Start on wooded Shoreline Trail, and enjoy bay views while circling Turtle Back Hill.
Location: China Camp State Park
Length: 2.8 miles
Difficulty: easy
Shade: partially shaded
Parking: street parking along North San Pedro Road near the trailhead ($5/vehicle, pay at the trailhead)
Public Transportation: n/a
WC: at Miwok Meadows, about 0.3 miles into the hike
Dogs: not allowed on trails, only in developed areas
Hiked: Nov 2020
Our Trail Route
We parked at the Bullet Hill Trailhead, but we walked along North San Pedro Road to the trailhead with a sign for Miwok Meadows to take Shoreline Trail first. Shoreline Trail was flat until we reached the Miwok Meadows picnic area. We saw the most relaxed coyote I’ve ever seen, lounging in the morning sun and completely unbothered by our presence.
We walked across the parking lot of the picnic area to continue on Shoreline Trail. It had some elevation gain, but not much. When we hit the marker for Bullet Hill Trail, we went left to continue on Shoreline. We met North San Pedro Road again and crossed to Turtle Back Hill. There, we walked the 0.6-mile flat loop around the hill on Turtle Back Trail, then crossed the road again to return on Shoreline Trail the way we had come. We again met the marker for Bullet Hill Trail and took that trail to the car.
Notes
If you want to do a short trail at China Camp, the loop around Turtle Back Hill is only 0.6 miles and flat. It’s marked as an accessible trail on the China Camp map. Shoreline Trail, too, is considered accessible, but there were quite a lot of bikers there, which may make it harder to walk.
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