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Kirby Cove Campground
Rating Details »
6 reviews for Kirby Cove Campground
when i was in junior high... if something was incredible, cool or amazing- we called it "mint". as in- "wow, that hypercolor shirt is mint" or "your mom said you could go to the dance? MINT!!!".
well- kirby cove is mint.
we managed to get two spots for my b-day weekend. 2 spots= 20 people=party weekend. oh yeah.
the raccoons are the most invasive i have ever seen. they carry chinese stars and nun-chucks. i'm not kidding. we only brought enough chairs for us to all have a seat but there was always at least 5 raccoons in our chairs...leaving us to sit on coolers or on the ground. they drank almost a full case of tecate and were doing shots of jack all night. not once did they offer anyone else a beverage. next time i go to kirby cove, i'm not inviting the raccoons.
it rained two days before and the day after we left. while there it was 85 and full sun. thanks mother nature. we sat on the beach all day while the kids from sac town fished next to us. we boccied, we danced, we drank, we ate and we enjoyed life. until one of the kids from sac town called me ma'am. which i immediately bitched him out for and told him i prefer to go by homegirl. he never ended up calling me homegirl.
i heart kirby cove so much.
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This spot is great for beginner or low key bike campers. Just over the GG bridge and up Conzelman, then down a fire road. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Conzelman is a hill. But don't worry, it's not that bad. It's only a short ways. And if I can do it hauling gear plus dinner plus 2 bottles of red wine, you can do it too.
Ditto on all the campsite advice. #1 is on the all the way up by the cliffs, then on the left. It's got great views and the majority of the site is behind a hill so it's sheltered from the wind.
#2 is in middle but up on the ridge. Dont' be confused. #2 is the campsite on the right (back to the parking lot). There's a ranger campsite right next to it on the left (it will have nonpotable water spout). We ended up in #2 and it was very windy. It's like at the entrance of teh wind funnel. I wore my woolies and puffy jacket.
#3 is right before #2 below the ridge. Very spacious and more sheltered from the wind.
#4 is on the far left closest to the parking lot and tucked into the foothills.
The raccoons here are very aggressive. The are not cute and cuddly. They will hiss and fight with each other. They will scare you at the dumpster. They will come right up to the edge of your campfire and skulk around. If you leave your site, they will immediately descend upon it. Campfires and lanterns will not deter them. So be sure to put away all your food either in the lockers or back in the car. They can open zippers and tear up plastic and cloth. They will also try to stick their paws into the food locker from the bottom and pull out anything they can. So either don't keep anything on the bottom shelves or only keep big stuff there (not in plastic bags). Also, do yourself a favor and take out your rubbish and recycling to the dumpsters in the parking lot before you leave your campsite or turn in for the night.
The campsite is small so during the day there isn't much to do except go down to the small beach. But if you walk back out to Conzelman, you can hookup with the Coastal Trail which you can take out to the Point Bonita Lighthouse or to Rodeo Beach. It's probably about 10 miles roundtrip.
At night you have to go down to the beach and catch the views of the GG bridge. Yes you can see it from the ridge but it is better from the beach.
We packed earplugs due to all the warnings about fog horns but even though it was foggy they didn't go off at all at night. However, they were still useful to block out all the raccoon noise.
Just remember, this is pretty no frills camping. No potable water and only pit toilets (though the pit toilets were clean and well stocked with TP). There's also no place to buy fire wood so be sure to stock up before you show up.
It may take almost 6 months to get the reservation for camp spot ONE so BOOK IT NOW!
You will get the code to the gate and the parking permits in the mail. Spot 1 is definitely the best with the most space and the view closest to the Golden Gate Bridge. You can have access to the beach but be careful of the cliffs!!! There are warning signs but the picnic table is VERY close to the edge.
This is urban camping at its very very very best.
Be sure to bring hand sanitizer as there's no sink by the toilet. Wear many many layers for the cold night. Get lots of wood to keep the fire going all night. And obviously whiskey is always your friend.
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I came to Kirby Cove just during the day to attend my stepdaughter's wedding. It was a great venue including the views and the relative privacy.
The Day Rangers can rightly be protective of this little gem and are pretty vigilant.
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It was cold! And windy! When it is foggy, the loud foghorns can go on for hours! But the location and views were incredible so close to the city and the Golden Gate Bridge. When the sun came out on our last day, it was just the most amazing setting for camping and relaxing at the beach there.
Site 1 and the picnic day use area have steep cliffs, not good for young kids, but great views. Site 2 has good views of the bridge and bay but is probably the most windy. Sites 3 and 4 are farther back, with less wind exposure. The sites are walk in only but carts are provided. There is a hill to climb walking back to the parking lot. No water at all and the pit toilets are just passable. The food lockers don't completely close so raccoons can get to the bottom shelf- would keep the food higher. All of the sites are large but 2 and 3 are best for larger groups (up to 10) . Sites 1 and 4 are the most private. The National Park Service must be getting some poisonous exposure from proximity to the dog hating California State Park system since dogs are not allowed at all.
There is also a NPS site where it looks like volunteers or workers camp out. We aren't supposed to gather wood but the NPS people stockpiled carts of fallen branches so we did the same. While we were there, they didn't put out their fire before they left and it spread out onto the wood mulch on their campsite outside of the fire ring where we caught it in time and put it out. That would have been ironic- park service workers starting a forest fire.
Something to watch out for is that there a lot of backpackers that go through the area who will just set up a tent right in your site if you are not there or in the middle of the night while you are sleeping. Usually they set it up at the picnic area or invade site 1 because of the view.
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If you can get campsite # 1 (which we did), and the weather is sunny (which it was), this will be some of the best camping you've ever done. There is nothing like "getting away from it all" by falling asleep to the sight of your beloved city in all of its glory.
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