Many campgrounds around state reopen just in time for warmer weather.
Chains come down after a year of closures due to pandemic, fires
California’s campgrounds have been shut down for most of the past year because of the coronavirus pandemic and wildfires. But this month, hundreds of campsites across the Bay Area are opening in time for spring.
This week’s warm weather, combined with declines in coronavirus infection rates, has jumpstarted campsite reservations at state, county and regional parks. At least 883 sites at 19 campgrounds are open this week. Saturday night bookings are filling up through early summer at certain popular campgrounds, a review of reservation websites shows.
“Everybody is dying to go camping,” said Norma Gomez, who helps run the campsite reservation service for the East Bay Regional Park
District. “Just to get out there, breathe some fresh air — that helps people.”
A few gems can still be found across the Bay Area. Last Saturday evening, for instance, both Pantoll and Bootjack campgrounds at Mount Tamalpais State Park had
space.
When the coronavirus took hold a year ago, campgrounds were closed across most of California. Many remained closed through spring and into early summer, when a sprinkling of camps, pri
marily in the Sierra Nevada and managed by the U.S. Forest Service, reopened with limited services and camper quotas.
The state’s shelterinplace framework, initiated in December, closed campgrounds statewide again. Many are just beginning to come back online now.
Some popular campgrounds at Bay Area parks remain closed, including walkin sites at Angel Island State Park and the new walkin sites at Candlestick Point State Recreation Area.
In addition, campgrounds located in the burn zones of last August’s wildfires remain closed indefinitely. That includes sites at Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Butano State Park, and Memorial and Pescadero Creek county parks. Other longterm closures include Glen and Sky trail camps at Point Reyes National Seashore, and in Santa Clara County east of Morgan Hill, eight formal trail camps and dozens of dispersed sites at Henry W. Coe State Park.
State Parks public information officer Jorge Moreno noted that “demand for camping and lodging sites often exceeds the available inventory,” especially for Friday and Saturday nights. “The public is advised to do some research and have alternate parks in mind in case the first choice is booked.”
Moreno also noted that rangers will continue to monitor that visitors are COVIDsafe. Group sizes will be monitored, group campgrounds will remain closed, along with most public areas where people might congregate, such as visitor centers, he said. All visitors should carry masks and wear them when near others.
Here’s the latest, region by region:
San Francisco Peninsula
Two weeks ago, Half Moon Bay State Beach became the first major park on the coast to open its campground, with drivein sites available by reservation only.
Portola Redwoods State Park has reopened its drivein campground with limited facilities. According to district headquarters, the Slate Trail Camp at Portola Redwoods remains closed indefinitely.
The Midpeninsula Open Space District opened its trail camp in Monte Bello Open Space Preserve off Page Mill Road, the Black Mountain Trail Camp. A 1.5mile hike leads to a designated campground, with nearby treks to sandstone formations and hilltop views of the South Bay.
North Bay
Marin County State Parks reopened campgrounds — walkin only, no groups allowed — at three major parks:
Samuel P. Taylor State Park on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, China Camp State Park on San Pablo Bay east of San Rafael and Mount Tamalpais State Park.
At the Marin Headlands, Bicentennial WalkIn opened in early February. Kirby Cove, Haypress and Hawk trail camps are scheduled to open March 12.
At Point Reyes, Wildcat Camp on the southern end of the Coast Trail, is open, booked most nights for spring and summer. Coast Camp is also open, on the northern end of the Coast Trail out of the Point Reyes Hostel area. Sky Camp and Glen Camp are in the fire recovery zone with no dates of reopening, and the Bear Valley Trailhead is closed.
East Bay
At Mount Diablo State Park, the Live Oak and Juniper Campgrounds are open.
In the East Bay Regional Park District, the camps — reservations only — opened at Del Valle, Anthony Chabot in Castro Valley, Sibley Backpack Camp in Oakland and walkin sites at Sunol Regional Wilderness. Reservations are available four weeks in advance, with no dropin reservations permitted.
Several backpack sites have opened in the Ohlone Wilderness, which extends from the backcountry of Del Valle Regional Park west through Sunol to Mission Peak Regional Park. These are: Eagles Springs No. 1 at Mission Peak; Oak View and Star’s Rest at Sunol Backpack Camp, and Doe Camp No. 1; Stewart’s Camp; and Boyd Camp No. 1 in Ohlone.
Santa Clara County
Drivein campsites, yurts and walkin camps are now open at Sanborn County Park, Joseph D. Grant, Mount Madonna, Uvas Canyon and Coyote Lake.
At Henry W. Coe State Park, the main campground at the headquarters/Dunne Avenue entrance east of Morgan Hill is open, along with trail camps in the vicinity of headquarters. Campsites in the park’s interior in the burn zone remain closed.