The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: June twentieth, camping at Coastanoa.

A pastoral enclave set in the fog shrouded Pacific hills an hour's drive south of San Francisco, Coastanoa is what a camp might be like if it were designed by Martha Stewart, which for the record, it wasn't.

Situated near the village of Pescadero halfway between the too cute village of Half Moon Bay and raucous university town of Santa Cruz, Coastanoa came to be in 1983, when a 4000-acre ranch situated between two large state parks was slated for development. After locals protested, a public private venture was formed with an unusual list of mandates. Just one percent of the property could be developed, no full-service restaurant was permitted and to avoid creating another enclave of affluence, most accommodations would be in tents.

But rather than pup tents, these are plush tents, with polished wooden floors, real doors and windows and artwork on the walls. Full-sized beds come with down comforters and heated mattress pads. There are terry bathrobes and baskets loaded with a cache of bath potions. Though "comfort stations" are shared with fellow campers, comfort is the operative phrase, with swank outdoor showers, heated floors and saunas. Rather than camp food, Coastanoa's general store is stocked with delectables, such as salmon wrapped asparagus and grilled portabello mushrooms, and a selection of gourmet coffees, local microbrews, fine wines and Belgian chocolate.

The wave raked beach and forests filled with ferns, waterfalls and sky- brushing trees offer enough hiking, biking and horsebacking to last most folks a lifetime. This base camp for California coastal adventures is profiled in this issue of National Geographic Traveler, a supporter of our program. You can register for a free, sample at our home page.

FMI For Coastanoa, call 800-738- 7477 or www.coastanoa.com

Back to June 2002 Main

Look through the list of fascinating places and off-beat features we’ve covered. Search text versions of past episodes and articles in our archives.