Kirby Cove Campground

What a beautiful spot. I used to camp there with Girl Scouts in the 60s and loved it as much now as I did then.

Kirby Cove is extremely beautiful. It’s quite small and concealed well by the cove and steep decline from other parts of the park. My personal favorite part was the rocky, medium-grey-khaki sand on the beach, where you can watch boats go under the bridge.
To camping: this is definitely a walk-in campground, but this site is decently close to the parking lot. I took two or three leisurely trips (I get winded easily) over an hour or so. There are several pads and a bear box in each site. Between the beach and campsite there is Battery Kirby, well worth a look at, and a pit toilet. The flies loved it in there, which was probably the worst thing about the whole trip. The night I stayed the neighboring sites apparently had a visit from a fearless raccoon (as mentioned by others before), but I was spared.
One thing I wish I had thought more about: the fog dampening everything overnight does bring the temperature down quite a bit. Definitely advise a rainfly. Also, driving down from Conzelman Rd: only one side of the gate opens, so I would advise against bringing any vehicle down larger than an SUV.

Best place to see San Francisco and passing ships

Highly recommend!

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