Kirby Cove Campground — Golden Gate National Recreation Area

My family and I spent two nights at campsite #5.  We had a really great experience here!

We visited Kirby in March 2024 and the weather was not as bad as I thought it would be.  The temperature was in the 50's for the most part.  There was decent amount of wind but not enough to make a stink about.  I was comfortable in pants and a sweatshirt the whole time, never had to break out my jacket.  During the day, it was warm enough to wear a t-shirt.  It rained a little bit overnight both nights we were there but we were equipped to deal with the conditions.

Each site has three square shaped wood-framed plots to pitch your tent on.   Two of them are covered in a bed of rocks and one of them was raised about two feet off the ground.  The third plot on our site did not have rocks.  I would recommend bringing a tent footprint to prevent the rocks from damaging the bottom of your tent.   Our site's fire ring was equipped with a thick steel BBQ grate that swivels laterally over the fire ring.  Our fire ring's grate covered a good portion of the fire ring so it was useful for cooking.  I'd like to note that not all campsites are equipped with the same style of fire ring as our site had.  Campsite #5 also had three picnic tables (two of them were bolted to the ground, one of them was not) and a bearproof storage container.

The campgrounds itself is relatively small (only 5 overnight sites).  You will receive a gate code emailed to you upon reservation which you will need to unlock a gate that leads you down a long dirt road to the bottom of a valley where the campgrounds are located.  The parking lot is sort of small but finding a spot wasn't an issue.  The parking lot is sitting on top of a hill, overlooking the entire campgrounds.  The sites themselves aren't too far away from the parking lot, but hauling your gear back uphill to your vehicle after camping a couple nights can be tiresome.  There are a few pit toilets scattered throughout the campgrounds that were relatively clean.  There is no running water at Kirby, so make sure you bring enough water!  The old military ruins (I believe from the late 1800's)  were also cool to explore.  The views of the Golden Gate and the city are breathtaking.  We got to watch between 10-12 large shipping vessels float in and out of the bay, very cool!  

All in all, we loved our stay at Kirby and will definitely be camping there again during the warmer months!

Great time camping here in early November 2022. Stayed in spot 4, its furthest back into the canyon and I think it helped cut down on the wind. The walk to the beach was 60 seconds and the ocean can be seen from the site. Cool ww2 structures. You get a code to open the gate uptop and drive down to park for your stay.

Strange semi loud sounds during the night reminded me of the show Lost. Wind and rain hard in the night but the morning brought beautiful skys.

I would camp here again in a heartbeat.

Spots are separated substantially from each other.

Spot 4 looked like it had pads for 4 tents.

Spot 1 looked like they could see the bridge from it, but directly on the wind path.

The reservations are very difficult to get and must do in advance as there are a few limited sites for Mount Tamalpais. It was not crowded but the weather in the evening was cold due to Summer fog! Incredible views, and wild life Do not depend on WiFi as you are camping on a mountain. Great picnic areas and numerous hikes too many to mention! Can pick up guides to Mt. Tam