Steep Ravines Cabins

The Steep Ravines cabins at Mount Tamalpais state park are one of my favorite weekend getaways. The rustic cabins are very simple, with a wood burning stove, a table, and incredible views. We bring out own sleeping mats, water, stove, wood, etc., and there are relatively nice pit toilets close by. The beach is about 300 yards away, down the hill.

The cabins incredibly magical, but are very hard to get because they are booked up six months in advance.  So, to spend a weekend there, we would need to make reservations on the first of month, six months in advance. For example, for reservations in June, we need to call on January 1st right when the June bookings open up.  By 10 a.m. on January 1st, all the June weekends will be taken. 

Here are instructions on how to make reservations. Call 1-800-444-7275 on the morning of the first. Reservations open at 8 a.m. and by 9:30, all the cabins will be booked for all the Saturdays in June.  If you reserve it, and we don't use it, then we'll just cancel and the charge is only $7.50.  Try to get both Friday and Saturday nights if possible ($157.50 total cost on the credit card).

Reservations 1-800-444-7275

Ask for the Steep Ravines Cabins in Mt. Tamalpais State Park

Try to get cabin #10, but if you can't, here is the order of the cabins to try to get, with the first being the best.

10, 4, 9, 8, 7, 3, 5, 2, 6

In terms of campsites, the best two to get are #s 2 and 3, but they are right next to each other, so you need to get them both. They are in the trees, right next to a cliff with a picnic table on the edge. Campsite #5 is the best to get if you are camping on your own. It's isolated is perched on a cliff looking to the Southwest. #4 is OK, but it has a trail going through it, and #1 is a bit close to the cabins, and #1 is on top of a flat hill and doesn't have great views.

A link for online reservations is at: Steep Ravine Cabins

More information and what to bring:

• there are 10 cabins; most are within 30 feet of a neighbour; they are perched on a cliff overtop a
  rugged bit of gorgeous beach.
  
• no electricity (bring candles and a flashlight)
  
• heated by a woodstove (bring wood or buy it there);
  
• wooden sleeping platform (bring an air
  mattress, bedding, and blankets)
  
• bring your own curtains (sarongs, etc.)
  
• platform for cutting, but no kitchen ( bring pots, stove, dishes)
  
• water is outside, so bring a large water container and a basin
  
• pit toilets;
  
• small BBQ pit (bring own charcoal);

Last minute cancellations: Go to the Ranger Station at
2pm on the first day you want the cabin, and enter a
'draw' for any free ones - hence phoning ahead. In
midwinter, there's unlikely to be much if any
competition.

Oh, and near Steep Ravines there is a natural hotspring that is below sea level. It reveals itself when the tide is lower than -.05. Tidal information can be found at San Francisco Tides.