Kirby Cove Camp
Encyclopedia
Kirby Cove Camp is a campground and scenic area managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
(GGNRA) in the Marin Headlands
, California. It is located at sea level below Conzelman Road, which leads from the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge
up and along the Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate strait that leads into San Francisco Bay
. A road behind a locked gate leads to Kirby Cove from just beyond Battery Spencer, the first set of bunkers encountered from Highway 101 at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
, pine and cypress
which gives an almost Eden-like setting. A stream wanders though the campground. While the persistent coastal fog of the area is sometimes not welcomed for recreation, here it gives a cathedral-like experience among the large trees.
Yet within a mile across the water is the Golden Gate Bridge, towering 220 feet above the water and carrying an average of about 105,000 vehicles a day into and out of the city of San Francisco, with a population of about 815,000 [both 2009]. The visible but nearly silent traffic and human density only enhances the quiet view here; nature dominates.
To access the area for hiking or occasional day-use, hikers and campers must hike past the locked gate and go down the mile long road to the campsites and Battery Kirby.
Reservations must be made for Kirby Cove Camp for either overnight camping or day use. Limits are placed on the duration of stay and the amount of yearly use to open this opportunity for as many as possible.
. As the plan was approved and construction began, the defensive battery was named "Gravelly Beach Battery", using the common name of the truly gravelly beach at the site. The battery was subsequently renamed Battery Kirby in honor of 1st Lieutenant Edmund Kirby, 1st U.S. Artillery. Lt. Kirby headed a Civil War volunteer battalion and was promoted to bridgadier general on the day that he died in combat at the Battle of Chancellorsville
on May 28, 1863. The name then was extended to first the valley in which the battery was built, subsequently to the present National Park Service campground administrated by the GGNRA.
Battery Kirby saw service from 1898 to March 30, 1934, when it was placed in an abandoned status as obsolete.
Historical Information:
Originally, very few trees grew in the windswept and steep valley at Kirby Cove. Today's present forest was planted over the years as Battery Kirby was developed and occupied. It is dominated by cypress, eucalyptus and pine trees.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area administered by the National Park Service that surrounds the San Francisco Bay area. It is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States, with over 13 million visitors a year...
(GGNRA) in the Marin Headlands
Marin Headlands
The Marin Headlands is a hilly area at the southernmost end of Marin County, California, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The Headlands are located just north of San Francisco, immediately across the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire area is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, California. It is located at sea level below Conzelman Road, which leads from the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
up and along the Marin Headlands overlooking the Golden Gate strait that leads into San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. A road behind a locked gate leads to Kirby Cove from just beyond Battery Spencer, the first set of bunkers encountered from Highway 101 at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Description
No one can dispute that the Kirby Cove campground represents one of the most unique sites for camping within the United States. The Marin Headlands is dominated by steep cliffs dropping rapidly down into the waters of the Golden Gate. A few narrow beaches survive at the base of the cliffs, which are otherwise dominated by rocks and breaking surf. Kirby Cove not only affords a relatively large and flat beach, but the valley provides flat space for camping and recreation, surrounded largely by a forest of eucalyptusEucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, pine and cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
which gives an almost Eden-like setting. A stream wanders though the campground. While the persistent coastal fog of the area is sometimes not welcomed for recreation, here it gives a cathedral-like experience among the large trees.
Yet within a mile across the water is the Golden Gate Bridge, towering 220 feet above the water and carrying an average of about 105,000 vehicles a day into and out of the city of San Francisco, with a population of about 815,000 [both 2009]. The visible but nearly silent traffic and human density only enhances the quiet view here; nature dominates.
Camping and hiking
Campsite 1 is located on a bluff above the eastern end of Kirby Cove Beach. Campsites 2,3,4 are located away from the water, nestled within groves of trees. To view the Golden Gate, its towering bridge, the City of San Francisco and Land's End, one can walk to the bluff above the beach in front of the batteries and sit at a picnic table, or on the Mano Seca bench that was installed in 2010.To access the area for hiking or occasional day-use, hikers and campers must hike past the locked gate and go down the mile long road to the campsites and Battery Kirby.
Reservations must be made for Kirby Cove Camp for either overnight camping or day use. Limits are placed on the duration of stay and the amount of yearly use to open this opportunity for as many as possible.
Shipping
As the Golden Gate provides access to ports within San Francisco Bay and as far inland as Sacramento and Stockton, ship traffic through the strait is nearly continuous. However, this entry is perilous with its narrow channels and looming obstructions, and all large ships entering must take on a pilot who is familiar with the local area. Tug boats are also sometimes required. As one sits at Kirby Cove Beach, the two most frequent classes of large ships are container ships from the Far East and oil tankers that are largely from the Alaskan terminal at Valdez, AK. Watching this traffic provides motion to the static scenery.Battery Kirby history
Construction began in 1898 to place a maritime artillery battery in the valley just above a small beach close to the entrance to San Francisco BaySan Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. As the plan was approved and construction began, the defensive battery was named "Gravelly Beach Battery", using the common name of the truly gravelly beach at the site. The battery was subsequently renamed Battery Kirby in honor of 1st Lieutenant Edmund Kirby, 1st U.S. Artillery. Lt. Kirby headed a Civil War volunteer battalion and was promoted to bridgadier general on the day that he died in combat at the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
on May 28, 1863. The name then was extended to first the valley in which the battery was built, subsequently to the present National Park Service campground administrated by the GGNRA.
Battery Kirby saw service from 1898 to March 30, 1934, when it was placed in an abandoned status as obsolete.
Historical Information:
- Kirby Battery was equipped with two 12-inch shell B.L.R. (breech loading rifle) Rifles Model 1895 nos. 12 and 16
- The artillery pieces were manufactured at the Watervliet Arsenal in Watervliet, New York – near Albany
- Upon de-commissioning of the battery, the guns were sent to Ft. Mills, Corregidor, Subic Bay, Manila, Philippines in 1933(#12)and 1941(#16)
Originally, very few trees grew in the windswept and steep valley at Kirby Cove. Today's present forest was planted over the years as Battery Kirby was developed and occupied. It is dominated by cypress, eucalyptus and pine trees.