Point Reyes National Seashore offers year-round backcountry camping along Drakes Bay and amongst the hills and valleys of the Phillip Burton Wilderness, and boat-in camping on the west shore of Tomales Bay. Because of its location near the Metropolitan San Francisco Bay Area, the campsites at Point Reyes are in great demand. Reservations are strongly suggested.

All campsites are accessible only by hiking, biking or horseback for the backcountry sites, and only by kayak or boat for the Tomales Bay sites. There is no car or RV camping available in the park. There are, however, many nearby campgrounds, located outside of Point Reyes National Seashore, that do have car and RV camping.

Camping is by permit only. Camping permits must be obtained from the Bear Valley Visitor Center before starting your trip. When you arrive to pick up your permit, you will be asked for the number of vehicles your party will leave parked in the Seashore overnight. We will issue the appropriate number of parking passes and it is your responsibility to ensure that all of the vehicles associated with your permit display an overnight parking pass. There is no afterhours self-registration for camping available. You must have made a reservation in advance to camp within Point Reyes National Seashore. If you have made a reservation and are arriving after 5 p.m., you will need to contact the park at 415-663-8054 before 5 p.m. to inform us how many overnight parking passes your party will need. A backcountry permit and the appropriate number of overnight parking passes will be left for you in a small wooden box on the back side of the information board outside of the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Retrieve your permit and parking passes from the box, fill in the highlighted sections and sign the permit, remove the carbon copies and put the carbon copies back in the box. Place a parking pass on the dashboard of each vehicle, making sure that it is visible from outside the vehicle. Attach the original backcountry permit to your backpack as you hike, then attach it to the outside of your tent once you've set up camp.

PLEASE NOTE: Recent rains have brought the creek up even more over Coast Trail approximately 1.6 km (1 mile) south of the hostel and it is now impassable for vehicles to service restrooms and empty trash at Coast Camp. Plans are underway for a long-term fix which will require significant planning and compliance with various agencies. A short-term solution is also being considered but will also require planning and compliance. No new reservations will be accepted for Coast Camp until park staff are able to service the area. All existing reservations will be honored but the access for hikers will be down Laguna Trail or Limantour Beach.

Hike-in camping is allowed only in one of the four established campgrounds at the numbered site specified on the permit. Boat-in camping is allowed on national park beaches on the west side of Tomales Bay north of Tomales Bay State Park's Indian Beach. Our Campgrounds page has descriptions of the various campgrounds. Our Kayaking page has more information about overnight kayaking and boating on Tomales Bay. Camping rules & regulations, as stated below, must be observed. Please visit our Leave No Trace page to learn how you can help leave the backcountry in a better condition than you found it.

Campsites may be reserved up to three months (to the day) in advance. To obtain a reservation, call (415) 663-8054 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Reservations by phone are not accepted at any other time. You may make reservations in person 7 days a week at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. As of January 1, 2012, we no longer accept reservation requests by fax. Weekends and holidays fill up quickly, especially group sites, so reservations are strongly suggested.

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Camping fees

As of January 1, 2005, the fees increased to:

• $15/site/night for "individual" sites of up to 6 people
• $30/site/night for small group site for 7-14 people
• $40/site/night for large group sites for 15-25 people

Point Reyes National Seashore has conducted its public review period for a proposed increase in fees, for which the public was encouraged to provide feedback on this proposal. The park has received permission to raise fees in 2012 and to transition to reserving campgrounds through the national reservation system. New fees will be $20.00 for an individual site for 1-6 people; $40.00 for a group site for 7-14 people and $50.00 for a group site for 15-25 people. The fees will begin at the time of the transition to the national system and are not retroactive.

We are working to initiate the online system in late February. Improved services will include a 6 month reservation window instead of the current three; on line and telephone service seven days a week; refunds with appropriate notice. Permits still need to be picked up on the day of arrival in the park.

We will post updates here as we complete the transition!

A credit card payment is required for phone reservations. The non-refundable payment is due at the time the reservation is made. There are no refunds given for weather, illness, etc. Even though a campsite is guaranteed for your stay once the payment is made, you must still obtain the permit at the Bear Valley Visitor Center before your trip. When you arrive to check-in, please have vehicle descriptions (color, make, model, license plate number) for all vehicles in your party.

If you arrive after 5:00 p.m., your backcountry camping permit and parking passes will be in a small wooden box on the back side of the information board in front of the Visitor Center. You will need to fill in the highlighted sections of the permit, remove the carbon copies and place the carbon copies (with your list of vehicles attached) back in the wooden box. Place a parking pass on the dashboard of each vehicle, making sure that it is visible from outside the vehicle. Attach the original camping permit to your backpack as you travel to your campsite and then attach the permit to a tent so that park personnel checking for compliance can easily find your permit.

Fee waivers are not available for recreational use user fees such as camping. However, Interagency Senior, Interagency Access, Golden Age, and Golden Access passes may apply to these fees. Holders of these passes should request information at the time of purchasing reservations.

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Rules & Regulations

Permits are required. Campers without a valid backcountry permit may be cited.

Camping is restricted to the four backpack campgrounds at numbered sites or to National Park beaches on the west side of Tomales Bay.

An overnight parking pass must be displayed on the dashboard of every vehicle associated with a hike-in camping permit parked overnight in the National Seashore.

Campers on Tomales Bay beaches must arrive by boat and may not hike, bike, or ride horses to the beaches. Overnight parking for boat-in campers is prohibited within Point Reyes National Seashore (i.e., along the Pierce Point and L Ranch Roads and at the Marshall Beach Trailhead) and Tomales Bay State Park.

Camping is limited to four nights per visit, with a maximum of 30 nights per year. We do not allow groups of more than 6 people to split up into individual sites. Groups are restricted to group sites only.

The minimum age of any camper is 18 unless accompanied by an adult.

No dogs or other pets are permitted in any campground or on park trails.

Wood fires are prohibited in the hike-in campgrounds. Only gas stoves, charcoal or canned heat may be used for cooking. Downed wood may not be gathered and burned. Driftwood fires are permitted on sandy beaches (below the high tide line, if possible). Permits are required for beach fires in the park and can be picked up with your camping permit at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Put fires out with water, not sand.

All weapons (including, but not limited to, B-B guns, slingshots, bows and arrows, or any object capable of discharging a projectile-with the exception of firearms), as well as weapons prohibited by the state, are prohibited.

Hunting is prohibited.

Fireworks are prohibited.

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Store your food and other scented items properly in the food storage lockers provided at the campsite. While the lockers prevent larger animals from properly stored food, mice can gain access into the lockers through small drain holes. Campers may wish to use steel wool to plug these holes during their stay. Please remove the steel wool upon departure. Do not leave any food unattended or stored in your tent. Raccoons, foxes and skunks are plentiful and aggressive. Do not feed wild animals.

Quiet hours are from sundown to sunrise. Respect your neighbor, the wilderness and natural quiet.

Campsites should be left clean. Pack out all trash.

Campers must vacate their campsite by noon on their day of departure, but are welcome to continue hiking and exploring the park after noon.

Boaters must remove human waste. Disposing of human waste in the bay or onto park beaches is prohibited, so campers must bring portable toilets or limit camping to Marshall Beach and Tomales Beach, where vault toilets and portable toilets, respectively, are available.

Maximum number of horses or pack animals in any campground is eight. Horses are not allowed at Glen Camp. Pack animals and horses must be tied to hitch rails.

Multimedia:

NPSWilderness has produced two videos about NPS wilderness: America's Wilderness and Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics which hikers, campers, and other visitors to Point Reyes may find of interest.

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