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Coast Camp - Point Reyes National Seashore
Category: Campgrounds [Edit]
1 Bear Valley RdCoast Trail and Firelane Trail
Pt. Reyes Station, CA 94956
(415) 663-8054
3 reviews for Coast Camp - Point Reyes National Seashore
site #3 is a great site because you can see AND hear the waves from the comfort of your private picnic table or tent.
there's a small grill if you're that adventurous, but some people like to use backpacking as an excuse to eat more ramen. also there are raccoons so USE the site's locker if you still want that bagel to be there for you in the morning.
and if you're wondering about bring along that bottle wine or other alcohol since it means carrying a little more weight, i say go for it, since the hike is not too long (2.5 - 3 miles). you'll be happy you did.
I guess we literally started off on the wrong foot, making a wrong turn and hitting a loop that added another 40 mins onto the one hour walk-in we were already expecting. We also over-packed, making this unknown trek in the dark, through cougar country, that much worse. It was daunting indeed. I bit my tongue most of the way and felt relieved to finally make camp, dropping my bags and looking around the open space for the spot we'd reserved. Within seconds the raccoons we upon us, running straight for my pack. We spent much of the night fending them off. One of us would cook while the other stood on the table with a large stick yelling at them to get back (that would be me). They didn't listen.
All our food was packed nicely in the steel box provided so they did back down a bit, but I barely slept with thoughts of them ripping open my tent to find some lipgloss I'd forgot in my stash. You have to put nearly EVERYTHING in that box they'd warned, even deodorant, or clothes you've cooked in.
We woke to a blazing sun (no shade to be found) and realized we'd planted ourselves on top of some groundhog dens. It wasn't so bad, they were kinda cute, and the raccoons seemed to be history.
Ahh...finally a chance to hit the beach in my new bikini and relax! We couldn't see it from our spot but I knew it was close by. Once we got there I can't say I was all that impressed. It was okay. Nice cathedral sand cliffs, but coming from Toronto, home of the stunning Scarborough bluffs beaches it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Nor, had it warranted the type of trek we'd just endured.
We had two nights booked, so we'd get to just chill, but once we got back to camp for lunch and realized the mice had gotten into our food we had to make the two hour trek in and out of Point Reyes again to grab some more grub. Only real highlights for me were the grazing deer and bunnies I saw, and now being able to say I did it, even if I did end up grumbling about it.
This is a terrific hike-in or bike-in campground in Pt. Reyes! It's the shortest distance to travel of the walk-in campgrounds at Pt. Reyes (1.8 or 2.7 miles, depending which way you come), so it's great for families. We loaded up our Burley trailer with two 2 year olds, tons of stuff (very Ma & Pa Joad), my husband drove the bike (pulling almost 100 lbs!) and I rode my bike with a regular camping backpack on. We were quite a sight I'm sure. But it's only about a 30 minute (slow) ride on a mostly flat, pretty wide dirt trail (Coast Trail). You can also hike in on a shorter trail, but it's hilly and not for bikes.
Once at the campground, you are in a pretty scrubby and exposed area. No trees. But at least at our campsite (#1) we were in our own little cul-de-sac with a view of the ocean! You get a food locker to keep the critters out, a picnic table and a grill (brickettes only, no wood collecting!) Note that the food locker heats up in the sun, so your food will get pretty steamy in there during the day. We didn't have any critter issues at all, despite some pretty stern warnings attached to our picnic table. We did see a lot of the fallow deer - we called them doats, since they look like some unholy cross between a deer and a goat.
There are well-maintained, clean restrooms (pit toilets, but on the nicer side as far as it goes) and clean potable water.
And it's a short 5 minute hike down a trail to the beach, which is basically the south end of Limatour beach - wide, very fine sand, LOTS of wind in the afternoon. Gorgeous to hike down the beach to Sculpture Beach and tide pools. Miles and miles of beach hiking, or you can continue to hike on Coast trail around the coast. The beach was empty the whole time we were there, even though the campground was pretty full.
Some of the sites are up a canyon in the scrub, so they're more private. Others are just in a flat, grassy field - they looked pretty noisy and close to your neighbors. We felt very secluded in #1, as would the other campsites in the canyon I think.
We had great sunny weather in June for most of the 2 nights, 3 days we were there, but it was foggy the last morning. Unpredictable, as always, and often windy, so dress in layers!
