When looking into California State parks there are many different locations and activities which are available to you. Each park containing its own unique activities and contents, along with fun and exciting things to do. One state park provided by California which is a more unique pick for either an afternoon get away, or even a camp out vacation, is known as China Camp State Park.

What is China Camp State Park?

China Camp is a park located within San Rafael, California. You can find the park off of the north eastern shore of Point San Pedro. China Camp State Park receives its name for its preservation of a Chinese Fishing / Shrimping Village. China Camp holds its own camping site within the park which is known as Back Ranch Meadows. You may also find other miscellaneous activities such as scenic hiking, on site Chinese Museum, wildlife refuge, mountain biking, picnic areas, swimming, boating, and also wind surfing.

Tell me about the Chinese Village?

The Chinese village was built on the site land back in the 1800's. The actual park itself had not been established just the village which occupied approximately 500 residents of the village. These residents had originated from Canton, China. Thus giving the village its identification name of the Chinese Village. The village was maintained around the idea of fishing and shrimping due to its close location to the nearby general bodies of water.

The Chinese village contained 2 very popular shops at the time one being a barber shop and the other a marine supply store for the fishing hobbyists which resided their.

Most of the produce generated from fishing and shrimping in this village were shipped and distributed throughout china and other locations throughout the United States.

The Chinese Village was basically ended by laws which passed banning the use of bag nets which many shrimping hobbyists used to catch shrimp on the open waters, eventually the export itself of the shrimp was banned all together and thus the land was sold to the state which was eventually constructed into the China Camp State Park it currently stands as.

Today only a few buildings still reside of this village, and these building are used as museums to educate tourists and visitors about the trade and culture which went on in the 1800's in the village before the laws ended the hobby of shrimping.

Tell me about the nature trails and camping on China Camp State Park?

The camping site which resides on China Camp State Park is located not far from the actual parking lot of the park itself, although it is not close enough as to where the visitors and cars will actually bother your camping experience.

The camp is a part of the Back Ranch Meadows Campground and is approximately 50 to 300 yards from the parking lot.

The camp ground is only for use with tents. Vehicles, cabins, mobile homes, and other camping vehicles are not permitted for use on the site. When coming to the campground the use of the grounds is walk in only meaning you must park in the parking lot and walk all camping supplies to the ground by hand.

There is a separate section although of the campgrounds known as En-route this area is permitted for use of gray water holding tank RV's and only allows one night of camping per RV or group.

The trails and mountain bike hikes trail around different wildlife scenic areas of the state park, some scenic areas which are worth taking a look at are the salty marshes, meadows, and woodland areas.

One trail known as the Shoreline Trail is the most popular trail for its scenic routes, the trail follows through many different woodland areas over miles of marshes which surround the state grounds itself.

The day use area of the state park is known as Miwok Meadows and can be accessed by following the Shoreline Trail, or by vehicle the day use area is located two miles out of the park following a dirt path which leads to the day use area.

General Park Information:

Day use areas are open November 1st through June 1st and on occasional weekends and holidays year round.

Camp Grounds are open for reservations and use on events and occasions throughout the year based on availability and the camp grounds yearly set schedules. To find out the soonest you can reserve a camp spot you should contact the State Park directly for availability options and purchases. Check in time for Camp Grounds is 2PM. Checkout being noon.
For RV sites the check in is 6PM and checkout is 9AM.

China Camp State Park can be contacted at 1-800-444-PARK.

Address:
China Camp State Park
North San Pedro Rd
San Rafael, CA 94901