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Song of the Ancients

97%

· Paicines, San Benito, California

40 acres hosted by Jaimie L.

4 RV/tent sites

Staff verified

Accuracy verified by Hipcamp's on-the-ground team.

In the oak studded world of the Diablo Mountain Range, the ocean influence sends cool breezes here that gently wind their way through the oaks; always offering cooling shade, even through the heat of the summer. Rest and relax the world away, this is a place to regain your balance; come with your cares leave clear and regenerated. Children laugh, run, and play and adults join in. This is a place to sing and dance, to talk late into the night as the night sky fills with stars and the campfire dies down. This is your place to be what you want to be. We are at same latitude of Carmel (but a world away), Between Hollister and the Monterey - Salinas metro area and Los Banos and the San Joaquin Valley, close to the vast San Francisco Bay Area; which includes Berkeley, Oakland, Walnut Creek and all the East, North, and South Bay to Pinnacles National Monument and the town of Paicines. You can spend the day in San Juan Bautista at the Mission and Shops or breakfast or lunch at Flapjacks in Tres Pinos, Monterey at the Aquarium, walk on the beach at Moss Landing, hike at Pinnacles, Fremont Peak, Griswold Mountains, or Panoche Hills. Then back home to sit in a quiet world under the stars. You can also...do nothing. Read a book doze in the shade drift off in a hammock or walk and discover the land and recover your place in this world. The Blue Oaks are hard at work at the job they have held for 3 million years; shading and cooling California. Summer is a coming in! Come and cool off under the Blue Oaks during the warm days and cool dark skies of summer. The annual grasses are turning gold and now you can see the green of the native grasses and plants with stars of color amid the gold. The days are bright and sunny and comfortably warm. The nights are cool and crisp and filled with the song of coyote and their frog chorus'. Bring your family and friends outside and laze around in the hammock or put your feet up on the side of the campfire, throw your head back and lose yourself in the galaxies above. You can pitch any where from 1 to 15 or more tents at each campsite. Our campsites are RV friendly but remember we are off grid so we do not have blackwater facilities or electricity for RVs. We do have garden hoses to fill up the RV water tanks. Song of the Ancients is a program of wildfarmers, a 501c3 not for profit woman led organization. Bringing people back in touch with the ancient woods of California for over fourteen years. Our main focus is restoring and saving the Blue Oak Ecosystem for the future. Pitch your tent or park your camper amid the ancient Blue Oaks of California. Warm yourself by your campfire as you drink in the dark skies. Shake the dust off your work worn spirit. Let the celebration begin. Dance to the music in your heart sing along with the songs of the ancients. Regenerate. A place to breathe and to hear yourself breathe. A sacred place in the shade of the blue oaks. It's time to take time. Time to play and enjoy with friends and family. A place to bask in opulent starlight and absorb the sounds of darkness. A quiet place to clear your soul and revive your spirit. As the air softens and relaxes listen closely to the ancients singing in the oaks. Lend your voice to the Song of the Ancients and let Coyote sing you to sleep. What we provide is: outdoor hot shower, flush toilet, clean clear water from faucets, and at your campsite a fire pit and grill to cook on, picnic table with benches, and the blue oak savanna. Firewood for $15/bundle, fire starters -first two free in the winter then $0.50/each. Our firewood is sustainably harvested from downed trees and branches. We sell it for a neighbor. No healthy live trees are harmed in order to produce firewood. No native trees are felled in order to plant fast growing hardwood for fire or anything else!

Activities

Biking

Hiking

Wildlife watching

Natural features

Forest

Mountainous

Field

Wetlands

97%

1016 ratings · 430 reviews

Loizos V.recommends

September 3, 2024

Site 4 - Raven

Two peaceful nights under the stars

Two great and clear nights under the stars at this peaceful and quiet location (Had to ignore some neighbors shooting practice for an 1/2 hr during the daytime ..Lol) Otherwise I had a great time doing some astrophotography and just relaxing

Erik S.

August 27, 2024

Site 1 - Bobcat

Could be a very nice place to stay

It felt like a standard rural property, there was a lot of junk laying around and a jerry rigged shower situation where a little wind could cause a real lack of privacy. There was also a fairly purposeless fence that disturbed the view from our site. It’s a good place for stargazing but it could use some improvements and junk removal if the intention is to host guests.

K P.recommends

August 22, 2024

Site 4 - Raven

Great stay!

Setting up 2 tents at Site 4 was a breeze. We pre-ordered firewood. Veronica was very helpful to provide tips and solve our problems. There’s no cell signal, which added to the serenity of the site. The drive in was a turnstile of fun. Would recommend staying here.

Tracy L.recommends

August 19, 2024

Site 4 - Raven

Camping with the stars

My friends and I enjoyed our time here at campsite 4! We had issues with the bathroom (someone had accidentally shut off the water valve) but aside from this one minor incident, it was a perfect stay. The views are amazing and site 4 is a bit further from sites 1, 2, and 3 which provides you with additional privacy. Pros - Veronica! She is such a lovely host! She was fun to chat with and just exudes this calm, cool energy that meshes perfectly with the surrounding land. She's also very knowledgable about the land and the facilities (she fixed the toilet) and she looked like such a bad-ass riding around the land in her huge tractor. - The view of the valley and hills are breathtaking - Wildlife: One morning I woke up around 5/6am and saw dozens of rabbits along the dirt path and grass. I've never seen anything like it! I also heard coyotes at night but did not get to see any. - Clean facilities - The water is reportedly 2000 yrs old. Pretty neat. Cons - Instructions were a bit difficult to follow. Pro-tip: if you don't know what an oak tree looks like, please google it before you get to the campsite. Trust me. - Initially when you enter, the left side of the land looks a little worn down bc it is.. the bright-side to this is that it's a nice and unexpected surprise to learn that the flushing toilet is very clean.

Loizos V.recommends

August 16, 2024

Star Gazer

Great time during Perseid meteors!

Although this particular site Did no it have share, I had a great time watching the Perseid meteor shower, and got the Aurora Borealis as a bonus that night !

Qi X.recommends

August 13, 2024

Site 2 - Puma

The camping site is the best location for stargazing near the Bay Area with Bortle class 2-3 level. We stayed here for two nights and saw the most spectacular Perseids meteor shower. The camp site is very large with only 4 sites, therefore, it is very less crowd and very quiet. In the daytime, the temperature is not too hot and we can stay under the trees. The facilities are nice and clean with flush toilet. Highly recommended!

Location

Paicines, San Benito, California, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Popeloutchom (Amah Mutsun), Ohlone, and Chalon First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking