the giant trees. RV friendly

Cerro Noroeste / Mt Abel / Noroeste Peak
Los Padres mountains, camping on the back roads, mountain biking, hiking, exploring. This gorgeous 8286′ mountain peak sits just to the west of Mount Pinos @ 8831′ (the tallest peak in Kern County). Home of the Jesus Tree, the best sunset spot for miles and the infamous motorcycle road out west, this mountain is one of the lesser known in Southern California. Oddly shaped, Jefferey and Ponderosa pines towering above have their tops stunted and enormous branches hanging down. Maybe from lightning strikes, or maybe from a historic Tejon earthquake that snapped them?

Camp-O-Alto is the official name of this primitive open, FREE campground. First come basis. This place is a perfect option B, instead of the busier Mt Pinos Recreation Area that is located to the east. RV campers love this camp, as there is plenty of room to spread out in between the sites. There is also a large group site at the west end of the campground – available to whomever can grab it first, but you must have a large group to utilize this spot.

Just south of Apache Saddle, there is a faded, large sign that reads Westside Park, but this is the only reference we can find and no one locally calls this mountain by this name. The Cerro Noreste Road gate (near Camp Condor), closes seasonally for winter snow and rock slides.

Once you are past this gate & start climbing from the saddle, there is a great viewpoint a few miles up on the right side, overlooking red dirt beauty of Quatal Canyon. You can see the mountains out near the coast, as well as the high desert, natural wash on the left side and the faint graded dirt road paralleling it to the right side, all mixed up amongst the pinyons & junipers. The Chumash Wilderness is on the left side.

DIRECTIONS TO MOUNT ABEL:

To get here from Interstate 5, exit Frazier & head west, thru Frazier Park, thru Cuddy Valley, turn right on Mil Potrero Hwy (forest road #9N05) & past the golfing community of Pine Mountain Club; continue west to Apache Saddle. At this intersection, turn left on to Cerro Noroeste (#9N25) & drive 10 miles to the top of the mountain.

To get here from Hwy 166, take the Cerro Noroeste Road turn off just east of Hwy 33. Continue 20-something miles up to Apache Saddle ranger station. At this intersection, turn right on to Cerro Noroeste (#9N25) & drive 10 miles to the top of the mountain.

Los Padres Trail # 21W03 / Chumash Wilderness

Hiking Trails / Mountain Bike SoCal

This area is very popular among mountain bikers and sunset seeking couples. The “Peak to Peak” hike is an all day adventure of 6.5 miles, that should be planned well in advance – with another shuttle car at the Pinos parking lot. This is a moderately, strenuous hike that can take up most of the day – with awesome views over the San Joaquin Valley, Lockwood Valley, Pine Mountain Village and San Emigdio range. The area located in between Pinos & Abel is called the Chumash Wilderness.

Map of California Baja: New Baja Almanac 2009

BAJA MEXICO MAP

After a very long and grueling wait of 4 years, the mysterious Landon Crumpton has finally resurfaced with the much anticipated new version of his very popular Baja Almanac. Now is the time for claiming your copy, as they are in limited quantities and these puppies might not last long.

The Total Escape crew has been using this amazing topo map for Baja Mexico since the very first versions in the early 1990’s.

The publisher disappeared, to work on 2nd edition and compile the Sur & Norte into one solid booklet, even more popular and sought after than the first one. Total Escape sold thousands of copies of the 2000 edition and ran out in early 2006. Then he disappeared again and no one has heard a peep until last week:

NOV 1, 2009, a mass email was sent out by the Vegas publisher & we quickly jumped to restock our supplies.

The new version is much larger than before measuring nearly 11″ wide x 16″ high.
Scale is 1″ = 5.5 miles

CLICK HERE TO ORDER Baja Maps from Total Escape