China Camp Beach and Village
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
China Camp Beach and historic village is at the eastern edge of the larger China Camp State Park. Driving northwest on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael, the turnoff for China Camp Village is about 1 mile north of McNears Beach Park/
Location: China Camp Village Road, San Rafael, Ca, off North San Pedro Road. There is an upper parking lot and a lower parking lot, both of which have a modest parking fee to support the park area.
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
China Camp State Park info link (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://friendsofchinacamp.org
China Camp State Park brochure (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://www.friendsofchinacamp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/park-brocure-2015.pdf
China Camp State Park map (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://friendsofchinacamp.org/park-map/
China Camp activities info link (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://friendsofchinacamp.org/visit-the-park/activities/
Distance:
If parked at the lower parking lot, the overall walking area is fairly limited. Visitors could back and forth on the beach and pier a couple of times to add up to a mile walk. If parked at the upper parking lot, there’s a pretty viewing and picnic area for walking a bit more. This is also a launch spot to numerous other trails in China Camp State Park that offer several-mile hikes.
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• The sign for China Camp State Park on North San Pedro Road is on a bit of a curve with a cliff. It almost looks like there’s a sharp driveway to turn at there, but there isn’t. Watch carefully a bit farther for the parking entrance on the right side.
• There was a $5 park/parking fee during our visit. This helps maintain facilities and grounds for visitors.
• There are toilets both at the upper parking lot and the lower parking lot where the historic village is.
• Heed health and safety notices, including wildlife alerts.
• Bay Area weather can switch between chilly and foggy and warm and sunny in the blink of an eye. We always bring layers.
The trail:
We’ve spent lots of time in this part of San Rafael over the years, sometimes to go swimming at McNears Beach Park, and sometimes to hike from the China Camp Campsite. We’d heard mention of a China Camp Beach but could never figure out how to get there. Turns out we’d been driving right past the entrance all these years.
The first big sign for China Camp State Park on North San Pedro Road almost looks like you could make a sharp turn down a road, but beware, this is just a road with a cliff, so watch for the actual turnoff which is in fact called China Camp Village Road.
We chose to park at the upper parking level and checked out the gorgeous views from the picnic grounds overlooking San Pablo Bay. This is a great place to start hikes that go further into China Camp State Park.
Our mission this day was to walk down the hill leading to the lower parking area to explore China Camp Village and China Camp Beach. We wandered up a small hill to look into the tiny rustic homes, with furnishings still on display, then made our way down to the beach area with an old shop still open as a visitor shop. The museum displays show old shrimp fishing and processing facilities and explain the history of the area.
Old boats add to the postcard-like charm of the views here. Walking out to the end of the pier extends the view of the bay, and though the beach is fairly short, it makes for a nice walk past picnic areas and old historic buildings.
A visit to China Camp Beach and Village can make for an easy walk and history lesson, but can also be combined with longer hikes in the area. One option for a longer hike from the other end of China Camp State Park is noted in China Camp Campsite to Chicken Coop Hill.
China Camp Beach and Village Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Room With a View” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
China Camp Beach and historic village is at the eastern edge of the larger China Camp State Park. Driving northwest on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael, the turnoff for China Camp Village is about 1 mile north of McNears Beach Park/
Location: China Camp Village Road, San Rafael, Ca, off North San Pedro Road. There is an upper parking lot and a lower parking lot, both of which have a modest parking fee to support the park area.
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
China Camp State Park info link (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://friendsofchinacamp.org
China Camp State Park brochure (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://www.friendsofchinacamp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/park-brocure-2015.pdf
China Camp State Park map (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://friendsofchinacamp.org/park-map/
China Camp activities info link (Friends of China Camp/CA State Parks):
https://friendsofchinacamp.org/visit-the-park/activities/
Distance:
If parked at the lower parking lot, the overall walking area is fairly limited. Visitors could back and forth on the beach and pier a couple of times to add up to a mile walk. If parked at the upper parking lot, there’s a pretty viewing and picnic area for walking a bit more. This is also a launch spot to numerous other trails in China Camp State Park that offer several-mile hikes.
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• The sign for China Camp State Park on North San Pedro Road is on a bit of a curve with a cliff. It almost looks like there’s a sharp driveway to turn at there, but there isn’t. Watch carefully a bit farther for the parking entrance on the right side.
• There was a $5 park/parking fee during our visit. This helps maintain facilities and grounds for visitors.
• There are toilets both at the upper parking lot and the lower parking lot where the historic village is.
• Heed health and safety notices, including wildlife alerts.
• Bay Area weather can switch between chilly and foggy and warm and sunny in the blink of an eye. We always bring layers.
The trail:
We’ve spent lots of time in this part of San Rafael over the years, sometimes to go swimming at McNears Beach Park, and sometimes to hike from the China Camp Campsite. We’d heard mention of a China Camp Beach but could never figure out how to get there. Turns out we’d been driving right past the entrance all these years.
The first big sign for China Camp State Park on North San Pedro Road almost looks like you could make a sharp turn down a road, but beware, this is just a road with a cliff, so watch for the actual turnoff which is in fact called China Camp Village Road.
We chose to park at the upper parking level and checked out the gorgeous views from the picnic grounds overlooking San Pablo Bay. This is a great place to start hikes that go further into China Camp State Park.
Our mission this day was to walk down the hill leading to the lower parking area to explore China Camp Village and China Camp Beach. We wandered up a small hill to look into the tiny rustic homes, with furnishings still on display, then made our way down to the beach area with an old shop still open as a visitor shop. The museum displays show old shrimp fishing and processing facilities and explain the history of the area.
Old boats add to the postcard-like charm of the views here. Walking out to the end of the pier extends the view of the bay, and though the beach is fairly short, it makes for a nice walk past picnic areas and old historic buildings.
A visit to China Camp Beach and Village can make for an easy walk and history lesson, but can also be combined with longer hikes in the area. One option for a longer hike from the other end of China Camp State Park is noted in China Camp Campsite to Chicken Coop Hill.
China Camp Beach and Village Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Room With a View” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
