As I drove slowly down Beechwood Court sussing out the parking situation, I sensed that this was a neighborhood unaccustomed to visitors seeking access to China Camp State Park, Barbier Park, and San Pedro Mountain. Walking down the street to the trail, dogs frantically barked at me, and I could imagine invisible fingers drawing back curtains, and many a wary eye following my progress. Neighborhood access is never my favorite way to reach public hiking trails, but sometimes there are no established trailheads from which you can stage a hike. San Rafael's Barbier Park is such a place. Perched on the south slope of San Pedro Mountain, the park abuts China Camp State Park and San Pedro Mountain Open Space Preserve, but offers no facilities or established trailheads, and visitors must enter via neighborhood access locations where parking can be difficult. Although there are plenty of trailheads on San Pedro's more remote north slope, it is a bit nonsensical that trails and fire roads begin less than a mile from downtown San Rafael, but the city provides no facilities to ensure practical and easy access. Despite a minimalist approach to legitimate access points (all very clearly shown on the excellent Trails of Northeast Marin County map), Barbier Park is a prime hunk of real estate with the fortuitous proximity to two other (separately managed) parks and preserves. With the combined acreage of Barbier Park, China Camp State Park, and San Pedro Mountain Open Space Preserve, nearly the entire mountain is now open space.
     China Camp State Park has a single leg stretching south from San Pedro Mountain into some residential San Rafael neighborhoods, and one fire road climbing from the lowlands to the ridge. The fire road leaves China Camp to ascend through the upper slopes of Barbier Park, then reenters state park lands at a junction with Ridge Fire Road in the middle of the mountain. With the assistance of a bicycle visitors can traverse San Pedro Mountain from east to west, but hikers, who must first confront an over 1000 foot ascent in just 1.5 miles, probably won't venture that far. Once you get to the main east to west series of fire roads there are some out-and-back options to add on to an out-and-back hike, and a few loops, but keep in mind that if you head north or east very far into China Camp, or west into San Pedro Mountain Open Space Preserve, you'll face another long climb back to the ridgeline on your return journey.
      The difficult access from San Rafael pretty much ensures a hike with much less trail traffic than you'll encounter on a visit to China Camp's north slope. With a southern exposure and little shade, the south side of the mountain gets plenty of sun, so plan a visit in any season but summer, unless you really want to sweat. There's a nice stretch of grassland at the start of the fire road, a promising destination for spring wildflowers, and mixed woodland further uphill, where you might enjoy lots of madrone and toyon berries as well as manzanita blossoms in winter.
     Start at the end of Beechwood Court, and head uphill on a narrow and unmarked path. There will likely be a few tree branches sprawled across the trail, and the first stretch is steep, but the path soon eases up as it ascends through California bay, madrone, and hazelnut. You'll leave the woods behind and squeeze through overgrown patches of broom, with toyon and fennel just beyond. The path is eroded and rocky in sections. At 0.16 mile, the path ends at an unsigned junction with Bay Hills Fire Road (shown on CSP's China Camp map as Gold Hill Fire Road). Turn right.
     The wide multi-use fire road climbs at a moderately steep grade through grassland. You might see kestrels perched on the occasional clump of coyote brush. Although you will have barely started the ascent, on a clear day you should have sweeping views south to San Rafael Bay and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. As you climb look back over your shoulder for ever increasingly views to the east bay, Bay Bridge, and the two tiny lumps of land in San Rafael Bay that comprise the Marin Islands National Wildlife Sanctuary. The fire road draws near a cluster of California bays: look beneath the trees for a rocky outcrop of pinkish stone with white veins. Some shortcut paths have been worn into the hillside, but please stay on the obvious fire road. The grassland starts to shrink, and trees muscle their way onto the hillside. A few buckeyes stand denuded in winter, with seed pods dangling from bare branches, but coast live oak and California bay are dominant. Bay Hills Fire Road levels out briefly, a rare flat spot on the relentless climb. The grade picks up again, and invasive broom crowds the trail. You might notice a pink car door wedged onto the branch of a coast live oak. Crashed vehicles can be found along the sides of many old fire roads in the bay area, particularly on roads that serviced mining operations or missile sites. The rest of the car must be in the woods somewhere, but thick stands of madrone, coast live oak, and California bay discourage investigation. Bay Hills Fire Road leaves China Camp State Park and enters Barbier Park, but there is no noticeable change on the trail and the transition is unmarked. The fire road meets up with a high tension power tower, and the trail and power lines continue uphill together. At 0.82 mile, you'll reach an unsigned junction with a descending fire road departing to the left. Continue straight uphill on Bay Hills Fire Road.
     Madrone, coast live oak, California bay, toyon, and manzanita line the fire road. An overgrown wide trail splits off to the left, only to rejoin the fire road at the next crest. Stay to the right as another wide trail heads straight uphill to a power tower; the ascent is much easier on the fire road. The grade levels out as the fire road reaches an odd flat and cleared spot. Two communication towers, familiar landmarks to anyone who regularly drives through San Rafael along 101, come into view straight ahead and to the left. At 1.03 miles, Bay Hills Fire Road reaches an unsigned T junction with a paved road. Turn right.
      Although unsigned, the paved road, servicing the towers, runs north all the way to Bay Hills Drive near the Marin Civic Center, so I'll continue with the designation of Bay Hills Fire Road. The fire road skirts one of the communications towers, descends slightly, and meets a paved road entering from the left. Trees, mostly coast live oak, madrone, and California bay, block any views. After a bit of gentle up and down rolling, the fire road reaches a flat cleared crest, and the high point of the hike, at 1.50 miles and 1045 feet (if you are ready to turn back, this is a logical place to do so). Bay Hills Fire Road plummets downhill to the north, and at 1.63 miles, you'll reach the first signed junction of the hike, as you reenter China Camp State Park. Ridge Fire Road heads east (right), but stay to the left on Bay Hills Fire Road.
     A closed trail is ominously signed as illegal and off limits on the left. The fire road, still paved, winds through the trees at an easy pace, then climbs a hill and levels out again. Mount Tamalpais is visible to the south (weather permitting), and traffic noise from US 101 drifts uphill to the ridge. At 1.83 miles (look for a guardrail on the left), turn right into a cleared picnic area. A former Nike radar site perches between the picnic area and the fire road, and from there you'll have the best views in every direction, including the hills and shoreline of China Camp, San Pablo Bay, and Mount Burdell to the north. If you'd like to keep hiking, continue west on Bay Hills Fire Road, then take San Pedro Mountain Fire Road into San Pedro Mountain Open Space Preserve (this was my intended route, but as soon as I reached the Nike site, it started to pour). Otherwise, retrace your steps back to the trailhead.

Total distance: 3.66 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, November 13, 2001

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