Primitive Adventures

Important: Please read to the end before requesting a campsite reservation.

We are happy to announce that Grey Oaks private club has 2 new primitive-style campsites on our 20 acre property in North Monterey County (Aromas) available to HipCampers. Our 4 original sites (see our listing: Rustic Campsites) are very popular and we wanted to offer alternative options and availability for people to stay here and experience some of what we get to enjoy every day.

We are conveniently located near all the tourist areas in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Gilroy. We are 5 minutes from the 101 and 129 Freeways, and 15 minutes from the 1 freeway. We are 2-3 minutes from the Old Firehouse Market, and the Aromas Grill.

This is a magical property with an abundance of very old oak and eucalyptus trees forest and a wide assortment of wildlife. It has great energy here and so many times people have come here feeling down or grumpy even, and after being here for a few minutes, they are smiling and happy and peaceful. It’s not guaranteed for everyone, but the chances are good! :)

There is a wonderful view of the night sky and you can see so many stars! Well, unless the fog has rolled in and then that is fun, too, and also looks really cool, but then you can’t see the stars. Our property faces west, so we get stunning sunsets, and with the view looking out over the Pajaro Valley towards Watsonville, we get a magnificent fireworks show on the 4th of July! Cell service works everywhere on the property, too.

Our new primitive camping adventure is great for experienced backpackers and primitive campers that would like a quick wilderness adventure closer to civilization; and also for those who are new to this style of camping and want to try it out on a smaller scale before traveling farther out into the larger wilderness areas.

If you like to have all your own camping gear and set up, these sites may be the ones for you! :) Not shown in our current pictures are the 6 ft wooden picnic tables. Those were added after, and we will be posting updated pictures, and hopefully our next guests will post some of their own, too! :)

Our new primitive camping sites in this listing are higher up on the property, which has a sort of terracing of smaller flat to moderately sloped areas, and it is a huge area with a lot of plants and wildlife. There is natural shade at these sites, but they also have more sun and more open to the stars, too!

So, for this adventure, you will park at the lower part of our property and hike (about a 5 minute hike to sites B and C), or see our “extras” for Bellhop/Sherpa service) to find your desired place to camp for the night. We will provide you with gps coordinates at check-in that show where to look for each site.

For this primitive camping adventure, we are wanting to keep prices as low as possible for people, so a shower (and other items that we include at our Rustic Campsites) are not included in the booking rate, but you can pay for them as an add-on if you desire.

Also, if you add the shower option, you may use our swimming pool! A shower is required before using the pool. We also have fresh well water available for you, if needed, from a spigot or bottled water at the washing station. You may also use either of the 2 very nice composting-style outhouses at our Rustic Campsites (there is a sink, soap, and water there, too) if you’d like. Or you can bring your own water jugs and your own portable camping toilet to your campsite and pack it out (please don’t bury it or leave it out in the open on the ground.).

We have a huge stone bonfire pit on one of our large meadows that we use for special events, and that you can camp near and use at Site B; and we have portable fire rings for you to use at Site C so you can have a campfire at all of our campsites. You may forage for fallen eucalyptus and oak wood (there is a lot of it!) as part of your adventure for your campfire, or you may purchase pre-cut pine firewood from us.

An important thing for you to understand before booking a camping adventure here is that the site you choose may or may not be completely perfectly level on the spot you choose for your tent. There are level tent spots, but we also give you the option, as adults, and as part of your adventure, to choose the spot that you want to put your tent any where at the campsite.

If your tent is bigger than the spot you choose, then it is up to you to make it bigger, or you can request our help, but that is not a defect in the site. It is part of this style of camping. If you move the picnic table from where we had put it, it is not likely going to be level, and is not a defect in the campsite either, if you move it. So we recommend that you bring a camp shovel to make any (probably minor) adjustments to the site. It is part of the experience and adventure.

In addition, there is a lot of poison oak on the property, and Zak always shows guests what it looks like so they will know what to look out for. It’s a native plant, and our land has been left wild for 100s of years at least. We are working on removing it, and we are progressing, but it will take time to complete. So please be aware and careful if you react to this plant.

There are many trails throughout the property, and lots of places where there is no poison oak, and we will be sending you to those areas for you to set up camp. There will be poison oak in the surrounding area of the campsites until we can get it removed, but the sites are large enough that you can fully avoid it, just keep an eye out and be aware of your surroundings. That is good advice for life in general, too. :)

This is a primitive camping adventure, and as adults we expect you to bring the gear you would require, such as flashlights to see at night if you need to walk to the outhouses and any other items you may need. We run our outhouse and shower lights on solar power, so if guests forget to turn off the lights when they exit, there may not be enough battery to run the lights all night. This is not backyard camping, and our house is 1/4 mile away, so there is no way to have a real light there, and frankly we wouldn’t want one. For one, because people don’t remember to turn it off as it is, and two, it is incredibly annoying to have a bright light randomly lighting up the campsites all night when one is trying to sleep nearby.

Please do not ask to bring, or bring, any animals, or beings born as and now designated otherwise (of any category) onto the property, as Grey Oaks does not allow them. For safety precautions, no toddlers or very young children for this experience, please. These primitive sites are recommended for 1-2 adults (one person can be a teen: age 13+) and we are allowing up to 6 people at Sites B and C (and in that case more than 1 can be age 13+).

While we like honest good reviews, we would appreciate if you do have something negative to say (and we try our best to avoid that possibility) then please don’t factor things like “there’s poison oak” or anything mentioned in this listing that could be a negative into your rating system because you have been notified of these conditions and have acknowledged and accepted them by making your booking.

We appreciate private messages for suggestions for improvements that are within the scope and price range of what we are offering. :) Thank you for your interest in our primitive camping adventure and if it sounds like something you’d like to experience, then we look forward to receiving your booking confirmation and then meeting you. Happy camping! :)

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