China Camp State Park
San Rafael · near San Rafael · SF Bay Area
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Best season
- Year-round (drains and rides well even in winter)
What is here
- Terrain
- coastal
- Amenities
- Buffed, flowing trail loop · Bayside oak woodland · Beginner-friendly terrain · Waterfront campground
- Best for
- Mellow, all-weather beginner dirt riding
- Features
- Bay Area's friendliest dirt loop · Buffed, all-weather trails · Historic bayside setting · Waterfront camping
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Busy on weekends (shared use) · Some roots/ruts · Poison oak · Ticks in grass
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · singletrack
- Surface
- buff
- Remoteness
- 1
- Riding
- Mellow, flowing fire roads and buffed trails around a wooded bayside ridge — one of the Bay Area's most beginner-friendly, all-weather dirt loops
- Terrain note
- Sea level to ~600 ft; buffed, well-drained trails; oak-and-bay woodland
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- One of the Bay Area's friendliest dirt destinations — buffed, flowing fire roads and singletrack around a wooded bayside ridge near San Rafael, that ride well even in wet winters. Mellow, welcoming terrain ideal for newer riders. Historic shrimp-village setting and a rare waterfront campground. Busy with shared use on weekends; poison oak and ticks in the grass. Accessible, scenic, all-weather riding just north of the Golden Gate.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
China Camp State Park, wrapping a wooded ridge along San Pablo Bay near San Rafael, is one of the Bay Area's most beloved begin…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to China Camp State Park — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38, -122.49