China Camp State Park

I have been wanting to visit China Camp State Park for over a decade, and I just haven't gotten around to it.  Today I decided that this was going to be my alternative to watching the Super Bowl.  My youngest and I made the trip down to San Rafael at about 2 in the afternoon, and we did some exploring and a string of smaller hikes starting with the Turtle Back Trail.   As we entered into the park, we were treated to the gorgeous views of the San Francisco Bay, and the stunning vistas just never stopped!









We made our way to China Camp Village, which was a thriving Chinese fishing village in the last couple of decades of the 1800's.  They have many of the original buildings and houses there, and it was quite interesting to imagine the thriving village.    Here are some photos:


There is a Shoreline trail, which is a long trail that traverses the length of the park, but it was filled with mountain bikers.  VERY popular spot!   There  are also many vista points that are set up with lots of picnic tables.  Very nice place to have a picnic indeed! It also struck me as a very nice place to kayak as well.  The water was calm, and there were many birds to observe, and there were a few kayakers doing just that.  I would love to come back here with the family and camp for a few days.  There are fees for the park, which are kind of confusing, they have parking fees and trail fees.  I just kept putting my State Park pass on the windshield, and it seemed to work, but you may want to review the fees on their website.  There are also lots of bathrooms throughout.





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