Places to observe along CA's northern coast?

[BenF]

Hello all,

I'm looking to take a camping trip sometime in the next couple of months to California's northern coast (Humboldt County or a little farther south), and I'm looking for good spots. I am most interested in observing the planets on this trip, so I was thinking of someplace right along the ocean for the seeing conditions, but I'd be open to any suggestions. If you know of any place please let me know!!

-Ben

[akarsh]

Hey Ben,

I've been wanting to prospect Blake Mountain for a while:
https://goo.gl/maps/VthtbJc59nCJayTy6
I haven't been there yet. Part of the reason is that it's almost 2 hours away from Redding. Other part of the reason is that Humboldt county, especially Blake Mountain area, is notorious for illegal marijuana growing -- not sure what the safety implications of camping at Blake Mountain are. Another concern is mountain lions. To add to it, some of my more experienced friends are skeptical of the projected sky conditions there, given the proximity to Redding and Eureka, but the light pollution map claims that it is in a light gray zone. If you look at Clear Sky Chart, the nearby town of Hyampom is listed as an observing site. My theoretical rationale is that the seeing must be good up there because it's the first obstacle at 5000ft elevation from the coast.

I vaguely noted that there is someone that's part of Rose City Astronomers (Portland club) that observes from near Eureka, CA, but I'm not sure what the site in question is. I find that the coast is generally too populated to be dark.

Steve Gottlieb and many other DSF members regularly go to Lake Sonoma, which is alright. I sometimes go there too.

Clear Skies, and let us know if you find a good site!