Trip Report: Solo 3-Day Bay Area Mini Bikecamping Trip

In October 2023, I went on my first ever solo bikepacking trip, a mini 3-day, 2-night tour staying at hiker-biker campsites in the Bay Area.

The original plan was to take a week to bike from San Francisco to LA with Daniel and retrace a previous route he'd done in 2019, but unfortunately, he ended up tearing his hip labrum a few weeks prior and had to sit this one out. I'd already taken the days off from work so I didn't want to waste those days; I knew I wanted to go somewhere. But a solo trip to LA felt a little too aggressive and scary for me, especially with the car traffic I'd encounter along the way, so I decided to make it a shorter bike tour closer to home and stay local to SF.

Even though I've hiked solo many times, I'd only ever bikepacked with other people – so heading out alone on my bike with all my camping gear was uncharted territory.

Itinerary

• Day 1: San Francisco to China Camp State Park (25 miles, 1,150 ft. elevation gain, essentially all paved surfaces - Komoot)
• Day 2: China Camp State Park to Samuel P. Taylor (21 miles, 1,150 ft. elevation gain, 25% unpaved - Komoot)
• Day 3: Samuel P. Taylor to Stinson Beach (20 miles, 900 ft. elevation gain, 17% unpaved - Komoot)

When I realized Daniel wouldn't be joining me, I decided to shorten the trip and keep it around the Bay Area, since 7 days alone on my bike was more than I wanted to bite off for my first solo bikepack. Luckily, Northern California is home to several awesome hike-in/bike-in campsites, so I decided to make a mini-tour linking China Camp State Park, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, and ending in Stinson Beach.

The days were all fairly short in mileage, which was a painless way to ease my way into cycling on my own. I'd planned comfortable distances based on my physical abilities, but I was worried about being alone on the road. My #1 concern: drivers and the danger posed from cars. Being on a slower packed bike and also being a solo woman, would I get heckled or would any drivers be intentionally aggressive towards me? As Daniel and I pored over Komoot maps and looked at routes, we identified some sections where I'd be able to get away from the road. Most of these off-road paths were fine and pretty enjoyable, although there's one section I hope to never see again (more on this below!).

I wasn't as concerned about solo camping, since I have some experience hiking and camping alone under my belt. I was also headed to safe areas (aka not bear country), so I wasn't too concerned about wild critters.

After I was packed and ready to go, I kept finding reasons to fiddle with my bike and gear – honestly just stalling and trying to quell my nerves – before Daniel firmly but kindly told me I could find reasons to stall forever and shooed me out the door. The plan was to meet up again with him in Stinson Beach in 3 days' time.

My Packing List

For this trip, I rode my steel camp cup blue 2018 Masi Giramondo with a few new upgrades. Daniel had recently surprised me with a Rohloff hub (!) so this was my first overnighter with the internal hub. As part of the work, he had also switched me over to flat bars, so I had Jones H-bars on my bike too.

I was carrying...

• Rear rack with 2 panniers & a stuff sack on top containing:
  • 1 pannier for camping and personal items:
    • Clothes
      • something to bike in and something to sleep in
    • Sleeping pad (Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite)
    • Pillow (Sea to Summit Aeros Premium Pillow)
    • Spare water container
      • I didn't end up needing this
    • Kindle
  • 1 pannier for cooking gear and food:
    • MSR PocketRocket 2 canister stove
    • 1.1L pot from the Pinnacle Soloist II cookset
    • humangear GoBites fork and spoon
• My food pannier was heavy! I carried more food than I needed as I wanted to be self-sufficient during this trip and avoid shopping in a store.
• Stuff sack, strapped on top
  • Sleeping quilt (Enlightened Equipment)
• Cable lock
  • Easily snipped, just a deterrent
• Camp cup
• Handlebar roll (Revelate Saltyroll):
  • Big Agnes Tent
    • I chose to forego the groundsheet, as rain was unlikely and I was trying to lighten my load
  • Tent poles
• Frame bag (Swift Industries Hold Fast Half Frame Bag)
  • Bike tools
    • I had a bike pump and spare tools. I should have been carrying a spare inner tube too... but wasn't.
  • Emergency personal device (Garmin inReach Mini)
  • Headlamp
  • Sunscreen
  • Tent stakes
  • Gloves
• Snack bag (Revelate Gas Tank Top Tube Bag)
  • Spare battery pack and lightning cable
  • Lip balm
  • Easily accessible snack
    • My go-to is gummy candy of some sort, usually gummy peaches or sour worms

Route Notes

• Without a doubt, my favorite part of the trip was biking through majestic redwoods as I approached Samuel P. Taylor. I loved seeing the towering trees overhead, and the temperature drops nicely as you enter the redwood groves. There is also an awesome bike pathway called the Cross Marin Trail that leads you into and out of Samuel P. Taylor, both coming from Fairfax and heading towards Olema until you hit Sir Francis Drake Boulevard again.
• I attempted to get off main streets onto quieter, less-traveled roads when possible, even if it added slight detours. For instance, on Day 2 from China Camp to Samuel P. Taylor, I biked through several neighborhoods tucked one or two streets away from (and running parallel to) Sir Francis Drake Blvd.
• Sometimes, these detours included off-road portions, like the Mission Pass Path in the Terra Linda/Sleepy Hollow Open Space Preserve and the Loma Alta Space Preserve. Most of these unpaved portions were great, even as a newer rider. I think a more experienced rider would have a blast on these, and if you're looking to add extra miles, elevation, and adventure to your trip, you could even add the Bolinas Ridge to your route on Days 2 or 3. 😄
• My trip stopped at Stinson Beach because I was getting picked up (thanks, Daniel!), but if you wanted to return to San Francisco from Samuel P. Taylor, I'd recommend biking back through Fairfax and Corte Madera instead. You can still cycle to SF if you follow my route to Stinson Beach, but a word of warning: you'll face a big climb on a narrow 2-lane, heavily trafficked road if you go that way.

• I would NOT recommend the Olema Valley Trail. This was the most 'Type 2 fun' portion of my trip. The trail runs parallel to Shoreline Highway, so I thought it might be a nice way to get off the road for a bit. It was super overgrown singletrack, extremely difficult for a newer biker like me – and tough for some experienced bikers too, as I later learned from Reddit! – and I ended up pushing my bike for most of those 3.2 miles. I survived, but it was frustrating and slow-going. I definitely questioned my decision-making abilities a couple of times on that path.

Hiker-Biker Campsites

Both China Camp State Park and Samuel P. Taylor have "hiker biker" campsites, which are first-come, first-served campsites for people who show up by foot or bicycle. They're usually inexpensive as well; as of 10/2023, China Camp cost $5 and Samuel P. Taylor cost $7.

Some differences between the two parks: China Camp had 2 designated hiker biker campsites that you could sign up for on their check-in board, while Samuel P. Taylor had a large shared clearing that all the bikers used. My trip was during the week, so China Camp was the quietest I've ever seen it, with only 1 other tent in the entire upper campground. However, Samuel P. Taylor, being on ACA's Pacific Coast route, was busy! I was the first to roll into the campsite around 3pm, but others started arriving later in the afternoon. By the time the last person rolled in well after dark, we had 8 cyclists in total. I love meeting cool humans doing cool things and was so inspired to hear about their various tours: Alaska to Panama, Vancouver to SF, and Portland to Mexico.

Other helpful things to know about the campsites:

• Both state parks accepted credit card payment for the campsites (I'd brought cash, just in case).
• Coin-operated showers available at both.
• Drinking water available at both.
• Hiker biker site #2 at China Camp (labeled "H/BK2" on their map) is located on the upper level of the campground and was the more 'tucked away' campsite of the two options. However, it is located by a walking/biking trail, which meant a somewhat steady stream of traffic during daylight hours, but the site was quiet at night. The other campsite, H/BK1, was located in the lower campground, right next to the restroom.
• At the time of my visit in 10/2023, the food box at the Samuel P. Taylor hiker-biker site had a busted lock and was NOT secure. Not only was there no way to secure the latch (I ended up tying it shut with a Voile strap), but one of the wood planks on the door was also loose, which meant the raccoons were able to reach through and raid anything left on the lowest shelf of the box. Proper food storage is a must at both campsites, but the raccoons were particularly fearless at Samuel P. Taylor. When I woke up the next morning, there were tiny paw prints all over my bike, and they had unzipped and rifled through my (empty) snack bag.

What Would I Do Differently Next Time?

• I would pack less and travel lighter. Honestly, at the time, it kind of felt like I NEEDED everything, but next time I might experiment with fewer layers for the campsite, especially here in California where it doesn't get too cold at night. (Side note: it also didn't help that I was carrying a massive 3-person tent for just me. We don't own any 1-person tents since we're usually camping together, and Daniel needs an oversized tent anyways as a tall 6'5" human. Amongst all the cycle tourers, I easily had the largest tent all to myself at Samuel P. Taylor, and had traveled the shortest distance to get there. It was both hilarious and a little embarrassing.)
• While I think I'll always be a little nervous about sharing a road with cars, I would spend less energy being scared or fearful of others on the road. I spent so much time before I left worrying and imagining worst-case scenarios, and all it did was stress me out. Thankfully, none of those scenarios came to pass. Yes, cars are dangerous to cyclists and the world can be a scary place, but I'd rather focus on things I can control (being super aware of my surroundings, riding predictably, making sure I'm visible, etc.) than wasting energy on worrying.
• I needed more off-road experience, as I ended up falling once in the Loma Alta Space Preserve. Physically, I was fine – just some minor cuts and scrapes; my peanut butter jar got it worse! – but my nerves and lack of confidence made some off-road bits more stressful than they needed to be. After this mini-tour in 2023, I realized unpaved riding was a gap in my cycling skills, so since then, I've been intentional about getting more miles on gravel. I even took a super helpful and empowering women's only MTB fundamentals course with A Singletrack Mind to improve my handling abilities and gain confidence; Coach Dylan was awesome, and I feel like this class was a turning point for me. Months later, I'd love to go back and re-ride these portions, as I definitely feel better equipped to go back and tackle some of those trails today. (But not the Olema Valley Trail... I never want to see that damn path again.)