Fog is burning off. He fires up the Jetboil. She probes him: "Say, What is this little rat-tail thing you've got going on?" He has a short braided thing of hair hanging off the back of his head, like he's a Padawan apprentice or something. "What, this?" he laughs. "Party in the back?" In a thicket by the creek, they sip coffee. Song of the thrush ascends. Seems to spiral to heaven upward like a shell. They gaze through a seven foot tall cow parsnip at the sky. The umbels are bobbing galaxies in a vast universe. Ever expanding. Wielding a magic wand, she identifies the plant: "Heracleum maximum!" It has gigantic leaves. Each one is connected to a thick, hollow, densely-haired stem. She steers the huge leaves on their thick stems in her slender arms. Swipes away the poison oak. "Found a path to the creek," she says cheerily. Clear water riffles and splits around a shoal. It's sandy with willows and cattails. There is a great blue heron in the reeds. The heron saunters forward deceptively, like a starlet at the Croisette, then recoils its long neck and strikes. "Bill stab!" he exclaims. He purses his mouth, throws his arm up and makes a fist. Taking a beat, she observes the scene, and says wryly "Sick, huge fan. What a bird." The impaled fish writhes on the heron's spear in the sun, scales glinting. It has met its immutable fate. They sit on a bank dotted with Cyperaceae. Lady beetles fly about. They turn and face each other. "F#$%#g sh*# show that was..." he moans. "What do you mean? We shucked a thousand shells. You have to respect your aunt's stamina, it's a Vibe!" she says, grinning. The moment is fleeting. The song and the chirping and the thrum of insects in the morning heat. They kill the coffee. It's time to pack up their tent and go. "Check out time!" she says. "Pack it up!" read more

Wildcat Camp - Campgrounds Near Me - Point Reyes Station, California

Beautiful campground and hike in, I took coast trail from bear valley and it was 8 miles... trail was very secluded after bear valley fire road... magical forest and garden surrounds the campgrounds. Camped at 2ab and it was ok, it was not very private and near the bathroom/water spigot so I felt like it was more people interaction than I cared for but that was what was available! The beach was a great place to relax after my hiking days and I loved it. I was there 3 days mid week in June and it was 75 one day and foggy/wet 60 degrees the other days, recommend rain fly for tents, and exploring the singletrack trails , they are so beautiful, full of wildlife read more

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The campground in itself was beautiful. In very late June/early July, the shrubs were very high, giving every site a lot of privacy. The temperatures were great as well. Our one complaint was the horse poop. All along the path to the beach there were huge piles of it right in the middle of the path. We had two different groups bring horses while we were staying there and after they left we went to check out other sites. The main horse hitches are right next to site #6, and when we walked to it, about 3 feet away from the site there was a fresh pile of poop blocking the whole path. I pity whoever had to stay there next. The water was pretty clean, but we boiled it anyways. Site Reviews (see photos for reference): Site 1ab: Good sized site, with the most privacy out of all of the large group sites. It's also the closest large group site to the beach path (not by a huge distance though). Site 2ab: This is a very large site, with one huge main clearing with horse posts and room for a ton of tents, and another clearing off to the side on a short path, which you could fit another two or more tents in. The primary clearing is visible from the water spout, but not too close that it's uncomfortable. It's great for kids since it is so close to the bathrooms. Site 3ab: Lots and lots of room! You could fit a whole neighborhood in here! (Just kidding) There are multiple little clearings off the main area, which would be perfect for a multi-family trip as it offers a little bit of privacy (See photos). Site 4: If you're looking for privacy, this is not your site unless you plan to book site #8 as well. It is a cute sheltered site a little ways inland, with a path leading out to a cliff point, but it is directly next to site #8 for some reason with no plant separation at all. Site 4 does have it's table/tent space away from the bear boxes and grills which are directly next to each other (and site #8's tent space), but otherwise the site offers very little of the privacy one would expect. Site 5: This is a cute site with a short little path to the cliff. It has a large bear box, and is very private. It is the biggest of the small sites, and could fit 2+ tents. Site 6: This is your ultimate cliff views site. There is the main area where you can fit a tent or two, and a short trail leads to a spot around 20 feet from the cliffs edge where another tent could fit, and finally there is a spot on the very edge of the cliff one could sleep on without and possibly with a tent depending on tent size. This is perfect for a family with teenagers who want to sleep away from the family. It is close to the horse hitching posts though, so there might be horse poop on or near the path to your campsite. Site 7: This is where we stayed, it's sheltered from most of the wind, and is far away from the bathrooms. It is the closest small site to the beach. We loved it! Site 8: See site #4. read more

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This campsite is one of the greatest location in the Bay Area. If you are a beginner and don't want to go backpacking in Eastern Sierra or Yosemite, this is close and easy in terms of distance and altitude. This site is 2 min from the beach and able to walk to Alamere falls on the beach. Each site is not close enough, so it's quiet. The problem in Marin County is that it is often foggy. If it is sunny, view is amazing. If it is foggy, still view is nice but I need to go back because I want to see clear sunny view as well. read more

Wildcat Camp - heading to the campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Point Reyes Station, California

Wildcat is a magical hideaway for Bay Area backpackers. We went the weekend of February 16-17th. Trail Route: We took the recommended route from Bear Valley Visitor's Center down the Bear Valley fire road which thereafter connected to a series of trails that brought us to Wildcat. I recommend using AllTrails and tracking your course, as there were a number of side trails that we used that may not have been readily apparent without the app. We used the "Bear Valley Trail to Wildcat Camp and Alamere Falls" trail on AllTrails. See Photo for exact route and recording of our trek. Trail Conditions: It rained on us for about the first hour and half when we started out. This was along a fire road (about 2.5 miles right at the beginning). It was mostly sheltered by trees, but we got pretty wet. Once we got beyond the fire road the trail got a bit narrower. More like a traditional trail. This part of the trail was mostly clear but it seems as though a number of mountain bikers use the trail which creates a deep center rut through the trail that also becomes somewhat of a mini-river. You have to hop from side-to-side along the trail in many places. There were a few areas where we had to bushwhack around huge puddles of water. Waterproof hiking shoes recommended for this time of year. You don't get an ocean view until about the 4.5-5 mile mark. It is all a gradual uphill up to this point. Then once you see the ocean, it is a gradual downhill until you hit another fire road again. Then it's pretty straight downhill until you get to Wildcat. Wildcat Camp Campsites: There are technically 8 sites at Wildcat, but two of them are doubles (i.e. 1a & 1b, and 3a & 3b), which appear to be better for groups as they are right next to each other. I got pictures of every site except 7 (see my review pictures), which I think is probably the best, as it appears to have an ocean view and is pretty secluded from the other sites. There was someone in the site at the time so I didn't want to bug them with a photo. Definitely the best three sites at 5, 6 and 7. Site 6 has a really nice little path up to a 180 degree lookout of the beach. Gorgeous for catching the sunset or sunrise. A beautiful view. Site 5 also had a little path up to a lookout spot nearby and is also quite secluded. We were at Site 4, which actually shares a common space with Site 8. It looks like they are separate on Recreation.gov and other map photos, but they are right on top of each other. It would be a bummer to get Site 4 and have another group camped at Site 8, however, if you are looking for a group site, getting those two will mean you will all be in one location. The other sites that were right next to each other were 1a & 1b (appeared to be a group site) and 3a & 3b. Site 2a & 2b was also a group site. Closest to the bathrooms and trail, farthest from the ocean. Wildcat Camp Facilities: Every site has one picnic table, a bearbox and a grill - even the group sites that are split into two, with the exception of 3a & 3b which has one really large grill to be shared between the two. The grill on Site 8 (right next to the grill on Site 4) was pretty dilapidated. They could definitely invest about $1,000 to fix this camp up a bit. The camp also has a water spigot with potable water, two pit toilets and large trashcans that are in bearbox protected containers. It's my understanding that during the government shut down they had to turn off the water and there was no potable water there during that period, but it is back up and running again. Considering the current political climate, however, who knows when another shutdown may occur and I would hate for anyone to be without water! We did pass one or two streams but those were more towards beginning of the hike in. Other Things to Know: 1. No Campfires at Wildcat. This is a bummer, but better to know it now than get there are be disappointed. 2. Permits Required to camp here and are very hard to get, but you can show up at the Bear Valley Visitor's Center the day of and see if anyone bailed on their reservation. When we went, at least three sites were empty, but we thought that was likely because rain was in the forecast. It rained on us pretty much all night which made for a very muddy camp in the morning, still we loved it! 3. There are many ways to get to Wildcat camp. You can go the Alamere Falls way, but be forewarned that Alamere falls is the most popular hike in the entire park and by 9:30-10am the parking lot is full and car are lining the road in. Take my word for it, unless you plan on arriving early as hell, don't try it. You can't even pick up your permit until 9:00am when the Bear Valley Visitor's Center opens. From there, it's about a 40 minute drive to the Alamere Falls trailhead. You do the math. You can also hike in from Five Brooks (a bit of a boring route), Limatour Beach along the Coast trail (very scenic) or Sky Camp. All available options! read more

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Awesome camping site so close to the city. I have stayed here twice. Once in July 2009, and again December 28, 2010. Both times at "coveted" number 7. This site is definitely the best, sitting on the bluff, right beside the ocean. Somewhat secluded from the other campers. As previously mentioned, this particular site is good for only 4, but making 2 tents fit will be challenging, unless they are both 2 person tents. Site has running water and a vault toilet. About a 6.2 mile hike from the headquarters, and only took us about 2 hours to get there. You can hike the beach to the base of Alamere Fall (about a mile), or take the trail at the horse's watering pit to the backside of the Fall. We hiked to the top of the Fall and had lunch overlooking the ocean. In July, the site is a little drab. Mostly brown, typical of summer in CA. The top of the Fall, though, was vibrant green with wildflowers. Winter months is nice, with lots of green, but good chance of rain. Be prepared! read more

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Super cool campground and definitely great for beginner backpackers since the trail is very well marked and you have a vault toilet and potable water there. Also can't deny the location, you really are a couple minute walk down to the beach. And yes there are wild animals that roam around here (we saw bobcat, deer, coyote, and tons of quails) Get permits early (6 months in advance is the earliest). Especially for weekends in the summer since the campground does get full. See here for permit costs information http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/feesandreservations.htm Aerial view of the campsite (you can see it's a short walk down to the beach): http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/upload/map_cg_wildcat.pdf Once you hike in (about a 5-6 miles easy to moderate hike via Bear Valley trail, there is a little bit of uphill climb), you can do a bunch of different day hikes from there. Take the Coast Trail is going to Alamere waterfall (a couple miles south) that starts behind the bathrooms. But go early in the morning since in the afternoon it becomes infested with A LOT of day hikers. Or you can walk south down the beach until you see Alamere waterfall. The reason why I didn't give this 5 stars is cuz it does get a little run over by a lot of backpackers and day hikers so you don't get the same sense of remoteness like you would get in the Sierras for instance. But for the location next to the beach and the fact that you can bring in a lot of heavy booze since it's not a challenging hike, it's still worth checking out! Photo of the bluffs on the trail hiking in: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wildcat-camp-of-point-reyes-national-park-point-reyes-station?select=bCygzdIGhkbt-Xlw4wBb2A#bCygzdIGhkbt-Xlw4wBb2A Bobcat spotting by the vault bathrooms: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wildcat-camp-of-point-reyes-national-park-point-reyes-station?select=k01_IUP2I7RXz7RGyJ9GoA#k01_IUP2I7RXz7RGyJ9GoA Our campsite #5 http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/wildcat-camp-of-point-reyes-national-park-point-reyes-station?select=Q2Peof_W-PavatRvvmLMQg#Q2Peof_W-PavatRvvmLMQg read more

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loved this site. Cant wait to go back. read more

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After 17 years I discovered my favorite place in the Bay Area. This is a beautiful camp in a notch in the hills next to the ocean, along the wild coastline of Point Reyes National Seashore. Be prepared for serious dew and dampness overnight, otherwise I imagine in bad weather it's a bear, but gorgeous in the typical sunny weather of Fall. Like all Point Reyes campsites, it's luxurious for a trail camp: vault toilets, potable water, trash and recycling, picnic tables, charcoal grills, and food lockers. Sites 1-4 are relatively open and in clear view of each other, 6-7 are up in the reeds near the edge of the bluff and more private, 5 relatively private and gets the earliest sun (for drying out the overnight dew!) 7 has a view of the ocean through the notch where the creek drains. There is beach for miles in each direction, though maybe not at high tide. If you want to walk to Alamere Falls along the beach, do it at low tide. And ... if you choose your day carefully ... weekday away from holidays or summertime, the weather not *too* good ... you could have it to yourself! read more

Point Reyes is about 1 hour north of San Francisco. The campsite is 6.3 mi from the trailhead. At Wildcat there is a vault toilet, water spigot, 2 picnic tables, grill and food storage locker. The campsite is a very short walk to the beach and a 1 mile walk to Alamere Falls. I've come to this campsite twice with my brother...the outdoor guru. The hike in is not bad, an average, trained hiker can do it with no problem. Wildcat Camp is spacious and each campsite is somewhat isolated from the other sites. Since it is on a bluff near the beach, nights can be windy and chilly so make sure you pack layers! The hike and view of Alamere Falls is beautiful. Bring your Teva's or Chaco's and you can play in the water. On one occasion that we went, there was a beached whale on the sand...incredible to see! read more

Great place to go backpacking. Intensity level is easy to moderate, so perfect for beginners. Starting out at bear valley trailhead will be just over 6 miles. During the week Wildcat camp was pretty secluded, even though all the campsites were supposedly reserved. Campsite #6 is great for privacy and you can't beat the view, as it is the closest site to the ocean. Easy walk on the beach will take you to Alamere Falls. Definitely worth going back! read more

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2011-03-31 Thurs, Night #2 of 4: Hiked from Glenn Camp to Wildcat Camp in about an 1hr/15mins, just under 3 miles. This coastal camp is set on an open meadow on a bluff overlooking the ocean. We had site #6 which I think is the second to best site here based on view and privacy. Alot of the sites are double which means you will be sharing/interacting within the immediate vicinity of neighbors. We arrived at noon, set up camp and hit the beach for some more hiking. Did a loop to Alamere Falls, Bass, Ocean, and Wildcat Lakes for another 6 miles. At sunset we had a campfire on the beach just below our site. It was awesome with the surf crashing and the lighthouse flashing in the distance. When we got back to our site we found our tents and gear that was left out got completely soaked from the moisture in the air from the ocean. We had a great night here!! read more

This was my first hiking camping experience (as opposed to car camping), and I genuinely despised every minute of it. Living in the Bay Area, the average picnic in Berkeley or drive to get some cheese in Marin has views at least as nice as these - except those change more often. If you've driven up and down highway 1, you've pretty much seen what this place has to offer. (Sure there's a nice beach, but there are plenty of closer ones. In any case, it's still too cold to swim.) On the upside, now that I've been on a hike with such good reviews, I never need to go on another one and won't wonder what I'm missing. The site itself (#7) was fine but has no tree cover, so it feels pretty close to the other campers even though it's supposedly the most secluded. You can hear the waves but you can only see the ocean if you stand up and look in a particular direction. I totally support nature in theory, but in practice Dolores Park is as much of it as I personally need. read more

Nice sites great beach just a bummer about dogs always leashed but it's ok. Will come back many times to come

Watch my video of the hike to Wildcat Camp, shot in June: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoF_CKEBkAk On the beautiful Pt. Reyes seashore. Be sure to take the Coast Trail part of the way there -- it lengthens your trip by about a mile but takes past the gorgeous Arch Rock, perched over the ocean. Wildcat is in a grassy meadow, next to the sea -- incomparable vistas and the sound of crashing waves to put you to sleep. It is an especially good place to camp because it is only 6.5 - 7.5 miles from the Bear Valley Trailhead near the visitors center. read more

go for site #7 when you make a reservation. it's closest to the ocean and secluded from the other *very* open group sites. private with an ocean view (and you can hear the waves). though technically it can accomodate 4, there's really only room for 1 tent. the hike there from palomarin is a little more hilly than the walk to coast camp, but inclues great views of the whole coast, lakes, and a couple of bridges to cross. oh and the site has a built in bathroom area to pee. it's surrounded by bushes and is accessible only from site #7. use it so you don't catch something from the pit toilets. read more

We stayed at Wildcat Camp for 2 nights, 3 days. I had been here 3 times before, but hadn't been in 25 years. So after a long time away I brought my 10 year old son here for his first backpacking trip. Nothing has changed, which is a pleasant and welcome surprise. The place still has it's magic. The hike in is a beautiful and meandering 5.5 hike from the Palomarin trailhead. The hike takes you along the coast and through Douglas Fir and Eucalyptus groves. There are hills, but nothing strenuous. Lots of shady areas too, which is nice. However, watch for ticks! We found several on us, but luckily never got bitten. My son carried 20 lbs in and I carried 35. We both managed well. I remember that the meadow was either mowed or just had short grass many years ago. On this trip the grass was very high and mowed only where the camp spots were. We camped at the highly coveted spot 7, but I was a little disappointed because the tall grass obstructed the ocean views. Not a huge deal, but I was looking forward to seeing the ocean from the campground. Also, spot 7 was one of the first to get shade as the sun set. That made it a little cool at times. Again, not a huge deal, but something to note. My son and I walked to the Alamere Falls along the beach at 9:00 in the morning. We had the entire place to ourselves for the 2 hours that we were there. Amazing. We went the third week in May and the wildflowers were still in heavy bloom. Lots of great variety. Also plenty of quail and rabbits in the campground. The bathrooms are simple, but clean. The water tap is easily accessible for all of the campers. This is a special place to me and I'm glad I was able to share it with my son. He said that he can't wait to take his son one day so I think he enjoyed just as much as I did the first (and every) time I went. We will be back again. read more

At first blush, Wildcat Camp doesn't look wildly anything. Tall brown weeds separate one flat campsite from another. All in all, just a patchy meadow to rest up. And I would of been OK with just that, Point Reyes is stunning, who cares about the campsite? But over our night's stay, I came to love our little meadow home for many reasons.. -) It's on a bluff right on the beach, with a beautiful walk to the Alamere Falls -) Collect driftwood along the sand & make a bonfire right in front of the ocean. My favorite wood looked like a stone until you got real close. -)There are two shared bathrooms that always smelled nice, are clean and have copious rolls of tp!! A portapotty never looked so good. -) Each campsite has picnic tables, a pantry (as we called our food locker) and even a grill! Next time, were camping in with burger fixings! -)Though the campsite was full, it's well spaced so you can make noise & not be bothered by others' noise -)There's a hose gushing with water (but yes, you need to treat it). -) There are no bugs at night in August Not that I noticed anyway! -)Last but not least, the resident coyote! I know coyote are supposed to be mangy scavengers, but this coyote carried herself like a regal dame. The campsite is only accessible by trail (thankfully) . We took the very scenic Coast Trail from Palomarin (5.5 miles, nice low stress day hike) read more

Maybe it was just because I read so many 5 star reviews, but honestly I was underwhelmed with this campsite. The trail going in was not very well maintained and their was a lot of poison oak and stinging nettle taking over the path. Though camping on the bluffs was kind of neat, the campsites are really just spaces in a big field of weeds. Every site but #6 and #7 are clearly visible from the other sites and there isn't much privacy. Most of the campsites (again with the exception of #6/#7) are not near enough to the bluff to see the ocean. Wildcat Falls, though pretty, was not as large or interesting as I expected. There are a couple of caves and decent tidepools past the falls that are worth checking out. When we went we found tons of seashells, crab shells and miniature sand dollars on the beach. The bathrooms were well stocked and well maintained. I am not quite sure why this location is SO popular- it was booked solid through almost the entire summer, but we will not be coming back. read more

Tsunami Warning Information - Wildcat Campground We were a group camping in in Coast Campground- Campsite 2 (aka 002AB(lg) ) -farthest from the beach. The campground has a warning sign: "TSUNAMI HAZARD ZONE IN CASE OF EARTHQUAKE GO TO HIGH GROUND OR INLAND This is good advice- because if an earthquake happens nearby, the park rangers may not have time enough to evacuate the beach. The campground would be evacuated if a tsunami were predicted, such as when the 2011 earthquake in Japan caused a tsunami that struck Hawaii hours later. The campground does not have tsunami warning sirens. NOAA Weather Radio (NWR, aka "NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards") worked intermittently around our campsite 2 (aka 002AB(lg) ), I did walk with the NWR radio from our campsite past all the other campsites but I didn't get a steady signal until I was past all of them, on the cliff overlooking the beach. 006041 is the Specific Area Message Encoding number (SAME) for Marin county. From the coverage maps, I expected Channel WX2 162.4to work, but when I arrived only one other channel worked, and it never seemed to work when the radio was next to my sleeping bag! Next time I'll bring an external antenna! http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/info/recept.html Many models will have a port to hook up an external antenna. You can buy an external antenna from an electronics store or make your own. The antenna will be similar to the type you use for your stereo: a two-conductor piece of wire attached to a wall and stretched up the wall toward the ceiling. When it nears the ceiling, split the wire conductors to form a T where the wire splits into it's horizontal section, each section should be at least 18 inches long. Another hint- before you go DON'T read "Night of the Howling Dogs" by Graham Salisbury! It's a great story based on an earthquake and tsunami that actually happened- but in another National Park. read more

Because of the beautiful ocean views, this is my favorite bay area hike.

This campsite is everything it's cracked up to be! The hike is about 6 miles, and half of it has a view of the coast. Each campsite is self-enclosed and surrounded by mustard plants (which are delicious). My new favorite campsite in the bay area; I'm just glad I found this is one year, not 17! read more

Beautiful hike and campground for as many as 24 peeps. Go to the waterfall to cool off. Campsite even has running water!

We hiked from Palomarin Trailhead on Oct 24/25 2009 -- this is the best and most scenic route along the ocean with many ponds/lakes along the way. The trailhead has toilets and trash cans -- I did not notice water outlets. The trailhead is crowded but the trail is not. Many do not go all the way to Wildcat but only half way to Bass Lake. Be prepared for two things at Wildcat: LOTS of condensation (100%) humidiy at night time even on a clear day) and wind. If you prefer NOT to bring a tent, bring a tarp to sleep under to stay dry. There is a water faucet in camp but , as told by rangers, it is not guaranteed as safe -- bring a filter to be sure. Each campsite is clean and well maintained. They each have two tables, two bear boxes, two BBQ's. Clean pit toilets are avail with TP but bring some just in case a large group has been there ahead of you. For most people hiking 5.5 miles will take about 4 hours each way. Plan on eating lunch on the trail each way. read more