The campsite is quiet and pleasant, surrounded by large woods and hills, with fresh air, perfect for getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There is a proper distance between the campsites, so it won't feel too crowded, and there are many flat places suitable for tents. The hiking trail is very convenient from the campsite. I especially recommend the trail to Tennessee Valley, which has beautiful scenery and you can see some wild animals along the way. The infrastructure of the campsite is relatively simple. Although there are not many modern facilities, it is also its original ecological feeling that makes people relax. The only slight shortcoming is that the water source and toilet facilities are relatively basic, so it is recommended to bring some extra supplies. read more

Why in the world should I have to hike to my campsite, when there is a perfectly good dirt road that can access it? Bathrooms are glorified portapotties, but better than nothing (I've had my share of backwoods camping). There are no water spigots, so pack in your water. Food can (and should) be stored in bear lockers on site. The "hike" there is about 1.7 miles and easy...if you pack light. read more

Finally, my first time backpacking (well, kinda sorta), and I've been 29 for how many years now? This is a chance for you to see if you can do it or if you like it. I had several days off of work, and stayed here for two nights, doing a LOT of hiking on the second day. You can either hike in with all your things, or ride a bike to the camp. I took my bike, only to find out that this flat fire road is a very gradual uphill for over half a mile. Urgh. It's not completely primitive, there's a permanent potty on site and food lockers at every spot, but there is no water, no garbage pickup, and no cell phone service. No fires or pets allowed, either. Pick up your permit at the visitors center on the way to Rodeo Beach. Haypress makes a great base camp for hiking all over the headlands. Occasionally you get some hikers coming in to see where the trail leads, and when they find it dead-ends at a campground, they shrug their shoulders and leave. The Marin Headlands has unpredictable weather, and I happened to pick a warm time. Very windy the first day, only quite windy the other two days. Bring a sweatshirt (I forgot mine). Good for Happy Wanderers, contemplative Thoreaus, and Joe Athletes. Not good for those who need to plug in their curling irons or constantly check their emails. read more

Haypress Campsite - Just past the camp is this cute spot for an improvised picnic. - Parks Near Me - Mill Valley, California

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Best kept camping secrets in Marin and your beginner course in backpacking. Haypress is just a half mile hike off the Tennessee Valley Trail and located back in a sheltered valley. Its comprised of 8 campsites which all have a picnic bench, food locker and two tent pads. There is also the cleanest bathroom you will ever find at a campsite, simply amazing. Reservations are free and you will need to call or visit the Marin Headlands Visitor Center to make them. They are free, but you are limited to 3 a year. Typically the site is booked up about two weeks in advance, but when you arrive you will find that almost no one shows up. It really is an amazing location and while fires are not allowed, there is plenty to keep you busy. It really is a nice spot to chill all day, plenty of trails all around. You have access to the beach and its a quick walk back to the car if you want to drive into town for a fancy dinner before returning to your temporary home in the Marin Headlands. Top Tip: If you, or a loved one enjoyed Car Camping, this is the next step. read more

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Love this camp site. It's not quite a car camping site as it's about a 20 minute walk from the parking lot to the camp sites, but we brought a wagon to help haul in some gear for a more car-camping like experience. NO CELL service beyond the parking lot which was great. Some very distant freeway noise at the site; but all in all we felt like we were in the wilds which was impressive given our proximity to the city. read more

Haven't camped here but would love to. We hike back through the campsite a lot. The thing I love about this campsite is it's only three quarters of a mile from the parking lot so you could easily get to your car if you forgot something or need anything. There are usually 2 great horned owls in the trees at dusk. It's set in the trees in protected land , so is quite peaceful. The beach is 1.5 miles down the main trail and is gorgeous. Tons of hiking in the area. It has outhouses and picnic tables but seems pretty rustic. read more

Reservations for the five sites at Haypress aren't site specific, so recommending my favorite site as I usually do isn't especially helpful since you can take your pick of what's available upon arrival. Even so, sites 1 and 2 seemed a bit larger than the others, in part because they're next to the shared field and day use space, which was great for the kids that were with us. I respectfully disagree with some of the other reviewers' comments: 1) I think this is an excellent camping option for kids, so long as you recognize it's just under a mile walk from the parking lot, most of which is slightly uphill. 2) I really appreciate the old school -- call the visitor center! -- reservation system in place for three of the Marin Headlands four campgrounds. ReserveAmerica.com and Recreation.gov have taken over the campground reservation world and I'm unimpressed with their one-size fits all approach and booking fees. I'll take this system any day. Not only that, but the person who helped me was friendly and clearly explained the process. Couple other thoughts: bring bikes, if you're so inclined. As previously mentioned there's a steady uphill to the campsite, but even the kids with us made it, albeit with a little complaining. The route to/from the beach has a couple of short uphills, but overall it's a pretty easy ride, even for kids (say 7+). Finally, while the price steals the show (still free in 2017!), I'd argue the 30-day advance reservation policy is equally laudable and deserving of an extra star. Given that the vast majority of California's state parks accept reservations seven months out (with prime spots reserved in seconds), having an option that one can book closer in is much appreciated. I love first-come, first-served options, but that's risky and I wish more parks released at least some campsite availability closer to the arrival date. read more

Great, small campground in Marin! Originally booked this spot because it is a free campsite and most other Marin campgrounds were full for that weekend. I was a bit hesitant about it since it seemed a bit more under the radar, but it was a great decision. PROS: 40 min. walk to Tennesse Valley Beach and there are many other trails for hiking from the Campground Pretty private campground with only 5 campsites (first night there were only two other campsites full besides us) Decent bathrooms for a campground CONS Campground is a 15 minute walk from the Tennessee Valley Parking Lot so make sure to pack light or be prepared to make a few trips No Campfires or water taps here Even with the cons, I still very much enjoyed this campground and getting to hike around the area, while staying in this nice, peaceful spot. read more

Only a half hour out of the city, and a fifteen minute walk from the nearest parking lot, this campsite is as convenient as it is remote-feeling. No campfires, so bring a camp stove. Or lots of powerbars. Alternatively, bring your raw foodist friends and tell them you will waive their portion of the site cost (which doesn't exist) if they purchase, carry, and prepare all meals. Minus one star for the appearance of the port-a-potties that accompany the site. Plus a half a star for the existence of the port-a-potties and the fact that they smell less poopy than most. Bring warm clothes -- it gets foggy and damp and cold. Speaking of poop, when I arrived at the site I was greeted by a gaggle of pre-teen boys who were apparently camping out at site 1 (of 5), under the care of an employee of GGNRA (Golden Gate National Riffle Association -- wait, no, that's not quite right.... ahh, close enough). As we approached the site: A boy bursts out of port-a-potty #2 screaming: "Eeeewwwww..... there's a turd the size of a dead rat!" I'm assuming this was the clever young lad's way of disowning the fact that he had just produced said turd. (whoever smelt it dealt it, my son). Clever boy. In any case, I stuck to port-a-potty #3, which I found to be quite suitable. read more

Great campsites - we went on the weekend to check out Haypress and ran into other backpackers who were just passing through. Lots of great hikes and spectacular views of the ocean. It gets really busy on the weekends which makes for crowded trails and a super crowded parking lot. Bathrooms were clean and the sites are well maintained. Each site has a table and food locker. Bring your own water! Remember to pick up your parking pass and camping permit at The Marin Headlands Visitor Center (located in the historic Fort Barry Chapel, at the intersection of Field and Bunker Roads. The Visitor Center is approximately 3 miles from either entrance to the Marin Headlands.) Phone: (415) 331-1540 Hours Daily--9-30 AM to 4-30 PM http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/outdooractivities.htm - just put the pass and permit up, that way you don't have to worry about giving rangers extra silly stuff to do like bug you while you're camping :) Gets pretty windy in the evening and since you're on the coast, it's pretty chilly. Nothing out of the ordinary, just layer up. Also gets dewy and wet, so use your rain fly! Happy camping! read more

The campground itself deserves 5 stars, I'm more giving it this rating for the poor customer service. Some grisley old man hung up on me in mid-conversation. Like, really? He doesn't deserve to have a job. Although, I did get a manager on the line when I called back who was very polite and apologetic, which saved them from me dropping another star. Also, visitor center workers were rather rude. Basically, the customer service for the Marin Headlands campsites are bubonic. Anyways, done crying about inhumans. The location: gorgeous. You got a firm line of eucalyptus trees behind you, grassy field for the campsite, and good distance away from highway noise. Yes, there's roughly a 1.5 mile hike to the site, but if you're not a pussy who microwaves their milk, it's only a brisk walk from the lot. The tent spots (all 2 of them) are rather large. with some maneuvering, you could potentially place two one-man tents on each square. However, they're quite hard. There were complaints from my friends the next morning about sore sides. So, bring an air mattress if you go here. So, all in all I'd say the experience is worth the struggle with the transaction. read more

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Showed up to parking lot where we had to leave the car and then almost a mile hike to campsite. Don't mind the hike but be mindful about what you want to carry all the way there while walking, AKA just being the essentials. Problem was finding the campsite itself. No proper signage so we circled for a while until we found someone camping who was able to tell us where to go. Would recommend for those who have camping experience, this is for more serious campers- no running water at the sight but toilets and picnic tables! Pretty windy which is common in San Fransisco area but we were worried about a loose creaky branch above us. Bear boxes provided. We decided to use our portable propane stove at picnic tables in parking lot to avoid carrying to site read more

Took four elementary aged students to Haypress for a weekend away. It is a mile walk to the campsite. We brought a significant amount of gear and made two trips. I enjoyed the stars and walk back in the morning (minus the luggage, poor kids) The certification required was obtained at Marin Headlands station adjacent to Marin Headland Art Studio. The distance between Haypressand place where you get the car placard is far enough to consider driving the extra miles for car camping with amenities. Great for hiking couples I'd presume but for eight year olds--- not so much. read more

Nice secluded campsite in Marin. Went on a weekend day and had the place all for myself. It was really quiet and not windy at all (probably because of the trees right next to the campsite). Loved waking up and walking back as the sun was rising behind the mountains. read more

I was able to book this site last minute a few weekends ago. Really lovely and quiet place to camp, nice hike to the beach and up to hilly views, and we saw lots of California quail dust bathing near our tent! read more

The campsites are great. Very primitive. Tent pads, picnic tables, big bear boxes for food. No water, no fires. Bring more water than you think you will need and leave it back at your car in case you run out it's a quick jog back to the parking lot. Consider a bike. -1 star for the horrible way the reservation was handled. The guy on the phone didn't bother to tell us we needed to pick up a permit at the visitors center, but we had no hassles. He also insisted the campground was completely booked all weekend and we had the last reservation for one night only. It was completely empty. -1 another star for all the jerks who reserve these sites then don't show up leaving the rest of us without a place to camp. If you can make it through the scrub there are some great rock outcroppings along the ridge to climb to. Look for the deer paths. Oh, and we saw an owl.. read more