A Wilderfolk camp · Fort Bragg, California
Camp Candy Cap
Twelve acres of coastal forest on the Mendocino coast, with room to spread right out, a wood-fired sauna, and the water about five minutes’ walk away.
The land
Twelve acres of coastal forest.
Camp Candy Cap is like a coastal botanical garden set among over twelve acres of pristine forest. You’ll be surrounded by wind-twisted mossy pines, wild berry bushes and ferns, with every footstep silent in the soft duff, and the only sound coming from the ocean a few minutes away. The communal fire pit sits in the middle of Candy Cap Meadow, ringed with stumps and open to the night sky, and it’s where everybody ends up after dark to share a drink and swap stories. The dining area is nearby, tarped and filled with picnic tables and a long work space.
The campsites
Each one has its own character.
Yellowfoot
Just off the meadow and open to the sun, with fine afternoons and better evenings. Named for the winter chanterelles that come up around it.
Reishi
Shady and closed in by pines, right at the edge of the meadow. Named for the reishi found growing there.
Lobster
Its own round meadow beside the main one, with room for several tents and tables. The most private spot at camp.
Hedgehog
Very private, grassy and meadow-like, surrounded by salal and shore pine. Named for the hedgehog mushrooms that grow right there.
The sauna
A wood-fired sauna, and a hot shower after it.
Built of reclaimed redwood and smelling sweet like bourbon. Come in cold off the headlands, stoke up the stove, and let the heat work into your bones while the fog moves through the pines outside. Step out into the mist afterwards, which is wonderfully refreshing. There’s a hot shower and a composting toilet in the same bathhouse.
The coast
The water is about a five minute walk.
From there the old Haul Road runs flat and paved along the bluffs for miles in both directions, so you can go as far as you feel like: tide pools and harbor seals at Laguna Point about fifteen minutes up, Glass Beach a couple of miles south. The shoreline changes with every storm, and the lowest tides of the year come in winter and spring.
What to do
Guided days out, and most of them start right here.
Local folks who know this coast teach through the season: tide pooling, coastal foraging, mushroom forays, waterfalls, lighthouses and the old-growth redwoods. Nobody expects you to show up knowing anything, and they book separately from your site.
How to come
Two ways in.
Book a night
Come once and see the place. Pick your site, pick your nights, and book it right here. The site is $25 a night, then it’s $25 for each adult, half that for teenagers, and nothing at all for children under twelve. Yellowfoot, Reishi and Hedgehog start at $75 a night, Lobster at $150. Firewood is $8 a night and we’ll keep you supplied with all you need. Arrival instructions come after you book.
Join the Camping Club
For the people who come back. Member rates on camping and on the days we lead ourselves, priority booking, and your name carved into the Signpost.
Before you pack
Good to know
- Rigs up to 25 feet, so vans and small campers fit. No trailers and no big rigs, so it stays quiet, and no generators, TVs or stereos.
- No hookups, water or electric.
- Bring your own drinking water, a gallon per person per day. Water onsite is non-drinkable.
- No pets, service animals excepted.
- Campfires happen in the communal pit. We ask that you pay $8 a night for firewood, and we’ll keep you supplied with all you need.
- This is an inclusive property. We welcome people of every race, gender, age, background, and belief.
- Arrival instructions come after you book.
- Pack it in, pack it out. Trash service is not provided.
- A separate use agreement is required to be signed upon booking.