World Map
China Camp Anchorage
Guide/Book Page
China Camp Anchorage
38.001269 -122.458623 usThis is a collaborative cruising guide page, meant to grow, adapt, and expand. YachtPals: If you find something wrong, or you want to add to this page, just click the edit tab and make your changes (don't worry the administrators can revert back to the old copy if it gets messed up).
To view the cruising guides in an interactive map, click here 
California - SF Bay Area - China Camp State Park
- Overview
- Location Maps and Charts
- Facilities
- Anchorage
- Contact Info
- Related Links
- Weather
- Dinghy and hiking trips
China Camp State Park is a state park located in San Rafael, California on the north eastern shore of Point San Pedro. Just a few hours from home for us SF Bay boaters, with lots of things to see and do. There is a Chinese fishing village, hiking trails, nice picnic areas, good kayaking and beachcombing, and a great little dinghy excursion. It also has this nice rural quality that attracts many San Francisco bay boaters.
- County - Marin
Four miles east of San Rafael on San Pablo Bay.- view Google Map of all the cruising guide locations
- view NOAA Chart of this area
- No mooring buoys
- Toilets
- Drinking water
- Campsites
- Picnic sites
- Hiking trails
- No laundry
- Outdoor shower
- Garbage
- Visit China Camp Village and walk through the house museum describing early Chinese settlement. Click here to read about the China Camp history.
- Wildlife-watching, hiking (15 miles of trails), swimming, kayaking and windsurfing
- Park Hours: 8:00am to Sunset (gate closes at 9:00pm)
- Dogs are prohibited on the park trails in most places, but we see them on the beach
- Very sticky mud. Strong currents. Shallow depths, watch your scope. Can get very uncomfortable here with an East or SE wind.
Contact Info: Park Telephone: 415-456-0766
Seasons/Climate: The climate is coastal-temperate. Winter temperatures are in the 50s. Summer temperatures are in the 70s-80s. The park has an average of more than 200 fog-free days per year, and is often clear when the rest of the bay is foggy.
Current Weather at China Camp
Hiking Notes:
There are supposed to be some great trails around here according to the trail map, edit this page to add your favorites here.
Dinghy Excursions:
Dinghy over to the creek, which is a pretty fun adventure. On your way over there you will find a bunch of old duck blinds in San Pablo bay! Watch the tide though, even in your dinghy you can't make it up the creek at low tide.
Dogs: Dogs allow with leash on beach (max. 6 feet).
ricos0 comment:
Good anchorage close by but out of the way. On a hot summer day its great to cool off in the san pablo breeze, however with the breeze coming one way and the current due to changing tides, lots of folks drag anchor there after believing they were well set (including us several times). Local myth has it there is an anchor gremlin at china camp that will wrap your rode around your keel when you're not watching. But our last couple of times there was no problem holding, helped I'm sure by picaroon's kellet (that's another story). Some swear by 2 anchors there = when in doubt throw another one out?Check out the pier and shrimp history!
Ralph Higbee comment:
I've wrapped the anchor rode around my fin keel on an Islander 28 there twice on an overnight anchorage. I had to replace the line one time it was so damaged. The other time I was with friends, we had to get going to make a tide change into the Petaluma area, so he "unwrapped" me.
Yes, I have also dragged anchor really badly, again on the Islander 28. It held all afternoon, we were with 3 other club boats. So come dinner time we went below and prepared dinner, then after dinner went topsides, and all the other boats had moved!!! HA!
We at least didn't hit anything, usually it takes you out to the main Bay. It was a danforth by the way, scope was about 4-1, had read that a short scope at China Camp worked in your favor.
Latest encounter, motor froze and we had to sail into China Camp overnight, dropped an anchor on our Fuji 35 Ketch. It swung all night, didn't drag or wrap our cutaway full keel, we got towed to our marina the next day, it was hell getting the anchor up in spite of a tow boat keeping us over the anchor, pulling forward (not enough battery power left to run the windlass after trying to get the engine started). Next trip on this boat, I'm going to set the mizzen with a small steadying sail, it should help also. Needless to say, I put in a new engine.p.s. - a great place for a lunch anchorage, nothing much can happen in that a short time.
ADD YOUR COMMENT ABOUT CHINA CAMP (IN SAN PABLO BAY) BELOW.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
Boating and Sailing Magazine Feed
Anchoring and tides and some general info
There is a sandbar about 40 ft of the head of the pier, overnighters should always be anchored outside of there. check where the fisherman's mooring buoy is (a beer keg) and stay waaay outside of that, all the way parallell to the beach. consult the chart to see where the current is moderate and you won't get your keel wrapped. in winter: go somewhere else, any storm will whip up san pablo bay and make anchoring miserable if not impossible.
Also consider the tides if you are planning to go into shore, it is really shallow and muddy and even at a high low tide impossible to get to the beach. on weekends you'll be able to take your dinghie just to the pier and go ashore that way, but during the week the gate between pier and shore is closed.
If you have a dog that will need to go, you must consider that! it would be hard to heave a medium to big size dog up the ladder at the pier. dogs are allowed on the beach with a max. 6ft leash, if you get caught by a ranger with out, they'll write you a ticket. the park closes at sunset, so nobody cares about that afterwards. though there is lots of wildlife there, deer, wild turkey, feral cats, skunks and racoons, etc. so if your dog's a chaser... consider that there's a reason for this leash law. and generously pick up after your dog because there is lots of kids playing in the sand during the summer.
Check out the museum, definitely, and even if you're not too hungry or thirsty, go into the store, which is open on weekends, check out the old photographs and atmosphere and buy whatever you can afford to support the two people who run it: Frank Quan and his cousin Georgette who are the only descendents of the chinese working the camp still keeping up the spirit and hospitality. if you're into sports and there's a game on they might turn the tv on for you, but it will most likely be already on. :-) there is an outdoor shower and changing rooms by the public bathrooms at the end of the parking lot. the water is cold. the toilets and changing room doors get locked when the park gets closed at sunset.
Enjoy china camp. a real jewel! if you're into history etc, read jack london's tales of the fish patrol, he's got two episodes about the chines fishermen of point san pedro.
cool
I appreciate the informative
I appreciate the informative article, I still have a lot to learn about boats but boating holidays still remain my great passion. I am already making plans for a boat trip there.
Fin keel boat at China camp overnight
I have an Isalander 28 fin keel sailboat and have stayed several nights over the years there. Yes the anchor rode did wrap around the keel. The first time I could use the rudder to swing the boat to free it. The second time I even dove under the boat and could not free the line. I went to sleep with the noise and woke in the morning to find all was OK. The third time, I was able to let out more line and push the rode off of the keel with a long boathook. Now I use a 10# kellet on a 10ft rode. It always lives in the chain locker. I always use it. I have nexver had a keel wrap since.
I tried to bow stern anchor at china camp as well and that was not a good experience. The wind shifted and the waves hit the stern and slapped the hull. I will not do this again. Although with two anchors I could sleep without fail.
I have since used the 22# bruce with a 10# kellet on the rode. Plus I have 25ft of heavy chain. This seems to do the job. If the wind is heavy I let out more scope and add 13# danforth on a shorter scope as a hammerlock moor.
If the current changes it's not as much of an issue in a heavy wind. So the hammerlock is good and minimized the nasty horsing due to the headsail. I also use an anchoring sail now and this helps with the horsing.
Anchoring
Excellent info! For those who don't know what a kellet or hammerhead are, you can check out Advanced Anchoring Techniques.
Post new comment