China Camp: Oak Ridge-McNears Fire Trail Hike
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: The trailhead for this hike starts near the China Camp Visitor Center/Ranger Station across from the Bullhead Flat parking area, just around the curve north of the China Camp Beach and historic village, which is at the eastern edge of the larger China Camp State Park. Driving northwest on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael, the Bullhead Flat parking area is on the bay side past the China Camp Village, a little less than 2 miles north of McNears Beach Park.
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:
There is a short walk across the road from Bullhead Flat parking to the entrance of the ranger station area. Facing the visitor center (closed since the pandemic), there is a fenced trail to the right that leads slightly uphill into the trees. We took this connector for 0.1 miles, then a 0.1 mile connection on Shoreline to Oak Ridge Trail. It was around a half mile to the McNears Fire Trail connection. From there we chugged up a steep hill for another half mile or so. This was a fairly short less than mile and a half hike one way (under 3 miles round trip), but the steep climb up McNears Fire Trail made it feel longer!
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• The Bullhead Flat parking area is to the right, on the bay side, about a mile past the China Camp Village turnoff.
• There was a $5 day pass fee during our visit. Self-pay using envelopes provided next to brochure with trail map.
• There are toilets at the Bullhead Flat parking area.
• The China Camp Visitor Center/Ranger Station is across the road from Bullhead Flat parking. The online information says that the visitor center is open, but we were informed that it has been closed since the pandemic.
• Heed health and safety notices, including wildlife alerts.
• Have sun protection and water to drink.
• Bay Area weather can switch between chilly and foggy and warm and sunny in the blink of an eye. We always bring layers.
• Stay clear of poison oak. Having a scrub like Tecnu handy in case of contact is a good idea.
• Check for ticks after hikes.
The trail:
Our goal for this hike was to check out the China Camp Visitor Center that we’ve seen on maps, complete with open hours listed. We’ve hiked in many areas of China Camp State Park, and finally visited China Camp Beach and Village to see the historical displays there a couple of years ago. We were curious to see what further displays the Visitor Center might have to offer, and to try a set of trails that we had not explored yet.
We parked at Bullhead Flat across from the Visitor Center and enjoyed the bay view for a few minutes. We crossed the road and walked up to the Visitor Center, which was noted online as being open, only to see a Closed sign. We were peeking in the windows to see the type of displays inside when a person came out and asked if we needed anything. Turns out the Visitor Center has been closed since the pandemic.
The trail we wanted to start on also seemed to be in a direction that was now marked by Do Not Enter signs and what looked like some sort of construction area. Fortunately, the staff person was able to point us in the right direction to get to our trailhead.
We took a short, tree-covered connector trail lined with wooden fences to a short connection on the Shoreline Trail, and then got onto our intended Oak Ridge Trail, which was a pleasant dirt path, lined by trees, grass, and wildflowers in some areas. During our hike, we walked past oak, manzanita and madrone trees, and flowers included lupine, Indian paintbrush, and orange sticky monkeyflower as well as several flowers I don’t know the names for.
We soon realized that these trails are popular with mountain bikers, some of whom liked taking hairpin switchback turns at high speed. Having said that, most of the bikers were courteous and worked cooperatively to get past hikers on what is a narrow trail in some places. Perhaps due to the bikes, we saw numerous dead lizards on the trail. I stopped counting at six. We saw many more live lizards scooting quickly across the trail, fortunately.
Our goal was to take Oak Ridge Trail to Bay View Trail, which we assumed by its name would take us high up on a ridge for good bay views. Though there were trail signs at the junctions, they were not always super clear for which trail was which. When we thought we were heading to the Bay View Trail, we ended up on McNears Fire Trail going up a very steep hill.
The tree coverage opened up into more chapparal type terrain as we got higher up. From the bottom of the hill, it looked like quite a long, steep climb to reach the peak where we could tell we would have great views. We worked our way up despite the heat, and the views from the top did not disappoint.
We could see highlights including the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, San Pablo Bay, and Mount Diablo. There were some benches at the top of the hill, good for a little snack and drink break before heading back down.
Though we did not end up on Bay View Trail as planned, we were very happy with our shorter, steeper climb for the views at the top of McNears Fire Trail. We enjoyed seeing the scenery in reverse on our downhill return.
This hike is right near China Camp Beach and Village which is an interesting place to visit. 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: Oak Ridge-McNears Fire Trail Hike Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Shifting Directions” Insights post.)
Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop 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. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: The trailhead for this hike starts near the China Camp Visitor Center/Ranger Station across from the Bullhead Flat parking area, just around the curve north of the China Camp Beach and historic village, which is at the eastern edge of the larger China Camp State Park. Driving northwest on North San Pedro Road in San Rafael, the Bullhead Flat parking area is on the bay side past the China Camp Village, a little less than 2 miles north of McNears Beach Park.
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:
There is a short walk across the road from Bullhead Flat parking to the entrance of the ranger station area. Facing the visitor center (closed since the pandemic), there is a fenced trail to the right that leads slightly uphill into the trees. We took this connector for 0.1 miles, then a 0.1 mile connection on Shoreline to Oak Ridge Trail. It was around a half mile to the McNears Fire Trail connection. From there we chugged up a steep hill for another half mile or so. This was a fairly short less than mile and a half hike one way (under 3 miles round trip), but the steep climb up McNears Fire Trail made it feel longer!
Considerations:
General note: All information is subject to change based on current health and safety guidelines.
• The Bullhead Flat parking area is to the right, on the bay side, about a mile past the China Camp Village turnoff.
• There was a $5 day pass fee during our visit. Self-pay using envelopes provided next to brochure with trail map.
• There are toilets at the Bullhead Flat parking area.
• The China Camp Visitor Center/Ranger Station is across the road from Bullhead Flat parking. The online information says that the visitor center is open, but we were informed that it has been closed since the pandemic.
• Heed health and safety notices, including wildlife alerts.
• Have sun protection and water to drink.
• Bay Area weather can switch between chilly and foggy and warm and sunny in the blink of an eye. We always bring layers.
• Stay clear of poison oak. Having a scrub like Tecnu handy in case of contact is a good idea.
• Check for ticks after hikes.
The trail:
Our goal for this hike was to check out the China Camp Visitor Center that we’ve seen on maps, complete with open hours listed. We’ve hiked in many areas of China Camp State Park, and finally visited China Camp Beach and Village to see the historical displays there a couple of years ago. We were curious to see what further displays the Visitor Center might have to offer, and to try a set of trails that we had not explored yet.
We parked at Bullhead Flat across from the Visitor Center and enjoyed the bay view for a few minutes. We crossed the road and walked up to the Visitor Center, which was noted online as being open, only to see a Closed sign. We were peeking in the windows to see the type of displays inside when a person came out and asked if we needed anything. Turns out the Visitor Center has been closed since the pandemic.
The trail we wanted to start on also seemed to be in a direction that was now marked by Do Not Enter signs and what looked like some sort of construction area. Fortunately, the staff person was able to point us in the right direction to get to our trailhead.
We took a short, tree-covered connector trail lined with wooden fences to a short connection on the Shoreline Trail, and then got onto our intended Oak Ridge Trail, which was a pleasant dirt path, lined by trees, grass, and wildflowers in some areas. During our hike, we walked past oak, manzanita and madrone trees, and flowers included lupine, Indian paintbrush, and orange sticky monkeyflower as well as several flowers I don’t know the names for.
We soon realized that these trails are popular with mountain bikers, some of whom liked taking hairpin switchback turns at high speed. Having said that, most of the bikers were courteous and worked cooperatively to get past hikers on what is a narrow trail in some places. Perhaps due to the bikes, we saw numerous dead lizards on the trail. I stopped counting at six. We saw many more live lizards scooting quickly across the trail, fortunately.
Our goal was to take Oak Ridge Trail to Bay View Trail, which we assumed by its name would take us high up on a ridge for good bay views. Though there were trail signs at the junctions, they were not always super clear for which trail was which. When we thought we were heading to the Bay View Trail, we ended up on McNears Fire Trail going up a very steep hill.
The tree coverage opened up into more chapparal type terrain as we got higher up. From the bottom of the hill, it looked like quite a long, steep climb to reach the peak where we could tell we would have great views. We worked our way up despite the heat, and the views from the top did not disappoint.
We could see highlights including the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, San Pablo Bay, and Mount Diablo. There were some benches at the top of the hill, good for a little snack and drink break before heading back down.
Though we did not end up on Bay View Trail as planned, we were very happy with our shorter, steeper climb for the views at the top of McNears Fire Trail. We enjoyed seeing the scenery in reverse on our downhill return.
This hike is right near China Camp Beach and Village which is an interesting place to visit. 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: Oak Ridge-McNears Fire Trail Hike Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Shifting Directions” Insights post.)
Check the Home page for the broader background story. Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page, and scroll to the bottom of each hike page to see full photo galleries.
If you’d like to support HikingAutism, check out the Support/Shop 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. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links. Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, Twitter at @HikingAutism, Instagram at lisalouis777, and Bluesky @hikingautism.bsky.social
