Feather River Hot Springs

Feather River Hot Springs, Twain, CA

Driving thru the canyon on Highway 70 to Twain is an incredibly beautiful drive. We live only a couple of hours from here, how did I not know about this area?  Trains hugging the side of the mountain overlooking the Feather River and the myriad of trestles were simply breathtaking. 

I can just imagine this great swimming hole on a hot summer day. 

This is our first time camping at Feather River Hot Springs.  Our friends Leila and Mike joined us. We didn’t know what to expect, but were open for any adventures.  And dang, what a great time we had.  The weather had a little bit of everything  - from corn snow to rain to spells of warm sun. 

First thing we did was seek out the hot springs.  They are located right next to river. There are two tubs with different minerals in each. The lithium one felt about 98 degrees and the sulphur based one seemed about 103.  

We made a little compound with our campsites and settled down for 4 days of fun. (Mike and Leila left on the third day, but we sure packed in a LOT of soaking on those days).

 

Our typical routine would be to head for the hot springs before 7 in the morning. 

The first morning we stayed in til about 10:30! Time flies when your are having fun.

Mike impressed us all by diving head first into the icy cold Feather River! What a guy.

We’d head back to the springs at 3 in the afternoon and stay until 5ish, you know until cocktail hour.  There is a white board next to the office where you can sign up for times.  We booked sessions about 3 times a day.  Breakfast, mid afternoon and then night time from 8 til 10.  

We did manage to rally and explore Quincy one afternoon.  We stopped by the local museum, did some grandkid shopping and scoped out a local brewery.

Of course, we had some pretty epic meals together too! 

This place has several cute little cabins including some that date back to the 1930’s.  There are lots of paths and interesting gardens and sculptures scattered through out the compound.  In pre-Covid times there were folk and bluegrass concerts on the grounds. Rocki, the owner, hopes to book some more music concerts here this summer. We love this place and would definitely come back. Added bonus is that it is such close proximity to Nevada City. 

Some more pics of the unique grounds. 

What a great trip! Can’t wait for our next adventure together. 

Wine Tasting in Sonoma

Spring Lake Regional Park, Santa Rosa, CA

So awesome that you can pick up the bike trail from the campground. This park hooks up to Annabel State Park via bike trails. 

We got in about 11 mikes today biking. We tried a few of the mountain biking trails, but I preferred the paved paths. Yes, I’m now officially old. 

As luck would have it my brother Scott belongs to a winery about 15 minutes from here. So fun to meet up for some wine tasting. Loved spending time with my niece and great-niece too! 

Dang it’s so great to be vaccinated and be able to spend time with my family again. My little bro definitely holds a special place in my heart. 

Wine, Ned, summer weather...life is good. 

Back at the campsite and grilling up peppers, onions and sausages. What a fun weekend at this campground. We’d definitely come back again 

Summer Is Here!

Spring Lake Regional Park, Santa Rosa, CA

Trying out another new camping spot. Again, we had very little expectations and were pleasantly surprised. I assumed a regional park near downtown Santa Rosa would be pretty bleak and urban. This place is awesome with lots of trees, a couple of lakes and acres of rolling hills. Nicely done Sonoma County. Of course the highlight is lots of paved biking trails. 

We arrived late morning and had to wait to check in at the campground. We used the time to do a 8 mike bike ride and 

 

a picnic. Manchego cheese provided by Megan and Kevin, smoked salmon provided by my bro Scott. 👏👏

You can just get a glimpse of the lake poking thru the trees from our campsite. Temp is 77, with a gentle breeze and lots of sun. I’m in heaven. After a long dreary winter I am soooooo ready for summer and joining the world. 

The.bike path rides alongside this! 

Ready for the weekend. 

Beach Camping

Doran Beach, Bodega Bay, CA

We’ve never camped at Bodega Bay and didn’t know what to expect. It has definitely exceeded our expectations. We could only get a campsite for one night, but what a sweet spot it is, right on the beach. 

One of the first things we did was walk several miles along the bay. 

Wine in hand, of course. 

We didn’t go clamming, but it appears the seagull did. 

Grilled salmon seemed apropos.

Pretty awesome to hear the fog horn in the distance and the crashing of the waves while settling in for the evening. 

Night. 

Mendocino Biking

MacKerricher State Park, CA

 My favorite activity is biking and one of my favorite places is the Mendocino Coast.  Needless to say today was awesome.  Our first bike trip of the day was an 18 mile ride on the MacKerricher Haul Trail connecting to the California Coastal Trail. 

We rode over the Pudding Creek Trestle 

and rode over another bridge overlooking the Noyo Harbor. 

Taking a break to appreciate the view. 

In the afternoon we took a bike ride thru downtown Mendocino. The gardens never disappoint.  

All that bike riding can make a girl thirsty!  Manhattans and...

an Old Fashioned hit the spot. 

We thought it would be fun to visit the Cabrillo Light House. Kids...don’t drink and hike. We clearly misread the sign and instead of a 1/2 mile walk to the light house we took the WAY WAY long trail hike there.  I have no idea what we were thinking, I only know I was freezing! 

Clearly, the only way to remedy this situation was more drinks and a fish dinner at the Harbor.  Actually, it was pretty momentous. Not so much the meal, but because it was the first restaurant we have dined at in over a year!! (Thank you vaccines). 

The perfect end to a perfect day is being cozy with my honey around the campfire. 

Coastal Camping

MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg, CA

It sure was hard to tear ourselves away from the hot springs. We watched the sunrise from the steamy pools and didn’t leave until close to noon. We will definitely be back for another soak at Harbin Hot Springs.

Next destination, MacKerricher State Park. It’s only 2.5 hours away from Harbin Springs, but it’s a different world. Instead of warm weather and clear skies we are in the typical cool, foggy coastal weather. Still, there is something magical about this place. 

The drive getting here was just gorgeous! Spring has definitely sprung. Loved all the wild flowers and especially this orchard with the blanket of white flowers. 

Decisions, decisions...which way Mr. Ned? 

We arrived mid afternoon and enjoyed the boardwalk, tide pools and sea life. 

We even managed to get in a lil’ bike ride.  Tomorrow our plan is to ride the Ten Mile Trail along the coast, but today we were just exploring.  

Apparently it’s the season for seals to be birthing.  We took a walk out to see if any pups were being born, but they were too far away for us to notice anything. Either we need binoculars to see anything or eyes that are 20 years younger.  

Checking out a new hot springs

Harbin Hot Spring, Middleton, CA

Our original plan was to head for MacKerricker State Park in Fort Bragg for the next three nights.  But, I found a new hot spring that wasn’t too far out of our way to check out, Harbin Hot Springs.  It got mixed reviews, so we weren’t too sure what to expect. 

It burnt down in the Sonoma California fires, but has since been rebuilt.  The grounds are incredibly peaceful and serene.  Lots of green rolling hills, wildflowers and oak trees.

The great news is that they allow camping! The bad news is that it’s not so great in a van.

We are basically camped in a parking lot.

 

If you’re a tent camper you can pick either these really cool tent platforms near a creek or pitch your tent in a beautiful meadow. So, this place is definitely cool for tent campers.

They also have a bunch of “caravans” you can rent out.  Not really picturesque, but it does solve the problem of camping if you don’t have equipment.  They also have cabins and domes you can rent out. 

We’d rate the camping experience here (at least in our van) as a C-.  There are a couple of nice comfort stations scattered around that have flush toilets and showers, but no designated camping spot.  Thus, no tables, fire rings, etc. 

However, we’re not here for just the camping experience, it’s really all about taking in the medicinal waters.  And they are pretty awesome!  There are 8 pools, all with different temperatures. We arrived mid afternoon and spent several hours just soaking. The hot spring area is very picturesque, clean and super chill.  This is a clothing optional resort and my guess is that 95% of the people are enjoying being in the buff.  So, when in Rome...

There are no cell phones allowed in this area so I got this picture off the internet.  Kinda gives you an idea of what it looks like, but honestly it’s much more beautiful.

The van is a good 10 minute walk thru a meadow and over a hill to the hot spring.

After fixing an early dinner at our “camping spot” we had a beautiful walk at dusk to the springs.  We soaked until about 10.  It was divine. 

 Okay, I managed to sneak one quick pick of the main pool area at dusk. (Ned looks ready for a dip). The other pools are tucked away in the hill, along a creek or next to this big pool. 

So far our experience here has been amazing - beautiful grounds, clean pools, friendly people and chill vibes.