Living in Los Angeles can drive you up the wall and the traffic alone can be more stress than you can deal with. After being in the city for a while I find that the only thing that will keep me sane is to get out of town. Camping was something that I had always enjoyed when I was a kid so I figured why not. Here is a quick rundown on some on the camping information I found.

Southern California has the advantage of being entirely coastal and also features long mountain ranges, large forests and expansive deserts. Making a choice of which area you are interested in can be difficult and there are campgrounds in almost all of them. Joshua Tree national park for example is an amazing choice if you are looking to spend some time in the desert. Joshua Tree was named so for the Joshua Trees that grow there in abundance and has some gorgeous landscapes. There are plenty of desert campsites in the Mojave desert as well and both are wonderful escapes from civilization.

In the mountain ranges Angeles national forest is located in the San Gabriel Mountains just north of Los Angeles. It is a close and beautiful escape, but may not be far enough away from LA to provide a real escape. The Santa Ana Mountains are a little further south and are close enough to allow for a daytrip to San Diego. Big Bear Mountain and ski resort can be a great escape from Los Angeles and there are places to camp during the spring and summer. Big Bear Lake offers fishing, swimming and boat landing and rentals for visitors to enjoy.

However you choose to camp in the southern California area make sure to pack properly and bring plenty of water with you.