It may feel like summer is over, if there’s anyone school-aged in your household. But it would be a shame to waste these gorgeous days ahead just because our weekday mornings are starting a little earlier.
Why not plan an “it’s not over yet” glamping getaway, with just enough adventure mixed with some cushy ease? There are so many cool spots up and down this vast state of ours where you can rough it without really sleeping on the ground.
Here are a few pockets worth visiting next time you feel like camping … very, very comfortably.
On the Mendocino coast
Mendocino Grove offers the perfect combination of real camping spiffed up with some comfort and class. Your site has all the camping necessities — a picnic table, fire pit, lock boxes for food (there’s a lot of wildlife here), sliding door trash bins and the campground vibe that we all remember, with kids gathering at the swing set and playing tag.
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On California’s Mendocino coast, Mendocino Grove offers luxe canvas “glamping” tents complete with leather scoop chairs, comfortable beds and incredible views. (Mendocino Grove)
But instead of sore backs and muddy feet, you’ll be sleeping in luxe canvas tents on decks, complete with leather scoop chairs, heated blankets, fresh linens, fresh-cut flowers and electricity. The bath house is stocked with organic body products, and there’s a full-service spa, sauna and yoga deck.
Add ons, including a s’mores kit and a cook box with enamelware, glass tumblers, salt and pepper grinder, olive oil, knives and a cast iron skillet, make things even easier.
On California’s Mendocino coast, Mendocino Grove offers luxe canvas “glamping” tents complete with leather scoop chairs, comfortable beds and incredible views. (Mendocino Grove)
Head for the Meadow Commons, a central gathering space, to enjoy the oatmeal bar, tea and coffee each morning. (That tea bar is open 24 hours a day.) And the commons hosts dinner on certain nights, a live music series and a beer, wine and espresso bar.
While there’s pretty much everything you might need at Mendocino Grove, civilization is so close, you can actually see the cozy town of Mendocino from some of the tent sites. Head into town, if you don’t feel like cooking in camp, or drive a couple of miles in the other direction for a meal at Terra Farm Kitchen.
This newly opened restaurant is part of the SCP Mendocino Inn & Farm. There are 10 locations in this distinctive hotel chain — the initials stand for soul, community and planet. Meander the property, visit the flock of chickens — there’s a table in the lobby with chicken food, if you’d like to take the ladies a snack — and say hello to the llamas, Mo, Larry and Curly. Then head for the main lodge for wine, pizza ($20-$25) and salads ($15) made with locally grown produce.
The new Terra Farm Kitchen at the SCP Mendocino Inn & Farm offers wine, fresh salads and tempting pizzas for visitors to the Mendocino coast. (SCP Mendocino Inn & Farm)
Russian River sojourn
Guerneville may be a small town, but it’s something of a glamping epicenter. You can find at least three awesome spots to glamp here near the main attraction, the Russian River.
AutoCamp is all about the Airstreams. This luxe camping company has nine locations, including sites near Joshua Tree, Yosemite and Sequoia national parks. Each one features clusters of the retro silver bullet trailers set around a central, modern hub with a little store full of provisions ranging from great local beer and wine to whiskey, picnic fare and grilling essentials for your fire pit. Complimentary breakfast includes granola blends plus coffee, tea and cocoa. And you can borrow one of their cool cruiser bikes for a spin around the riverside-meets-redwoods neighborhood.
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Tucked in a heritage orchard in Guerneville, Dawn Ranch offers luxe glamping tents and a modern bath house. (Dawn Ranch)
Dawn Ranch is like a rustic fairy land, complete with full-service spa, upscale restaurant and private river access. Tucked in the heritage orchard, you’ll find glamping tents, canvas structures with fire pits, Adirondack chairs, free snacks and coffee set ups, plus luxe bedding and decor. The modern bath house is nearby, complete with redwood and brass finishing touches, plus irresistible Le Labo 33 bath products. This is camping for those who do not prefer camping.
Highlands Resort was recently purchased and renovated by Basecamp Hotels founder Christian Strobel and chef Crista Luedtke, who has pretty much revitalized Guerneville with her dazzling array of food and hospitality projects, including boon eat + drink, BROT and boon hotel + spa. Highlands is known for its cabins and rooms, but glampers will want to check out the seasonal Coyote Camp, complete with king size beds tucked inside canvas scout tents in a redwood grove. The adults-only Coyote Camp is open from May 1 through Sept. 30.
Paso Robles wine country
The Trailer Pond just may be the cutest candy-colored cluster of vintage trailers you’ll ever find. Five adorable trailers sit on the rim of an irrigation pond at Alta Colina Vineyard & Winery, where founders Bob and Lynn Tillman first planted 31 acres of organically and regeneratively farmed Rhône varieties in 2003. This is a spiffed-up campground, with enough country rusticity (lizards of every size, limited cell service and original fixtures from the 1950s and ’60s) paired with amenities that will make you stay and unplug for awhile, including a wine fridge/honor bar, Turkish towels and a communal fire pit.
Take a sunrise hike through the grenache vineyards. Come sunset, you’ll want to linger on the pond deck with a glass of delicious grenache blanc. You can also book more comprehensive tastings at the winery, including a Summit Vineyard Tasting that brings you up to the stunning Sundowner Deck with views as far as the eye can see. These five trailers are also bookable as one pod for special events and occasions.
If You Go
Mendocino Grove: Tent rates start at $239 per night. 9601 Highway 1in Mendocino; https://mendocinogrove.com/
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Terra Farm Kitchen: Terra Farm Kitchen is open from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday-Monday at the SCP Mendocino Inn and Farm, 3790 Highway 1 in Albion; https://scphotel.com.
Autocamp: Trailer rentals start at $247 per night. 14120 Old Cazadero Road in Guerneville; https://autocamp.com
Dawn Ranch: Glamping tents start at $197. 16467 Highway 116 in Guerneville; https://dawnranch.com
Highlands Resort: Coyote Camp tents are $199. 14000 Woodland Drive in Guerneville; www.highlandsresort.com
Trailer Pond: Trailers are $225. Alta Colina Vineyard & Winery, 2825 Adelaida Road in Paso Robles; www.thetrailerpond.com
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit early Sunday morning (Nov. 24).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink spacecraft — 13 of which are capable of beaming service directly to smartphones — lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday at 12:25 a.m. EST (0525 GMT; 9:25 p.m. on Nov. 23 local California time).
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned, touching down on the SpaceX droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.
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The first stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rests on the deck of a droneship shortly after launching 20 Starlink internet satellites to orbit from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 24, 2024. (Image credit: SpaceX)
It was the 15th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description. Twelve of those flights have been Starlink missions.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage hauled the 20 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, deploying them there about an hour after liftoff as planned, SpaceX reported in a post on X.
Sunday’s launch was the 115th Falcon 9 flight of the year. Nearly 70% of those liftoffs have been devoted to building out Starlink, the largest satellite constellation ever assembled.
The megaconstellation currently consists of more than 6,600 active satellites, and, as Sunday’s mission shows, it’s growing all the time.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
SONOMA COUNTY – A man died when he was found in a flooded vehicle after an atmospheric river dumped heavy rain in Northern California, authorities said.
In Sonoma County’s Guerneville, first responders responded to a report around 11:30 a.m. Saturday for a vehicle that was seen in floodwaters near Mays Canyon Road and Highway 116.
The caller believed that at least one person was inside the vehicle.
When crews arrived, they said the vehicle was recovered but a man was pronounced dead at the scene. He has not been identified.
The Russian River, which flows through Guerneville, reached the flood stage on Friday evening and exceeded what was forecasted.
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This area went into a flood warning around 2 p.m. Friday and was still in place as of Saturday afternoon.
Guerneville is about 75 miles north of San Francisco.
Around 8:45 a.m. Saturday in Santa Rosa, a man was found dead in Piner Creek just south of Guerneville Road, the police department said. His death is being investigated.
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Brandon Downs
Brandon Downs is a digital content producer at CBS Sacramento.
Laura Richardson emerged the victor of the competitive, costly and feisty election to win a South Los Angeles seat in the state Senate — completing her political comeback more than 10 years after a tumultuous tenure in the House of Representatives.
Richardson narrowly won the race against Michelle Chambers, a community justice advocate who faced accusations of misconduct in prior public office. The Associated Press called the race Friday after weeks of ballot counting.
The contest between two Democrats with similar social policies but differing views on crime and business attracted huge spending by special interests.
Independent expenditure committees poured more than $7.6 million into the race, making it the most expensive election for state Legislature this year, according to California Target Book, a political database. Negative campaigning dominated the race as business interests and labor unions battled for their favored candidate.
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Richardson, a moderate Democrat, will join a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature. But Republicans are on track to flip three legislative seats this year, one in the Senate and two in the Assembly.
Richardson’s biggest supporters were businesses, including PACs funded by oil companies, and law enforcement associations that said they advocated for candidates who shared their beliefs on free enterprise and public safety. Meanwhile, Chambers’ biggest portion of support came from healthcare workers and teachers unions, who spent millions of dollars backing her.
Chambers wrote in a statement she was “proud of the campaign we ran,” thanking supporters who canvassed, phone-banked or cast votes for her “vision of better jobs, better wages and a California that works for everybody, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”
“This was the closest state senate race in the state, but unfortunately it appears that we will fall just short of victory,” she added. “Our people-powered efforts were not quite enough to overcome millions of dollars in outside spending on lies from the oil and tobacco industry and their allies.“
Richardson will succeed Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) in the 35th District, which encompasses the cities of Carson, Compton and stretches down to the harbor. Bradford, who had endorsed Chambers, said he believed both candidates were “qualified to do the job.”
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Bradford, who championed reparations legislation during his tenure, hoped the future senator would be “willing to meet with all factions of the community, because it’s a great diverse need in this district.”
“I’m also deeply sad to see how negative this campaign was, probably one of the most negative campaigns I’ve experienced in my 30-plus years of being involved with elections,” he said. “I just hope that we can come together after such a negative campaign, regardless of who the victor is, and understand that we have to work together.”
Richardson and Chambers took aim at each other’s past controversies. For Chambers, who had picked up the endorsement of various state and local elected officials, opposition groups seized on a criminal misdemeanor charge from 30 years ago. She was also accused of bullying and intimidation from her time as a Compton City Council member, allegations that she has repeatedly denied.
Richardson faced criticism over her tenure in Congress, where a House Ethics Committee investigation found her guilty in 2012 of compelling congressional staff to work on her campaign. The committee report also accused Richardson of obstructing the committee investigation “through the alteration or destruction of evidence” and “the deliberate failure to produce documents.”
Richardson admitted to wrongdoing, according to the report, and accepted a reprimand and $10,000 fine for the violations. She previously said that during her time in Congress, Republicans frequently targeted members of the Black Caucus. After she lost her reelection bid for a fourth term, Richardson said she worked at an employment firm to improve her managerial skills and has recognized previous mistakes.
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“It’s been said voters are very forgiving, and if you stand up and you accept responsibility and you improve in the work that you do — we need people who’ve been through things, who understand what it’s like to have had difficulties,” she previously told The Times. “And so that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t shy away from it.”
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