Spring in Nevada City

Spring in Nevada City…we’ve had hail, sunshine, pouring rain and 70 degree days.  It’s every bit of a transition, often with some of the best camping weather of the year.  What we love about the spring shoulder season is that campers are starting to surface after a winter of forced hibernation (although many good nights of camping happen in the winter too).   We start getting more phone calls and online bookings and people really start to show how eager they are to get outside (often rain or shine) and enjoy our campground.

Early spring camping is a great time to dust off the camping supplies and get comfortable sleeping under the stars again.  Here are 5 great things about spring camping at ITC:

1. The Commons: Our fully heated common building with bathrooms, showers, a kitchen, dining room and a lounge are.  It all makes for an easy camping experience, especially if there’s a surprise in the weather
2. Availability:  Spring often has great weather with warm days, but the crowds aren’t out yet.  We typically have a lot of sites available, including our Glamping tents (they open in early March) and last-minute trips are easier to come by.
3. Cooler Weather:  Sometimes summer camping is just plain hot.  For those that want to beat the heat, spring is a great time to sleep outside without 90 degree days.
4. Evening Fires:  The ground is moist and the air is crisp in the spring; all of that makes for a great time sitting by one of our smoke-free gas fire pits.  They put off a lot of heat, without the fire danger and smoke of a regular fire pit and work perfect for that much needed s’mores.
5. Spring Flowers:  Mother nature kicks old man winter to the curb starting in February when the daffodils start to bloom.  Typically the flowers start in mid-February and last well into May / June.  Many of the local hikes have spectacular flower displays in the spring.

If you’re looking for a few spring ideas on things to do:

• Buttermilk Bend wildflower hikes are every Saturday and Sunday mornings at 11am down at Bridgeport along the South Yuba River starting mid March through mid-May.  If you’ve never been down there, now is the time of the year to go.  Click here for the self guided trees and shrubs brochure or here for a Wildflowers directory.
• Time to plan your trip to check out the tulips at the Crystal Hermitage Gardens at Ananda.  Open every day in April, the gardens showcase over 13,000 tulips.
• Go for an urban hike with Folk Trails Hiking Club (Thursdays, March 14th and April 11th, 4pm, meet at the Outside Inn).
• Take a guided tour at the Empire Mine Historic State Park and learn about the rich gold mining history.

We’re re-opening the glamping tents for the 2019 season next week.  Summer weekends are definitely filling up, but if you’re interested in a spring getaway, we still have availability.  If you’re thinking about trying RVing definitely check out our Riverside Retro, we’ve had a great feedback from the last year of renting out the travel trailer to folks who love trying the RV lifestyle without having to tow a trailer or worry about backing it into a RV site.  For those interested in learning more about RV rentals, check out this recent episode of the RVFTA Podcast, some great tips on why renting a RV might be a good option for you.

We get a lot of campers who are on a grand tour of California, so we’ve been working on some suggestions for California travel.  If you’re flying into San Francisco and renting a motorhome from Cruise America, Jucy Campervans, El Monte RV, Road Bear or doing Outdoorsy or RV Share here are our Top 5 Northern California spots.

• Lake Tahoe, while there’s still plenty of snow at this time of the year, it’s an amazing place to visit any time of the year.
• Avenue of the Giants, we recommend you take the time to stand under the giant redwoods.
• Calistoga, who can resist an opportunity to go wine tasting at the top of the Napa Valley?
• Yosemite, the National Park should be on everyone’s California bucket list – book early as spots in and around the valley fill up months in advance.
• Big Sur, the rugged coast line and ocean views are worth the trip.

To keep tabs on the fun at the campground feel free to follow us along either on Instagram or Facebook or Pinterest.   We’re excited about the upcoming camping season… spring fever makes us all want to get outside!