Just 30 minutes North of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, is Pantoll Campground, the starting point of my adventure in Mount Tamalpais State Park. This park is one of San Fran’s biggest kept secrets.

Mount Tamalpais State Park wasn’t even my ultimate destination. In fact, I was planning on visiting Muir Woods National Monument, its popular neighbor protected and managed by the National Park Service.

It's known for its incredibly tall coastal redwood forests, wonderful wooden bridges, and the Redwood Creek, where sunlight filters through dense canopy and mist clings to fern-covered slopes like a lush, mysterious tropical rainforest.

The problem with visiting Muir Woods is parking. In fact, most of Mount Tamalpais has limited parking. This is part of the reason I decided to camp at Pantoll Campground, because it was only a few miles from Muir Woods.

What followed was one of my most memorable camping trips—a full day and night exploring Pantoll Campground, hiking the stunning Matt Davis Loop Trail, and discovering just how affordable this adventure actually was.

If you love the outdoors and hikes with incredible, diverse views, this park is absolutely worth your time. Let me walk you through everything you need to know by sharing my story.

I also added my YouTube video at the end of this post to show you my adventure.

The moment I crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and drove into Marin County, it felt as if I had left the robust cities of California, entering a very different, very green world of trees. The concrete streets and traffic gave way to dense forests, cascading green hills, and towering coast redwoods.

For the next 24 hours, I would discover why Mount Tamalpais might be the Bay Area's best-kept secret.

One thing I loved about this area, was it’s vicinity to so many attractions, parks, and historical sites. Before you cross the bridge, or on your return trip, you can visit places like

There are also plenty of overlooks and viewpoints scattered along both sides of the bridge where you can pull over and capture that iconic shot of the Golden Gate Bridge stretching across the bay, with the city skyline rising in the background and the deep blue water below.

The bridge can look different each time, sometimes shrouded in fog, sometimes bathed in golden sunlight, but always photogenic.

Whether you're someone who wants to be in nature, hiking coastal trails in fresh ocean air, or you prefer exploring urban landmarks and soaking up the city vibes, this area gives you the best of both worlds.

Cost: $25/night

There’s several campgrounds in this area, but Pantoll stands out as one of the most popular. This small, well-maintained campground sits right at the trailhead junction, giving you instant access to some of Mount Tamalpais's best hiking routes. You can literally roll out of your tent and be on the Matt Davis Trail or Steep Ravine Trail within minutes.

One important thing to know is that Pantoll operates on a first-come, first-served basis. You cannot book this campground online in advance. Instead, you need to show up in person and claim your spot at the ranger station, which adds a bit of uncertainty to your trip planning.

I arrived on a Sunday and got a site for $25 per night, which felt like a steal compared to most California state parks that typically charge $35 to $50 per night. For the location and amenities, it was a really good deal.

Speaking of amenities, each site comes equipped with everything you need for a comfortable camping experience: a fire pit for campfires, a BBQ grill for cooking, a lockbox to secure your food overnight, sturdy wooden picnic benches, and a leveled dirt pad large enough to pitch a tent.

The campground also has a shared restroom facility with flushing toilets, which is always a plus when you're camping.

What I loved most about this campground was its setting. The sites are tucked beneath towering coastal redwoods trees and Douglas firs. It made for an awesome forest camping experience.

In the morning, I woke to a chorus of songbirds filling the canopy above, their chirps echoing through the trees as sunlight filtered down through the branches. It was a peaceful camping morning that makes you want to linger over coffee instead of rushing out onto the trails.

I would definitely return to Pantoll and recommend it to anyone planning to explore this area. The location, price, and atmosphere make it an ideal base camp for hiking Mount Tamalpais.

The one downside is parking. The lot has space for roughly 50 cars, and it fills up quickly, especially on weekends.

Day hikers and mountain bikers arrive early to claim parking spots, sometimes as early as 7 or 8 AM. If you're planning to visit, I'd recommend arriving early in the morning, or be prepared to park along the roadside turnouts until spots open up later in the day.

Length: 6.5 miles

Elevation gain: 1,719 ft

Est. Time: 4-5 hours.

Trail Type: Loop

This Loop trail consists of three connected trails. I started from Pantoll campground, as most people start from here. You have the option to start from the Steep Ravine Trail which starts from the ends of the campground parking lot. Or you can start from the Matt Davis Trail which starts just across the street from the campground.

I decided to start from the Matt Davis Trail. Heres the information for the following three Trail segments. But I will say, my friend and I hiked this trail together, and paused many times for pictures and to soak in the views. It took us about 6 hours.

Matt Davis Trail

Dipsea Trail

Steep Ravine Trail

As you enter the park, you can immediately smell the deep green pine air from all the coastal trees. The air smelled so pure and fresh. What I loved about the park was the diverse scenery that completely changes the feel of where we were at.

California is mostly know for its large cities and beaches. But the state is also home to many lush green parks and forests.

I like to joke that I'm not really in California anymore when I visit unique parks like this. This place feels completely different from the suburban and city life I'm used to.

Walking along the beginning of the trail, I looked out beyond the road and saw mountain slopes covered in deep green trees. The hillsides and canyon are filled with coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas fir trees growing together in dense forests.

To me, it looked like I was walking in Oregon. My friend joked that we were Canada.

You don't even need to hike this trail to enjoy these views. The drive up to the park offers plenty of opportunities to see these massive trees. There are scenic pullouts all along the road where you can stop and take in the beautiful green environment.

Fun fact: The coast redwoods in this area average 600 to 800 years old. The oldest trees can reach over 2,000 years, although the oldest specimens in this park were found in Muir Woods at around 1,200 years old.

These trees can grow anywhere from 200 to 330 feet tall. That's about 25 to 35 stories high.

The air smells so clean and pure that I was taking in deep breaths by the lungful. A big difference from city air. And since I came to disconnect from the bustling life, and to reconnect with nature and get some healing, the air from this mountain side was a great start for my health.

And what better way to disconnect from the city than to see some wild Turkeys.

I was surprised to see a pack of birds walking along the ground feeding.

Fun fact: These wild turkeys are not native to Marin County. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife introduced them back in the late 1980s. They're a Rio Grande subspecies brought here to create hunting opportunities.

What makes this trail so interesting is the mix of scenery. About 15 minutes after leaving camp, we entered dense sections where the trees block out most of the light. It feels like you're truly deep in the woods.

Its a very beautiful hike through the forest, with so many large green trees both standing and fallen. You'll also come across multiple sections where the water is streaming down between the mountains through these woods. Its a nice and calming sound as you walk these wonderful groves

Then suddenly, you walk out into a completely different landscape where the contrast is wild. It goes from a very tree filled corner of the mountain to open field, lush green hills.

I wasn't expecting these beautiful green rolling hills. I thought the entire hike would be inside a forest, just walking alongside trees.

Looking beyond these rolling hills, I could see even more trails spreading across the mountainside in every direction. The hillsides were dotted with other hikers exploring different routes.

We even spotted people who had brought blankets up here for picnics. It was such a peaceful way to enjoy the expansive views and ocean breeze.

This is where we saw the most people on the trail. But everyone was spread out across the hills, so it never felt crowded.

What felt like walking in Oregon in the first 15 minutes of the trail now felt like we got transported to a whole other country. To me, it felt like I was in Ireland or something like that.

It was incredible to see so much open land with lush green hills and large patches of trees giving dark contrasts to the expansive ocean view on the horizon.

Another interesting fact: Mount Tamalpais has over 200 miles of trails weaving across the mountain.[1] What makes this network especially unique is that many of these trails cross federal, state, and local agency boundaries, creating one seamless hiking experience across multiple parks.

About halfway through the trail, we stumbled on something special. My buddy spotted it first. We'd stopped at what looked like a fork in the trail, and he noticed a faint path leading off to the side. I almost walked right past it.

The path led to this massive rock jutting out from the hillside. You could step off the main trail and walk right onto it. The whole time we were there, we could hear people passing by on the main trail below, completely unaware this spot existed. It made me wonder how many other hidden viewpoints are tucked away out here.

We got lucky with the timing. The sun was starting to drop, and the light was perfect. When the bay area haze cleared for a moment, you could see the full sweep of the coastline. The Pacific was so still that day.

We ended up spending over 20 minutes just sitting on that rock. We didn’t care to rush. There was no pressure to keep pushing forward.

And this is why I come out here. I'm not trying to rush through trails or check off a list of places to see.

For me, hiking is about slowing down and actually being present in these moments. I'd rather spend an hour at one incredible viewpoint than race through three trails just to say I did them. Life moves fast enough as it is, and I don't get to escape to places like this every day.

So when I find a spot like this rock overlooking the ocean, with the sun setting and the light hitting everything just right, I'm going to sit there and soak it all in. That's what gives me peace. That's what helps me relax and unwind and let my mind, spirit, and body heal from all the stress and noise of everyday life.

What I loved about this hike was the constant greenery surrounding us. Even as we transitioned from Matt Davis Trail to the Dipsea Trail, the plants and trees stayed thick along the path. Ferns covered the ground while branches hung overhead. The green was everywhere.

The stairs on this section seemed endless. Each step up wore on my legs, testing my endurance. But the shade from the trees provided plenty of cool relief, and the fresh smell of the forest kept me going.

Before we knew it, the trail had opened up again. We hit this stretch right as the sun was dropping toward the horizon.

The timing couldn't have been better. I gazed at the sky as it turned into layers of pink, yellow, purple, and blue. It was an unbelievably, wonderful sight.

Those sunset colors stretched across the entire coast, lighting up the ocean skies in the distance and casting this warm glow over the hills below.

And beyond it all, the Pacific Ocean sat completely calm. Small waves rippled along the shore, but from up here, the water looked smooth as glass. The whole scene felt peaceful and surreal.

By the time we reached the Deep Ravine Trail around 6:00 pm, darkness had already settled inside the forest. Even though we could see plenty of light in the sky beyond the trees, it wasn't breaking through to the forest floor. Luckily, we had packed a few flashlights. We hadn't expected to be out so late—let alone walking in the dark—but we were glad we brought them.

Without those lights, we would have spent twice as long on this last segment of the trail. There's so much to trip on, even with flashlights, I constantly almost tripped on tree roots and rocks. At some points of the trail, it gets very narrow, where you walk alongside a steep 10-foot drop-off into the rocky running mini-river below.

About halfway up the trail, we ran into another hiker heading in the opposite direction. An older gentleman, probably in his late 50s with a headlamp and trekking poles. We stopped to chat for a second, and he told us he was planning to hike the rest of the trail through the night. Just him, out there solo in the dark.

I found that pretty inspiring, honestly. Here was someone much older than me, completely comfortable and capable of night hiking these trails alone. It gave me a boost of confidence seeing that, and if I'm being honest, it was also just nice to see another person out here.

Even though we were doing fine, there's something reassuring about knowing you're not the only ones on the trail after dark.

This was my first time night hiking. What made it even cooler was the huge redwood trees. I have to say, it was an experience I won't forget anytime soon. Hiking at night feels completely different from hiking during the day. You rely more on sound and the small circle of light from your flashlight. Everything outside that beam just disappears into darkness.

What really struck me here was the redwood trees towering above us. Even without sunlight, even with just our flashlights cutting through the dark, you could tell these were much larger trees than what we'd seen earlier on the trail. The way our lights hit them, you'd catch glimpses of their massive trunks stretching up into the dark sky above. It created this atmosphere that was almost surreal. I felt like I was in a Twilight Movie, about to be greeted by Edward and Bella.

And then there were all these fallen trees scattered throughout the ravine. Some of them were so enormous that they looked like bridges suspended in midair, held up by other trees or rocks on either side.

Looking back, I wish I'd stopped to take a photo sitting on one of those floating logs with my flashlight illuminating me in the middle of all that darkness. That would have been a killer shot. Next time I'm out here at night, I'm definitely doing that.

The trail was supposed to be a 4-5 hour hike, but it had took us closer to 6 hours. We enjoyed every bit of that hike, and took our time at those incredible vistas. If we would have walked past everything, no filming, no pictures, and not stationing at any one spot, we would have finished in about 4 hours. But that would have been no fun.

By the time we got back to camp, we were starving and completely drained of all energy.

We had taken up the trail without packing any snacks or any drinks. I know better than to not pack anything for the trip, but I think we were to eager that we simply forgot to bring anything.

As soon as we got back, first thing I did was start the campfire and started cooking up all our food. This is a big tip, always set up your camp before night time, preferably as soon as you arrive.

The night was cold and I needed something hot, and something to replenish all those burned calories.

We ate all our breakfast food, the marshmallows, hot cocoa, and our snacks. We didn’t care to leave anything for the morning, since we were now planning to leave the next day.

Getting that fire started was my main priority. Without it, we wouldn't have enjoyed the rest of the night.

I learned from my first camping trip at Joshua Tree a hard lesson about fire building. I wasn't able to get the fire going because I didn't have small bits of wood for kindling, no axe to break down the logs, and to top it off, my lighter broke while I was fumbling around in the dark trying to get something lit.

It was a miserable night sitting cold in Joshua Tree, questioning why I even came out in the first place. If it wasn't for some neighbor campers who helped me out, I wouldn't have had a fire at all that night.

So this time, I came prepared. I brought easy-light firelogs from Target, four different lighters as backup, and a small axe just in case I needed to cut some wood into bits.

I know the firelogs might feel like cheating to some people, and maybe I should learn to do it the old-fashioned outdoors way, but when you're exhausted and starving after a 7-hour hike, being warm and fed within minutes feels pretty damn good. I'm okay with using easy light firewoods to get the fire going.

The on-site ranger station sells firewood too, which saves you from having to pack and haul some from a local store.

Quick tip, don't bring firewood from other areas. It can introduce invasive species and harmful pests that damage the local ecosystem and native trees. Always use firewood from a local store or the campground, or untreated.

You can use these fire-starter cubes or Duraflame logs from Amazon.

Once the fire was crackling, I pulled out my Fire Maple burner and started boiling water for some nice hot drinks. This time around, I came prepared with two jugs of water, two propane cylinders, the adapting connector I forgot last time, and packets of hot cocoa.

What I love about this Fire Maple is how fast it works. I can boil a whole liter of water and bring it to a rolling boil within one to two minutes. It's so quick and easy to use, which is exactly what you want when you're exhausted and hungry.

This was one of my favorite purchases for camping because I love my morning coffees, and I can use it as a pot to cook things inside too. In fact, I brought a mac and cheese box just in case we needed some extra hot food for the night beyond what we were cooking over the campfire.

One thing I did forget on this trip was my Ecoflow Delta 2. I was going to use it to power 50 feet of string lights to set up around camp and create a nice incandescent glow. Even with the campfire going, there's not enough light to really illuminate the whole site, so I wanted to try out the string lights and see how they worked.

I'll have to remember that for next time. The image below shows an example of what it could look like when it’s setup.

As we sat around, enjoying the smoked sausages and hot cocoa, we seen a couple of coyotes wandering the camp. At first, I seen their glowing eyes in the distance. As I pointed the light directly at them, they seemed unbothered, and kept to the edges, sniffing around but never bothering us. After a few minutes, they had simply left.

If you plan to camp here, don’t forget to bring plenty of warm food to cook. And you can never go wrong with the classic campfire smores. It’s a nice little treat to end a long day of hiking.

I didn't want to get out of bed this morning. It was 44 degrees Fahrenheit, but I felt warm and cozy inside my Coleman sleeping bag.

It was around 6:30 am when I woke up. All I could hear was the sound of birds chirping their lively early morning songs. The lively forest sounds were pleasant to wake up to.

It was beautiful listening to the birds while I laid tucked in my sleeping bag. If I wasn't eager to see more of the park before we left, I would have slept another two hours. It was that comfortable and peaceful.

One thing I love about cold mornings like this is the way hot coffee feels in your hands and tastes when the air around you is cold. That contrast of temperatures does something incredible to your senses, waking everything up at once and pulling you completely into the present moment.

I took my time this morning, letting the sun soak into my skin as its rays filtered through the gaps between the trees, creating these beautiful patterns of light and shadow across the campsite.

Back home, I'm always rushing between tasks, always trying to cram everything in before heading into work, always feeling like there's never enough time in the day. But not here. Not this morning.

This time I just sat there and watched the world move at its own pace, completely unbothered by deadlines or schedules.

The sun slowly rose across the sky beyond the trees, painting everything in warm golden light. Birds sang their morning songs as warm steam rose from my coffee mug. The cold crisp air cooled my face and reminded me I was alive and present in this exact moment.

It felt so good to sit out here in a space completely removed from the noise and chaos of everyday life, just existing without any pressure to be anywhere or do anything.

I needed this.

I needed time to unwind, to heal, to let my mind stop racing and my body release its stress. I just wanted to enjoy life without worries or concerns, and I found exactly that here at Mount Tamalpais.

What's funny is that Mount Tamalpais State Park wasn't even the destination I was after on this trip. I had come here for Muir Woods National Monument, the famous neighbor right next door.

But being in this park, spending a full day and night here among these massive redwoods and rolling green hills, I realized that Muir Woods is only part of the beauty on this side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Mount Tamalpais turned out to be far more beautiful than I had imagined, and I'm glad to have experienced it the way I did.

My Total cost for two people

Total cost = $223

Until next time,

Amado Aguilar