Kirby Cove Campground

Kirby Cove remains my favorite campsite! The small beach makes the place feel private, and the long walk down from the road means the area is mostly occupied by fellow campers. It's quiet and peaceful, though be prepared for the foghorns at night when it's particularly foggy.
I hope one day power and water can be brought back to the cove for improved facilities instead of the primitive toilets, but even as-is it's a place I look forward to visiting again.

It was a cool experience camping with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge but the traffic getting to the gate and opening it to get down to the campsite and dealing with people parking in front of the gate blocking it was a bit of a nightmare, three nights was one too many. I wouldn’t go back but glad I got to go

The view of GG at night is breathtaking. This site has been in our bucket list forever, my wife was able to find availability a couple weeks ago, this must've been a cancelled reservation because this campsites are always fully booked 3 month in advance & each time we try or remember to check the site we miss the window of opportunity. My wife & I had a site that was close enough to the cliff overlook to be able to view the Golden Gate Bridge several times. The walk to campsite #5 is not far from the parking lot (see video) and is not strenuous either. If your planning to haul any of your "can't do without" camping items know that you will come across a few stair steps on the path but doable, suggest to bring your own wagon haul. We are car campers and we bought backpacking gear including a new 2 person tent just to experience Kirby Cove. This was not a disappointment, The weather was beautiful, not too hot during the day. Site #5 has very little coverage from the glaring sun, this site is out in the open but very spacious for a family. The walk downhill from the cliff to the beach is well maintained, quite a few look out points and on our evening encounters in the camp there were several family of deers, rabbit and late into the evenings a howl of coyote. Such an awesome camping experience so close to the city. The Golden Gate Bridge was magical for us in the evening and just before sunset. Suggest taking your camping chairs & coffee and soak in the beauty of the bay at the cliff. The toilet situation ( we bring our own ) and we do this in the event it becomes a disappointment and sure enough it was. We enjoy nature & camping & religiously "Leave No Trace" at all sites & it saddens us that our Food Locker was full of bottles & garbage left for us to handle. For the next person we left it pristine-you're very welcome :). Here is a video from parking area to campsite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_xaEcL_WWs

Great campsite, one of the most beautiful spots right outside the city. Be sure to bring earplugs at night, the fog horn is loud & constant!

It's always a pleasure to be welcomed to Kirby cove wonderful place to meet new people and enjoy new experiences in the wild while being close to one of the biggest cities in the world.

Me and my brother camped here at the end of march so it was still pretty chilly. Although it said it was booked out, I think people canceled bc of the rain. There was only one other camper there with us. During the day silly hikers come by the campsite, not really a problem for me. Site 1 is definitely the best with the best view of the ggb and city lights. At night it's quite noisy w the helis, ship horns and waves, so b sure to bring earplugs or something! I couldn't sleep but had a great time. I'd love to come back during the summer or fall

Overall we had a great experience at Kirby Cove. The view was incredible day and night. The individual campsite (#5) was large and felt private, with toilets not too far away. The walk from the parking lot was doable, though should definitely be taken into consideration when transporting your things.

Some additional notes. When arriving you navigate to the Battery Spencer overlook parking lot, where you'll find the gate on a sharp right turn off of the main road. The gate has the combination locks (look at the bottom of each lock to input the code). The dirt road down is in pretty good shape, generally wide enough for two cars to pass at certain points. The bottom of the road has some erosion, beware if your car has low clearance. The parking lot at the campground is small, with only about 8-9 cars fitting in the allotted spaces (though there is some additional space off to the sides of the parking area). Finally the racoons are ever present at night, they generally keep their distance from people, but they will go for left out food even if you are in the general area.

Great view, peaceful campsite

Loved the location. We had some anxiety because we weren't quite expecting the entrance to be off of a busy touristy road like Hawk Hill. A car was blocking the entrance and we had to find the owners to move it. Also, you need to carry your camping gear several hundred yards to the site.

We've camp at camp 1 several times. This time the weather was perfect. The moon was bright. Reflecting S.F. and the G.G. bridge over the calm waves. No wind. No fog. No sounds of loud horns due to no fog. We were the only group that camped out in the park. Had the whole park to ourselves. Great fun.