Bay Area District
The Bay Area District of California State Parks consists of 16 park units including Historic, Nature, and Urban Parks. The district encompasses parks located in the city of San Francisco up through the North Bay Area including Marin, Sonoma, and Napa counties. With a visit to this district, you can navigate mountains, explore California history, or immerse yourself in the lives of literary masters.
District Contact Information:
845 Casa Grande RD
Petaluma CA 94954-5804
(707) 769-5652
Angel Island State Park
Angel Island State Park, the largest natural island in the San Francisco Bay, offers some of the best views of the surrounding Bay Area. With great hiking trails and many other recreational opportunities readily available, Angel Island is truly a hidden gem amid the urban Bay Area.
Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park
This Park is the site of a water-powered grist mill that was built in 1846. It was once the center of social activity as Napa Valley settlers gathered to have their corn and wheat ground into meal or flour. The mill remained in use until the early 1900s.
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park
Bothe-Napa Valley State Park offers visitors a different kind of California wine country experience. Nestled in the historic Napa Valley, the 1,900-acre park features campsites and yurts, rugged trails, and a swimming pool.
Candlestick Point State Recreation Area
From Candlestick Point State Recreation Area, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay, the East Bay hills, San Bruno Mountain as well as relax in the peaceful scenery of the park itself. From its location on the western shoreline of the San Francisco Bay, this urban park provides a variety of recreational opportunities and open space.
China Camp State Park
China Camp State Park is nestled along the shore of the San Pablo Bay. The road through the park offers beautiful views of the waterfront. Features include an extensive intertidal marsh, meadow, and oak habitats. A Chinese shrimp-fishing village thrived on this site in the 1880’s. The museum at China Camp Village helps tell the story of these hardy shrimp fishermen.
Jack London State Historic Park
Ramble among the historic structures of author Jack London’s Ranch, explore the innovative “Pig Palace,” and discover how Jack’s new approaches to farming are still relevant today. A one-mile walk takes visitors to a dam, lake, and bathhouse built by London. Other hikes lead up through fir and oak woodlands to views of the Valley of the Moon.
Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park
History and nature blend seamlessly at the Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park, where overlooking the Tomales Bay, native Coast Miwok, global radio communication, and a controversial cult have each left their mark.
Mount Tamalpais State Park
Just north of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais State Park rises majestically from the heart of Marin County. Its deep canyons and sweeping hillsides are cloaked with cool redwood forests, oak woodlands, open grasslands, and sturdy chaparral.
Olompali State Historic Park
Olompali State Historic Park offer exquisite views from the Petaluma River basin out to the San Francisco Bay. This 700-acre park features former ranch buildings with adobe ruins. Visitors enjoy hiking on trails, picnicking, horseback riding and touring the historic grounds.
Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park
A visit to the Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park will bring you back to the largest privately owned adobe building in Northern California in the 1830-40’s and the center of activity on one of the most prosperous private estates established during the Mexican Period.
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
Robert Louis Stevenson State Park is the place where the famous author of Treasure Island and Kidnapped spent his honeymoon in 1880. The area features rough terrain, with evergreen forests in the canyons on north-facing slopes and chaparral on the south-facing slopes.
Samuel P. Taylor State Park
Samuel P. Taylor State Park’s 2,882 acres offer shady strolls though the stately redwoods along Lagunitas Creek as well as exhilarating hikes to the top of Barnabe Peak, one of the best viewpoints in Marin County. You can camp among redwoods, bike along the creek, explore easy-to-moderate hiking trails, watch salmon spawn, relax in the shady picnic area, and learn the story of its namesake pioneer.
Sonoma State Historic Park
Unlike most parks with a single plot of land and a continuous boundary, Sonoma State Historic Park is a scattering of historical attractions consisting of six mid-town locations near Sonoma’s Plaza. Off the Sonoma Plaza are Mission San Francisco Solano, the Blue Wing Inn, Sonoma Barracks, the Toscano Hotel and Kitchen, and the Servants Quarters (the remains of La Casa Grande). General Vallejo’s home, Lachryma Montis, is less than a mile west of the plaza.
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park
Sugarloaf Ridge State Park is a 4,020-acre park located northeast of Kenwood in the Mayacamas Mountains between the lush Sonoma and Napa valleys. Elevations in the park range from 600 feet at the entrance to 2,729 feet at the top of Bald Mountain, overlooking the Napa Valley and Mount Saint Helena to the north.
Tomales Bay State Park
Situated on the eastern edge of the Point Reyes Peninsula, the blue waters and sheltered coves of Tomales Bay State Park are a popular destination for a day of picnicking, hiking, or water-oriented activities.
Trione-Annadel State Park
Trione-Annadel State Park sits in the historic Valley of the Moon, an area popularized by author Jack London. This peaceful, unspoiled park is 60 miles north of San Francisco on the eastern edge of Santa Rosa. The Park has more than 5,500 acres of rolling hills, seasonal streams, meadows, and woodlands free from modern intrusions.
