Whiskey in my tin cup, the glow of four headlamps illuminating the dusk. It’s hard to split my heart between this moment—the hour before everyone retreats to their tents for the evening—and the quiet, hour in the morning when birdsong and the roasted aroma (even if it is instant coffee) stir my senses. As the first day at campsite 11 comes to an end, I dreamily take in the atmosphere of this convenient and easy backpacking campsite.  

ABOUT THE SKY CAMPGROUND IN POINT REYES

Location: Sky Campground in Point Reyes

Just over an hour outside downtown San Francisco, the trailhead to the campsite is an easy drive north winding you through the beautiful redwoods. 

The campsite itself is located on the western side of Mount Wittenberg. If the fog permits, this location shows off sweeping views of Point Reyes and Drakes Bay. Our first day at the campsite was shrouded in the Bay Area’s signature fog, but the morning after was all blue skies, giving us visibility to the surrounding landscape and ocean. 

Parking: There is a parking lot at the Sky Trailhead which is the perfect place to start your journey. It is important to note that the parking lot is small, so keep this in mind when timing your trip. You may have to wait for parking.

The hike in & out: As a beginner backpacker, this is my ideal hike-in situation. It’s just over a mile from the Sky Trailhead to the Sky Campground and took us less than an hour to hike to your camping spot. 

The hike-in is at a very slight incline (only 404 ft elevation gain according to Google Maps), which didn’t feel too challenging even with my overpacked and oversized backpack. Better yet, after a full weekend of camping and hiking, the walk back to the car is a nice downhill experience.

Amenities: Given the amenities offered at this campsite, this experience was as close to glamping as one can get for a camping trip that isn’t car camping.

For all you IBS girlies out there, I’m very happy to report that there are BATHROOMS. Keep in mind that these bathrooms still have camping toilets (no flushing) but they’re clean and well-stocked with toilet paper. Any camping trip that doesn’t require digging, squatting, and burying is freaking fabulous in my book.

What’s also unique about this campground is that there are trash and recycling bins! Located right next to the bathroom you can take your trash to these bins rather than pack it back out.

Then, just past the bathrooms is a spigot with potable water so you don’t have to worry about packing in a ton of water for cooking, drinking, or washing.

At each campsite, there’s a picnic table, a food storage locker, and a designated surface for a hot plate. Campfires are not allowed at this campground, so it’s important to pack a stove or hot plate. 

Size: The campsite easily fit a couple of two-person tents along with one family-size tent. 

CAMPING LOGISTICS:

I was pretty stoked when my favorite #CampMother let me know she was coming back into town and that she’d secured a campsite at Sky Camp in Point Reyes. If you haven’t gleaned from my camping on Angel Island story, I am not exactly equipped to handle a camping trip on my own… 

Below is a recap of everything she took care of as the ultimate boss when it comes to logistics. I can’t take credit for anything apart from the trio of pre-made desserts that I picked out from the bougie local grocery market. 

Camping Meals:

• Saturday 

• Lunch – Everyone fends for themselves aka burritos all around

• Dinner – Moroccan couscous with the (to be patented) protein curls. Chopped veggies in first followed by the seasoned couscous to follow. This is topped with the protein curls. 

• Dessert – Store-bought vegan desserts (a variety of cookies, brownies, and a failproof chocolate almond bar). 

• Sunday

• Breakfast – Instant coffee and oats with cinnamon, walnuts, and peanut butter

• Snack – Homemade salty sweet granola bars

• Lunch – Stop at the ULTIMATE post-hike/camping spot “The Junction” in Mill Valley where we had pizza and beer

Camping Packing List: 

How freaking lucky am I to have a list like this prepared for me??? Did I still forget my water bottle? Yes. BUT did I have enough layers to get me through the drop in temperature that hit hard in the foggy night? Yes.

Everything bulleted was something she was already bringing.

KOOK AUNTY JOURNAL: MY EXPERIENCE CAMPING IN POINT REYES CALIFORNIA

The green awning and nebulous graffiti artwork of my local market came into view as I ended my short morning jog. I had about an hour before I’d be swooped by my favorite #CampMother for our camping trip and I still hadn’t purchased any desserts (the one task I was assigned to). The job of picking up these meal accessories (how I think of desserts) was simple enough and one I could be trusted with.

Back in my apartment, I added the desserts along with a sour beer into my cow print cooler-day pack and shoved it into my backpacking backpack. The green, 80-liter bag is too large for me and far too large for a short trip like this one. HOWEVER, it felt like the right choice. I knew it was a short hike to the campsite so I was not worried about having to carry it for a long distance, and it allowed me to strap my tent to the bottom, shove my sleeping bag in the base, and have as many layers as possible for the cold to come.

At 10 AM, my lovely Camp Mother arrived, parking her Subaru up the block. I quickly jogged up to meet her, threw my bag in the trunk, and we went on our way. Her husband and his friend would meet us later that evening after they got their pickleball fix in. 

It was a gorgeous drive to the Sky Trailhead through towering redwoods and past quaint Point Reyes shops. When we arrived at the small parking lot, we were a bit worried as there didn’t seem to be a spot for us, other than the one a Zipcar that had arrived minutes before us was trying to pull into.

Still, we decided to enter the dirt parking lot just to be sure, and lo and behold! There was a little space between two cars and after maneuvering, we wedged in. 

Then it was a quick pee in the woods before heading up the trail to the campsite. It only took forty minutes or so for us to arrive at the bathrooms at the base of the campground. From there, we walked all the way back to the end of the line where campsite 11 was located. 

First things first, we assembled our tents (her without much trouble, me with quite a bit of trouble). Since I’m not an avid camper, my tent purchases have always been economical rather than quality-based. I’m still not entirely sure why I couldn’t seem to get my tent to lay flat but at least I’d remembered my tent poles this time. 

Once tents were up and food was packed away in the bear bag and stored in the food storage locker, we decided to brave the gray fog that surrounded us in its eerie mist to head down to the beach. 

It’s an 8-mile hike in total (4 miles down to the beach and 4 miles back to the campsite). The trail was fairly easy with a steady downhill that didn’t feel too steep. However, there are definitely parts where the grasses have grown over and you have to squeeze through the barrier of nature’s hands as they reach out toward the trail. There are nettles and poison oak to look out for as well.  

At the base of the Coast Trail, we passed by the other campsites that you could stay at near the ocean. There was another set of bathrooms here, and we stopped to pee and saw a mother deer and two fawns eating!

Once at the beach, I couldn’t resist the urge to jump into the ocean (I’m terrible at resisting a quick dip when I’m near any sea). However, the shorebreak was pretty intense, and I definitely got nervous as I ran in and out of the water. It was surprisingly warm. I’m guessing sixty degrees?  

A quick deck change later, tucked behind some cliff rocks, and I was dry and ready to hike back. We began our ascent up to the campground. We decided to take the other side of the trail loop back to our campsite—and I have to say I did not enjoy it. This trail was way less maintained and I’m a total panty (aka scaredy cat) when it comes to ticks, so I was pretty freaked out as we pushed through this foliage. 

Still, it wasn’t a difficult hike, and we were back at the campsite doing our tick checks a couple of hours later. 

The fog that had covered the sky up to this point was still heavy around us leaving the air chilled with the promise of a colder evening to come.

We changed into our long underwear and long-sleeve apparel before filling up our water bottles to rehydrate and be ready to cook.

At this point, the guys had arrived and had set up the other tent as well. They came hiking over as we filled our waters and we all returned to our campsite to enjoy our beers and to play Haiclue. Haiclue is an ideal camping game in my opinion. It has a very low barrier to entry, not a lot of cards that can be blown away in the wind, and it helped us get to know each other better. 

After that, our incredible #CampMother pulled out the stove to heat up our dinner and we all ate and chatted and sipped on some whiskey.

I remember camping trips when I was in my early twenties, staying up late into the night and killing more than one bottle of liquor. I was so happy this night ended with us turning in early and me falling asleep to the sounds of Derry Girls. Yes, that’s right. I don’t sleep unless I listen to a show that I’ve watched before and this short hike in allowed me to bring my iPad with episodes downloaded. #bless. 

In the morning, I woke up feeling a bit cold and discovered that there had been a weird leak or condensation accumulation in my tent. The bottom of my new sleeping bag was wet. Still, I’d slept pretty well and woke up ready for that cup of coffee. 

THERE IS NOTHING I LOVE MORE THAN MORNING CAMPING COFFEEEEEEEEEEE

I drank a few cups of the instant stuff and enjoyed some oatmeal before it was time for my least favorite part of any camping trip. Packing up.

I hate taking my tent apart and figuring out how to shove everything back into the little bags that I’d pulled them out of. Does anyone else find this part infuriating? How in the world are these giant tents supposed to pack up into these thin, tightly enclosed shapes to fit into their bags? I had to straddle my tent bag to get it all zipped up. 

Once everything was packed away, we donned our daypacks and made our way down to the beach as a big group. Though I had hiked down to the beach the day before, the disappearance of the fog and the endless rays of sunlight made it feel like an entirely new hike. As we walked along the trail, mesmerized by the delicate bursts of color from the wildflowers (Scarlet Pimpernel and Poppies in their candy-colored oranges) and the way the tall grasses swayed, I kept questioning whether or not this really was the route we’d taken the previous day. 

This time, rather than heading along the path to the right, we turned left where a stream trickled down a steep drop to the beach. After stumbling down the muddy hill, we found ourselves in a little cover sheltered by the cliffs and covered in pebbles of various sizes though mostly in the same gray, black, and white shades.

Again, I couldn’t resist jumping into the water, though I was terrified to discover that its bottom was all rock as I dove beneath a wave. 

After a short rest on the beach, it was time to head back up. This time, the hike was a bit more advanced with a steeper incline at the beginning. We trekked up the hill, letting the boys advance up ahead while we casually walked and chatted.

Four miles later, we were back at the campground and ready to hike back to our cars to head to the ultimate post-hike/post-camping destination: The Junction.

We walked down the path to the parking lot and packed up the cars before jumping in and driving to the pizza and beer spot in Mill Valley. There, we enjoyed more sunshine, some live music, and delicious grub before it was time to get back to our respective homes for a deep clean. I’m not one for long showers but there’s nothing I love more than the post-camping shower. 

All in all, this was one of my favorite easy and convenient camping trips in California.