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Beach Camping: Kirby Cove, Marin Headlands, California

Posted September 11, 2009 , trackback

I admit–sometimes I sit down to write a beach post and my mind goes blank. What do I write about? Which beach, where, how and why? I call to my husband in the other room, “Name a beach! Any beach!” And he spouts off beaches I’ve already covered. So then I turn to Google and type in: beach. Too much. Pretty beach. Not helpful. Ugly beach, beach with sand, beach with waves, tropical, cold, black, white and, um, beachy? Sometimes there are just too many options. So today I typed in: best beach Northern California, and this is what I got. Kirby Cove, my first thought, well, duh, why I hadn’t I thought of this before?

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Kirby Cove is a darling little beach nestled at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Marin Headlands, and yes, if you’re wondering–a beach can be called darling if it’s a cove. This beach is available for day-use but better visited as a camping spot, particularly with kids. To get there you must hike roughly a mile, starting high above the beach at eye-level with the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge. Park on Conzelman Road and walk down through groves of cypress, eucalyptus and pine. (The smell is heavenly!) Along the way you will see the the abandoned Battery Kirby which was in service from 1898 to 1934, (a great opportunity to teach kids about the history of the area!). Once at the beach, you will find clean, coarse sand with a perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco, the bay spread wide before you. And if you’re very lucky, you may spot a whale. The water is fairly gentle but cold; there is no lifeguard on duty. Dress in layers for cold weather as the area is often foggy.

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Kirby Cove includes four camp sites each with a maximum of ten people–reservations are highly sought after, so reserve well in advance. Kids can play in the trees or on the beach, watching sailboats and tankers glide beneath the Golden Gate. In the fall, watch for hawks, falcons, harriers and other birds of prey. Parking is restricted to three cars per site, within 100 yards of the campsites. Pit toilets, BBQ-pits, picnic tables, and fire rings are available, but there’s no water for drinking and hygiene. Call 1-800-365-CAMP for more information and reservations.

Photo credits in order of appearance: Golden Gate Bridge, Beach.

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