Location: San Rafael, CA
Length: 10 Miles
Time Needed: 1 to 1.5 hours for average rider
Technical Rating: Beginner
Cost: $3
China Camp is located in San Rafael CA, it is the birthplace of my favorite hobby. China Camp is a perfect singletrack trail for those wanting to experience what mountain biking is really about. Its not technical but still offers a "real" climb and some fun downhill.
The start point for most is at the camping entrance, you can't miss the much hated kiosk (this is where you can purchase your pass). This is also where your climb starts and it ends 2.5 miles later at the 3rd bridge. This can be a pretty miserable climb for a beginner but there are lots of places to take a brake and take in the views. For the intermediate and above riders this climb can easily be done in one push. I personally used to stop about 4 times on the way up when I first started. I can now get the entire 10 mile loop done in less than an hour. Its all about building that endurance and this a great place to work on that.
Some riders think China Camp is to easy. I feel that it can be as easy or as hard as you want it to be. If you want a hard ride push yourself and try to get the entire loop done in less than 50 minutes.
This is a great place to see wildlife as well, on most trips you will see deer, turkey, rabbits, squirrels and other various birds and such.
There are also many hikers and it can get very busy on the weekends or late afternoons as this a great place for many riders to hit on the way home to get an hour workout in.
The normal direction is counterclockwise, but for a more challenging climb try it clockwise. Like mentioned before the first two miles is up then the rest is mostly down making it a ten mile loop. If you go clockwise you have more climbing but a fast short 2 mile downhill.
Look for future posts on the "backside" edition of China Camp.
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