Full Moon Hike

We are excited to witness the rise of our last full moon of 2022. This full moon was dubbed the Long Night Moon by the medieval Anglo-Saxons describing the shortened winter days and long nights. December's full moon has a high trajectory in the sky, which means that it will... Read more »

December Birding Hike

As fall transitions into winter, we will venture out into the Miwok Meadows forest, where we will carefully watch for flickers of color and movement emerging from the early morning mist. Though most warblers have continued their journey further south to Mexico and South America, the vibrant Townsend’s warbler winters... Read more »

New Years Day Sunrise Hike

Sunrise by Sheila Coll At China Camp, we are big fans of the indescribable beauty of sunrises over the San Pablo Bay. That is why we have an ongoing tradition to welcome and honor the first golden light of the year with our New Year’s day sunrise hike. During this... Read more »

CANCELED: Full Moon Hike

EVENT CANCELED DUE TO PREDICTED STORMY AND OVERCAST WEATHER. CHECK CALENDAR FOR FUTURE EVENTS.  We are howlin’ with joy to welcome the first full moon of 2023. January’s “wolf moon” was named for the howling wolves often heard echoing across snowy landscapes in the dead of winter. This full moon... Read more »

CANCELLED: Winter Birding Hike

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO FORECASTED STORMY WEATHER CONDITIONS. STAY TUNED FOR FUTURE EVENTS. To be, or not to be, that is the question. What it takes to be a lesser scaup, or to be a greater scaup, now that’s a great question. Winter is an excellent time... Read more »

Junior Ranger Program

  After the long dry summer, the winter rains have awakened China Camp’s landscape: long-dormant seeds are sprouting, slick orange-bellied newts are emerging from deep earthen burrows, and beetles feast upon wet rotting wood and new mushrooms. During January’s program, Junior Rangers will look for these and other creatures under... Read more »

King Tide Photography Hike

It's said, "time and tide wait for no man," but if you plan ahead you can certainly join us for our January King Tide Photography hike. As the bay rises, peak tide will occur around 11:30 a.m., but we will arrive earlier to walk the Turtleback trail loop (0.7 mile)... Read more »

King Tide Hike with the National Estuarine Research Reserve

Join Dr. Mike Vasey, former director of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, for a walk near the edge of China Camp’s tidal salt marsh during a “king tide,” what we call the most extreme and highest tides of the year. We will learn what king tides can... Read more »

Naturalist Book Club

Join us for the first virtual book club gathering of 2023 as we discuss Richard O. Prum’s Pulitzer Prize finalist book, The Evolution of Beauty. Prum, a professor of ornithology at Yale, offers vivid examples of tropical avian plumage and mating displays as evidence of Darwin’s oft-overlooked theory of sexual... Read more »

Beginning Birding Hike

  Our premier avian acrobats are coming to town in February, and we are so excited to welcome them back from their tropical wintering grounds in Central America. Tree swallows offer a colorful aerial show with their iridescent azure backs glimmering in the sky as they dive and swoop, catching... Read more »

Children’s Darwin Day Junior Ranger Program

  Who doesn’t love a great birthday celebration? Junior Rangers are invited to join us for Darwin Day, a celebration of the birthday of Charles Darwin, born February 12, 1809.    Who was Charles Darwin you ask? Just under 200 years ago Mr. Darwin tried to answer one of the... Read more »

Darwin Day Online

Celebrate the legacy of the theory of evolution Join us on February 12 to celebrate International Darwin Day, the anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, which took place on this date in 1809. We will host an hour-long virtual presentation about Charles Darwin and his major contributions to the natural sciences.... Read more »