Tent Talk

Mather Campground is the main campground on the West Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, located right outside Grand Canyon Village. With over 300 sites, Mather is one of the biggest campgrounds we’ve been to, but it’s usually full every single night, and is open year-round. We’ve already been to Mather twice, once in the heart of winter and again in the peak of summer. This review will focus on what the campground is like in the summer, but check out the video below of our winter trip, where we stayed the first night at Mather before backpacking through the canyon. As you can see, the campground is open year round, although there are only a few loops open during the winter months. The campground sits at just a few hundred feet below 7,000ft., so prepare for biting cold and snow in the winter, with more moderate summer temperatures usually around the 70-80’s. The main attraction here is tent camping. RV’s are welcome, but there are no hookups inside the campground, although Trailer Vill

We posted part 1 & 2 of this same video months and months ago from Thomas  & I's hike into the Grand Canyon. We're proud to present the full version here with a lot of new edits and modifications since those first two versions!

A Grand Canyon Winter Adventure The Chronicle  Written by: Thomas Berry ---            I left Phoenix around nine in the morning, throwing my pack and boots in the back of my Jeep. Already late, I had a stop at Target and then a good three hours of driving ahead of me to make it up to the park by twelve. At Target I grabbed an insulating layer jacket on sale for thirty-five bucks, then changed into my long johns and snow pants in the parking lot, slipping my wool socks over the thin polyester of the white base layer before pulling my boots tightly over the socks. Fifteen minutes later I was heading north on the I-17, mentally as well as physically unprepared for the four days to come.            The drive to the rim was a long one. Nearly two hours down the I-17 and the scenery had transformed into something only out of winter. Desert became snow. The highway became ice. Even my Jeep had changed in line with the weather, its engine shivering and coughing thro

Well, it’s been a pretty hectic last couple of months, but it’s almost spring break, and for many of us in Arizona and Southern California that means one thing – Havasu. If you’ve never been to  Havasu for spring break , you’re simply missing out (just do a google search, pictures are always better than words). However, Havasu is actually a great destination year round, and  Lake Havasu State Park  is the go-to campground. Here’s our latest review from our recent stay in December of 2013. If you’re looking for primitive boat-in campgrounds around the lake,  here’s a list  of both BLM and AZ State Park managed sites. If you haven’t been to Lake Havasu State Park recently, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the changes that have been made. Arizona State Parks have just completed a total renovation of the campground, mainly installing new electric boxes and running water at each campsite as well as completing a new nature trail (check out a great article on the upgrades from the golakehava

Serrano Campground is a beautiful year-round campground nestled right by the shore of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino National Forrest. Run by California Land Management, Serrano is only 10 minutes away from (the city of) Big Bear Lake and 15 from The Village at Big Bear. This is one of the few campsites that remains open year round, and is a very popular destination for its proximity to the water and the East Drive Boat Launch, as well as the trailhead of the popular Cougar Crest Trailhead. Check out the Vlog below to check out a running video compilation of our stay! As you can see in the video, Serrano is designed in harmony with the pine trees and has very spacious sites. It has 98 tent sites and 30 full hookup sites. There is a 2-day minimum stay on weekends, 3 days if it's a holiday weekend. It's $28 per night for just a single site, with a $5 charge for an extra car. A double site is $56; check the map below for the few double sites throughout the campground. For