Hawk Campground

Hawk Camp is a nice camp in an litttle clump of pine trees set among the otherwise bare hillsides of the Marin Headlands. It’s in a hollow that’s shielded from the worst of the cold ocean breezes, although it can still be still pretty cold, windy, and foggy. It’s well off the trail in a very quiet location, about a two and a half mile hike from the Tennessee Valley Trailhead.

Although it’s near a ridge with some really scenic views, from the camp itself you can only get a slight glimpse of the ocean and San Francisco. The lower site mostly has views of the surrounding hills, while the upper sites are screened with trees and don’t really have any views.

The camp has 3 sites, each with a picnic table, food locker, and a nicely cleared and leveled tent pad. A large tree has fallen near one of the sites, leaving it more exposed and denting its food locker; a short unofficial trail goes from this site back to a more sheltered (but not level) location in the trees, where some campers set up their tents. There’s a plastic port-a-potty outhouse a little below the camp. No water is available and fires are not allowed.

The camp is open from June through October and it’s completely free. Reservations are accepted up to 30 days ahead of time. There are no online reservations; you have to call the park to reserve. You can’t reserve a specific site. On the day of your reservation you have to pick up an overnight parking pass and camping permit at the rather out-of-the-way Marin Headlands visitor center, which is in the chapel near Rodeo Lagoon.

One of the upper sites

The upper sites