Epic Tents of Schoolhouse

22/02/2022

I get so many great people here at Schoolhouse.

Many find that the tent becomes an extension of their personalities. Over the past couple of summers or so, I’ve been collecting pictures of some of the better tents that have visited the campground. I hope you will enjoy them as much as I have.

This is one I occasionally see in the camp. It is made by Kodiak and it is one of my favorites. With classic design and good looks, this is what I would buy if I was in the market for a new tent. Ultra high quality and very heavy duty, it’s pricey and worth it.

My photo does not do this tent justice. The structure was truly epic. It is one of the biggest tents I have seen and made by North Face. The tent had a presence that is hard to describe. If I had to guess, I’d say it as about 15 or so feet in diameter and looked extremely complicated to set up. It was definitely overkill so I stopped by site 8 to visit. It was just a guy camping with his small family and even he admitted that the tent was a bit much for a weekend camping trip. Apparently he worked at North Face and one of the perks was access to high-end equipment. The name of the tent was Base Camp or something like that and we both laughed when he told me what it was worth. Shockingly expensive, this is the best of the best if you are waiting to climb Everest.

Here is one that I really liked. It was long and almost like a tunnel inside. I cant remember the make, may have been Marmot.

This little tent clips to the tail end of a Prius and turned the car into a hybrid vehicle-tent-gas-battery thing. Love it!

These little Marmot tents looked so cute in site 2. Although the photo does not show it, there were actually three tents and three ladies and all were about the same size. The tents that is, not the ladies.

Awesome little vintage trailer with its original circus style attached tent. This one got lots of attention while at Schoolhouse.

This vintage Range Rover looks like it is ready for the Australian Outback! The accordion tent is attached by a hinge on one side and pops up to create one of the coolest rigs to visit the camp last Summer. This is one I really wish I had myself. I later learned that this vehicle / pop up combination is highly sought after and pretty rare.

Can you say tent envy?

This is your classic vintage Coleman style house tent. I see these once in a while and occasionally get to see a original still in use. I once talked with an older man that had been using his for over fifty years! I’m guessing most modern tents are not going to last that long.

I get a lot of Europeans that come to tour California and the west.There are a few bay area companies that convert vans into camping rigs that work very well for a couple or small family. I love the Smokey the Bear motif on this one.

Some tents are just plain big. Warehouse stores are flooding the market with tents as big as houses. I’m not a huge fan of these and they often do not last. If you choose one of these monsters, be aware that many sites at Schoolhouse will not work for you. Talk with me about it first if you want to make sure the size will work in your site.

Schoolhouse is not a trailer park, it is a tent campground. A car camping experience. It’s small so trailers typically don’t work well here but I wanted to show some of the rigs with a small footprint that have visited and fit right in. These next few are classic beauty.

Teardrops are so perfect for a couple, I don’t know why more people don’t have them. This beautiful little tow behind is actually new and made by a company called Silver Shadow.

I’m a sucker for the smaller Airstreams. They are so classy and even though this one is new, it is a nod to the past, just like Schoolhouse.

The canned ham on the left is a real one. Vintage and restored. You can buy one new however and they look just as good. Shasta has recently released a re-issue of their 1961 classic.

Could a vintage Westy be any cooler than this one? It has an original tent that attaches to the side creating a large indoor space. The whole thing screams 1960’s. It’s interesting to me that the people who buy a Westfalia always seem happy. They love the busses and often seem to be on some sort of adventure. Even if it is just a weekend outing.

Schoolhouse Canyon Campground 12600 River Rd. Guerneville, CA 707.869.2311