Autumn is one of the best times to visit the Sonoma coastal area and that's where we're going for our first Club Autumn camp on October 10-15th!
After a long hot summer here in Auburn the temperature in Sonoma county during October is almost perfect with average highs about 77 and lows around 47. Plus there's still lots of daylight hours to enjoy rides, hikes and any of the myriad other activities in the area with the sun rising at 7:15--7:20 and sunset not occurring until 6:40--6:32.
We're planning a number of ride options--some fairly challenging and others more moderate as well as one or more hikes in Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Preserve for those interested in hiking among these impressive ancient coastal redwoods. Because we have an equally wide variation in rider interest we're providing 2-3 options of differing distance and difficulty for each day.
Rosters and route sheets will be available for each ride but due to the number of options on each day we won't have sweeps for every ride. We will however verify that everyone has returned.
This means that everyone has to be sure to sign in and out of each ride and if they're going to deviate from the route--let one of the ride leaders know or ensure that someone else knows and can communicate the different route to the ride leaders.
We don't want to leave anyone stranded and we don't want to be trying to find anyone who doesn't need help.
Monday:
Arrival day--no ride. Three + mile hike in Armstrong Redwoods leaving Casini campsite A-5 at 2:30pm.
Tuesday:
Long Ride: Casini Ranch/Bodega Bay/Occidental: 45.2 miles/3248 ft : ridewithgps.com/routes/15569433
Medium Ride: Occidental/Highway 1/back to Casini Ranch: 30.5 miles/ 2376 ft.: ridewithgps.com/routes/15489685
Short Ride: Out and back to Occidental for coffee: 18.5 miles/1026 ft.: ridewithgps.com/routes/15490097
Wednesday:
Long ride: Kings Ridge/Kruse Ranch/Fort Ross Rd.: 68.3 miles/6710ft.: ridewithgps.com/routes/15490479
Medium Ride: Kings Ridge/Meyers Grade: 51.3 miles/5073ft: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15490837
Short Ride: Casini Ranch/Cazadero rd./ and Back: 17.7miles/602ft.: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15491104
Thursday:
Long Ride: Westside Road/Lake Sonoma/Jim Town: 56.8miles/2218ft: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15493478
Short Ride: Westside Road/Healdsburg/Eastside Road: 25.8miles/1029ft.ridewithgps.com/routes/15493581
And an afternoon hike along the coast--exact location TBD.
Friday:
Long Ride: Armstrong Woods/Sweetwater/Westside Road: 38.1miles/2335ft.: ridewithgps.com/routes/15493640
Short Ride: Casini Ranch to Freestone Bakery: 25.9miles/1465ft.: ridewithgps.com/routes/15493733
To give you an idea of the rides; one ride will go to Occidental and Coleman Valley road with lunch in Bodega Bay. We'll return through the town of Bodega (Where the movie “The Birds” was filmed),then thru Occidental and back to camp.
Our most challenging ride will go thru Cazadero to the iconic Kings Ridge and on to Stewarts Point. To stay off Hwy. 1 we'll turn on Kruse Ranch Road and on to Fort Ross Road heading back to Casini Ranch. This one has about 6,500 feet of climbing but there will be a shorter--less challenging option as well.
This general area is minutes from the beautiful California coast and full of an incredible array of other activities for those with non-riding partners or who just want to do something different for part of the time. From golf and wine/beer tasting to hot air balloons and skydiving, the options are extensive. There are lots of websites with details but one that's fairly comprehensive is: http://101things.com/winecountry.
We'll be camping at Casini Ranch, 22855 Moscow Rd., Duncan Mills, Ca. (www.casiniranch.com) starting on Monday night (Oct. 10) and leaving on Saturday morning (Oct. 15). Google Maps says from Auburn it takes about 2 hours and 36 minutes without traffic to 3 hours and 12 minutes (or more) to get there.
Casini Ranch camping options include tent sites, RV sites with partial hookups (water, electricity), full RV hookup sites, small cabins (maybe 10X10) with a queen bed and bunk bed (and nothing else), Cottages and Bunkhouse trailers (trailers permanently installed). The Bunkhouse trailers are similar to any other camping trailer with kitchens, bathrooms, etc.. Restrooms and showers are available close by. There's a small store with a good assortment of products. Wi Fi is free up to 256 Kbs then $4.00/day for 1Mbs. They have a dump station for those using the partial hook-up sites. There are also a couple of cafes, a pizzeria and a coffee shop and bakery in Duncan Mills about 0.8 miles and 3 minutes from the campsite.
Prices are typical for the area. Including an 11% tax they range from a basic tent site at $53.28 for Sun-Wed. and $59.94 Thur-Sat/night to a partial RV hook up site at $58.83 Sun-Wed and $65.49 Thur-Sat/night. The Cabins go from $79.92-$91.02/night. The larger Bunkhouse trailers are $227.55 Sun-Wed to $249.75/night. Cottages go $249.75 Sun-Wed. to $277.50/night.
The whole campground isn't too big to chose any site and still be within walking distance of others but we're planing to use those sites in the southwest corner as our main location. There's a map on-line that shows the campsite layout. For most of us with RV's, one of the partial hook-up sites A through A-14 is what we're aiming for and those with tents can reserve sites AA and AAA at the end of that row. Additional partial hook-up sites are immediately across the road in sites B-1-B-15 and there are more tent sites just north of that area and adjacent to the restrooms/showers.
Everyone has to make their own reservations by contacting the company directly at the website above or (800) 451-8400. There are a few additional nuances so be sure to discuss the details on any option you chose when making your reservations.
There is one more wrinkle we haven't tried but may be worthwhile. Passport America (http://passportamerica.com/) is a company requiring a $44 annual subscription fee but providing a 50% reduction in camping fees at participating campgrounds. Casini is a participating campground but their listing says the discount isn't available for groups. Since we're all making individual reservations--and not mentioning any "group", it's possible we could subscribe and receive the discount. It's also possible that a lot of reservations for the same dates, mostly in the same location could indicate a group. There's a substantial savings if this worked and we could be out $44 if it doesn't. We'll leave it up to you to decide whether you want to try it.
Those interested in motel accommodations have lots of options within 10-15 miles including several within Guerneville but a closer (3.8 miles--9 minutes, via 116 and Moscow rd.) and more reasonably priced (for the area) option is Northwood Lodge (http://www.northwood-lodge.com). Prices range from $89/night for a basic room with a double bed to $259/night for a separate cottage with living room, fireplace, kitchen etc.
There will be lots more information coming out but for now we need to start making reservations at the campground or one of the other options. Let us know if you have questions. Contact autumncamp@sfcyclists.org
Thanks,
Your Autumn Camp leaders--Jeannie Ennis and Larry Matz