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China Camp
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China Camp State Park
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
16 reviews for China Camp State Park
China Camp is cool 'cuz it's close by and caters to cyclists!
Okay enough alliteration.
I've been hiking here along a beautiful, windy path while my better half has been mtn biking several times. It's not a hugely technical trail (well, at least to him), but it gets the job done if you're looking for a decent spot to bike. The hiking trail we did was pretty flat, but that's okay.
Wish there was more free parking though - it gets crowded on the weekends and finding a space can be challenging.
SOS - Save our State Parks. We went here Sat 8/8/09 because this park might close after Labor Day.
If you like riding your bike in State Parks than come here cuz this park is overrun with bikes. Many of the bikers are pretty polite to us hikers. Some even stop and let us pass on the single track trails. One group even called out "hikers" and we called out "bikers". That was funny.
It's almost an 1hr drive from San Leandro to San Rafael, we took the San Rafael bridge $4 over.
We parked at the Bullhead Flat parking lot, there's a $3 day use fee to park there. If u want to save money, park along the street off the road. Many people did that. There's 2 flush toilets w/ sink inside - no soap there.
We did a long loop hike about 10-11 mi. Bullhead Flat up Peacock Gap Trail (a road) to Ranger Station. Recommend you get a map there ($1). Then Oak Ridge Trail - Ridge Fire Trail - turn right at Bay Hills Drive (a paved road) - lunch at the old Nike site (the binoculars symbol on the map) w/ views of San Pablo Bay & Mt Tam. Then we went on Echo Trail - Bay View Trail - Back Ranch Fire Trail - Shoreline Trail - back to car. Note that Miwok Fire Road is closed between Oak Ridge Trail and Shoreline Trail.
There are some easy trails and some killer steep trails trail. Don't go on a hot, summer day!
Bring mosquito repellent if you get bit most times. I got one bite on my finger - sucks.
Most people go to China Camp Historic Area - that area is really cool. They filmed some old movies there before.
There's a walk-in campground at Back Ranch Meadows - not sure how much.
NO Dogs allowed - I did see some guy brought his dog though, I didn't tell him cuz he might kill me.
I recommend this park for bikers and it's probably best Spring & Fall.
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I am fairly novice at this mountain biking thing, but I can't think of a better place to learn and improve technical skills of mountain biking. It was the most beautiful day in April, the weather was absolutely perfect. This place is nice and hilly, challenging enough for all mountain bikers types, steep trails, great single track, rolling hills, technical, challenging uphills, and fast down hill track. You get a variety of different types of trails, depending if you want an easy ride, or something challenging. It is all here for you. Nature is everywhere and there are a lot of great spots to just hang out, and have a picnic.
And the view is amazing. At any random spot, peeking through the trees, you get a beautiful view of San Pablo bay, and a marine breeze to cool down at those certain moments of exhaustion from climbing hills. Just pause, take in a rest, and enjoy the view.
Only kind of minor point of irritation (for a mountain biker at least)...you have to share the trails with hikers, runners and others. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing...nature is for everyone.
I will come back, and spend more time here. It is so great it is close to the City.
Pretty good mountain biking for beginners. Some nice stretches make it worth it for non-beginners, but you can almost do the entire loops without breaking a sweat.
Went here for a day trip. Its really cool if you're into history etc. The village is an old Chinese shrimping village that is now only occupied by one old Chinese guy. It has a nice beach for the little kids and some historic buildings and a visitor center. Nice day out if you want to hike or bicycle or just go out there and picnic. It has some nice tables and BB Q's. It is pretty nice way to spend a day out without having to spend a whole lot. Great day out altogether.
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The camp sites at China Camp are way too close together and you have to pack your gear into the site. When the description read "family campground," I didn't realize that meant it felt like you were camping in the middle of a day care center. The children in the site above us only had loud as a volume - even at 6:30 a.m. The campground has four wheeled "garbage" cans to help campers pack the gear in, but it's no where near enough. Cycling looks like it would be 5 star.
It's nice to have this state park near SF (20 minutes north or so) but it's not a hidden gem. It's crowded! Especially with cyclists. It's okay for hiking but the paths are flat. No dogs are allowed. You can also camp there (tent-camping only) which might be fun if you want to spend more time exploring. I took a walk through Mikow Meadows. The well-worn dirt path winds around an area with trees and a view of the bay, meadows, saltmarshes, and tree-covered hills. The path takes you to a picnic area with restrooms. It's pleasant but then I saw a sign with instructions of what to do if you encounter a mountain lion!
Some of the parking lots charge $3 but you can park along San Pedro Road for free.
There are some noteworthy sites within the park including China Camp Village (the Chinese shrimp fishing village) and McNear's Beach.
You can check the weather there on this website: http://www.parks.ca.go...
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Every time I go into the garage, I spot my dejected-looking mountain bike in the corner. Seven months in the Bay Area and not once have I even taken it out for a spin around the block. There are so many great biking options in the area and it was high time that I took that poor bike out.
We loaded up and headed across the bridge to China Camp State Park. My husband has been riding here pretty regularly and offered some advice.
We arrived around 3 p.m. and the car thermometer registered at 89 degrees. Great conditions to reintroduce myself to a strenuous ride!
Parking is free, it's not too crowded (even on a beautiful afternoon) and there are sweeping views of the water from various parts of the nine-mile loop.
The first three miles consists of winding uphill with a lot of switchbacks that makes the steepness a lot more tolerable than if it were a straight incline.
The entire ride is a great variety of uphill and downhill and those views really are gorgeous.
My mountain bike isn't looking as dejected and I'm feeling less guilty about my glutinous weekend.
Took a nice little hike here last weekend. Loop trail about 5 miles, not too grueling at all. Parked just outside the gates of the China Camp Village and it was free. Don't think the hike took more than 2 hours, maybe less.
My husband works on the weekends so by the time he gets home from work we don't have a whole lot of time to mess around with getting somewhere and doing a crazy multi-hour hike. Although the trail we took was shady and pleasant it wasn't super memorable, just a nice change of scenery more than anything.
One bummer was we were on a trail that was pretty popular with the mountain bikes, and I could see why as the whole general area seemed pretty level. There was only one leg of our hike where we made a left and seemed to climb for the next 20 minutes straight up, but overall it was fairly flat.
But those mtn bikers... man. some of them were nice, slowed down and smiled, etc as you stepped off the trail for them. Others had a death look on their face as though you were fucking up their whole ride because they had to slow down. That wasn't too pleasant. Fuck you, mean mountain bike dudes - the trail is for everyone.
As we were driving out I noticed some trail heads that had signs saying no bikes so we'll definitely choose one of those next time and avoid all of that. Otherwise, cool enough, would give it 3.5 stars.
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What a cool little State park this is!
I don't know about the trails, or really how large this park is, but we took the dawg here today. Unfortunately the tide was all the way out, so she couldn't swim.
This park has a pier; kinda scary because there is only a rope railing, but I must be in need of some excitement because I walked to the end of it.
Picnic tables, grass and a rugged rock beach. Some old marine machinery and a few wooden buildings ring back to 'the day'.
The site says it's got a food service, but I didn't see one in operation there today ... maybe I didn't look closely enough.
We didn't stay long; she couldn't swim.
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So what if a few raccoons drove me out of my campsite one night? I can still enjoy all the beauty and nature this park has to offer in the daytime when the deer, bunnies and other wildlife are less intimidating, and the raccoons tend to keep to themselves.
Hike or bike trails, head out to the lovely, quiet beach (if it gets packed, I'll curse this review forever and never write online about my special "secret" spots again, so don't descend in hordes on the places, you Yelpers!), or--if you dare brave the ruthless raccoons--camp in one of the walk in sites (bathrooms and showers available).
Combining the beauty of nature with quick access to the city--and even a cell phone connection--China Beach State Park offers urban nature-seekers the best of both worlds.
A part of this park use to be an old Chinese shrimp fishery which was once a booming business. The Chinese use to harvest shrimp off their boats in San Pablo bay. A whole processing enclave remains where this shrimp fishery use to strive. The shrimps were caught in netting, put out in the sun to dry, and then shipped back to China. There are remnants of housing, tools, and equipment which are partly exhibited as a museum at the historical site. It's unbelievable to conceive a population of 500 once lived here before the 1900's. Today, the beach area is nice for day hikes on the sand and rocks. It's a quiet, secluded little area managed by the State Parks.
Parking is available in the lot.
This is a great place to ride your mountain bike! There are not a lot of trees so the sun really shines through. The coastline is beautiful, I highly recommend biking the Shoreline trail, especially if you tend to space out bike rides, like yours truly, because it has an equal amount of ups and downs, and not all at once! If you get some real speed, it's so fun to go up! and down! We biked out here from San Rafael, the accessibility of such a great spot is still unbelievable to me. There are camping sights, BBQ pits, shoreline beaches and more. It's not as green as Mt. Tam State Park, but the different type of climate and vegetation is just as beautiful.
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This is about as far from the city as you might want to go for a picnic. It's not too crowded and the historical exhibits can be a pleasant surprise if you are expecting nothing but a nice view. Nice hiking if you don't mind hills, and possibly some aggresive squirrels. Some of the roads to get here can be annoyingly twisty, but they're not as bad as Mt. Tam, or much of the coastal highway, which unfortunately tends to follow the tediously winding California coastline.
China camp is Sweet for mountain biking, hiking, sight seeing and much more. We came over from the city and camped @ the campgrounds, which were nice and clean. We rented Mountain bikes from China Camp Bikes and beans. A small bike shop just down the way next to 7-11.Oh ya ...excellent coffee too. China Camp is a great place to visit!
great place to dirt pedal
