quite possibly a really idiotic question....

mom, dad, 2 teenaged sons in southern california in august.

we%26#39;re city slickers.

never been camping.

never %26#39;roughed it%26#39;.

is there such a thing as a camping experience for novices?

a place where they%26#39;ll rent you the stuff you need, etc.

provide you with advice.

basically i%26#39;m looking for a campground for morons.

thanks if anybody can help.

quite possibly a really idiotic question....

In Big Sur there is a place where you sleep in a yurt (Asian nomad tent) .See:http://www.treebonesresort.com/

Also in Yosemite Park there is the Curry Village where they have ';tent cabins';.

quite possibly a really idiotic question....

Lake Cachuma (near Santa Barbara) also has yurts, as does Touloumne Meadows. Evergreen Lodge outside of Yosemite offers comfort camping - they set everything up for you - you just need to show up.

thanks very much, guys.

Most stores like REI etc. will rent out camping equipment.

http://www.rei.com/stores/rentals.html

There are ways to ';camp out'; and enjoy the experience as mentioned in the above posts.

Coastanoa is another place to add to the list - about an hour drive south of San Francisco.

http://www.costanoa.com/site.php

There are tent cabins at Big Basin - you need to bring a sleeping bag and pillow (and any picnic cooking goods you might want to bring wiht you.) Of course, other ';creature'; comforts are always great to have for a camping trip.

Here%26#39;s a web site with a list of some of the things to bring with you.

Feel free to adapt to your own likes and dislikes (for example, I%26#39;d probably bring different kind of food on this list that I like if it were me) but it does give you a ';memory jog'; of what to bring with you such as food.

www.thecampingsource.com/the%20big%20list.htm

You can rent a RV.

philosophy