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Samuel P Taylor State Park
Samuel P Taylor State ParkIt is a California state park located in Marin County, north of San Francisco, nearPoint ReyesThe trip from San Francisco to the north takes less than an hour. It takes less than an hour to drive north from San Francisco, and almost two hours to drive up from South Bay.
This park is quite popular, because his bike trail is very wide and flat and surrounded by redwoods, very suitable for cycling and jogging, come to this side of the almost every family is to bring a bike to. The location is very close to Point Reyes, want to go to the beach very quickly, in addition, the neighborhood is actually very busy, restaurants or want to shop, drive down the hill out very quickly to the place, is a quite suitable for parents and children weekend outing place.
Because of the convenient location, the campgrounds usually fill up quickly, but if you can't get a reservation or think camping is too much trouble, there is actually a Day use area in the park where you can have a picnic and barbecue, and it's so big that a lot of people seem to come here to have a barbecue and ride their bikes.
Day use area
Camping Environment
- Comfort: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The camping environment here is quite comfortable, with redwoods all around and cool during the day, unlike some other campgrounds where there are a lot of bugs or too much wind at the beach. The ground is flat and easy to set up camping tents.
- Space: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The campground is quite spacious and is planned for six people. Many people in the neighborhood set up two tents. The small disadvantage is that the distance between the campsites is quite crowded, so it is easy to be disturbed if there are many people in the neighborhood. Also, many of the campsites here have parking spaces on the road, so you need to climb up or down a few steps to get to the campsite.
- Facility Cleanliness: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The campground itself is kept very clean, but on our visit, due to the lack of water, all the toilets and faucets were not turned on, so we had to use the portable toilets. On weekdays, hot water showers are available in the toilets.
- Location: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The entire campground is set directly next to the bike path and hiking trail, and it couldn't be more convenient.
- Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We had a great campsite this time, and when we checked in the steward told us that we had picked the best spot, so we can give it a high rating overall. The location was just a little bit away from the other campgrounds, and the entrance and exit were covered by redwoods, and it was a long, narrow space, so the privacy was very good. The only drawback was the lack of water in the park, so you had to use the portable toilets.
walking track
The main trail here is the Cross Marin Trail bike path, which is also a bike path. there are two parallel trails on both sides of the bike path, one is the south creek trail next to the creek, which follows the stream of Lagunitas Creek. On the other side is the ox trail which is higher up.
As you enter the campground, you will pass a bridge that is home to Salmon viewing. There used to be salmon in this stream, but they seem to be very scarce now.
The best recreational activity in this area is biking, see how comfortable the bike path is among the redwood forests. the right side of the bike trail is below the stream, and the south creek trail parallel to the stream is also very flat and easy to walk.
Bike path 
Creekside trail
Along the bike path you will learn the story of Samuel Taylor, for whom this park is named, a New Yorker who was the son of a paper mill owner, and who came to California in 1854 to try his luck during the California Gold Rush. It is said that he first got off the boat and found a bunch of eggs, and then for some reason started a roadside stand on the beach, which turned out to be quite profitable. After making money, he went on to open a lumberyard and then started panning for gold. After making some money, Taylor bought a piece of land next to Lagunitas Creek and started a paper mill just like his father, which was the first paper mill on the West Coast.
In 1870, a railroad was built to connect Sausalito to Marin, which is now known as the bike path, and Samuel Taylor had the quick thinking to open the Camp Taylor Resort, which included a large campground and a hotel, Azalea, to turn the area into a tourist attraction for San Francisco residents. It was an innovative idea at the time. It was a pioneering idea back then, and Camp Taylor was probably one of the first campgrounds in California. So we're camping here now to follow in the footsteps of that long history. As for the Azalea, which is actually the current day use area, Taylor's descendants were affected by the economy in the late 19th century and did not continue to operate the paper mill, and although the resort continued for a period of time, the land was eventually taken over by the state due to long term tax delinquency.
Along the way, we can see some sites related to paper mills on the trail. In the past, the paper mill used the water from the stream to drive the waterwheel, and we can still see the remains of the paper mill dam and the paper mill. However, the paper mill burned down in 1916, so we can only see the remains on the ground to imagine the past.
Paper mill dam 
Paper mill used to be here. 
Paper mill site
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