I'd be leaving by bike from Santa Rosa and looking for a camping destination within 25-50 miles
Never done anything like this before, looking for my start :)

Any suggestions?

North Bay camping...I like Bodega Bay dunes or Pomo Canyon Primitive campgrounds near the Russian River. There's also Samuel P Taylor SP as well. Point Reyes camp sites are all hike in so it wouldn't be a good option (though I think there are sites for Mountain Bike in). I also hear that there's a car/RV campground in Orinda that's nice but I don't know anything about it.

Yeah Pomo is a cool primitive site, with a nice hike available to the beach. Armstrong Woods in Guerneville. Lake Sonoma, Lake Berryessa, Bothe State Park in Napa.

In the bay, Angel Island. http://www.angelisland.org/campsites.htm

Might be a little farther than 50 miles, but Lake Solano near Winters has campsites, and good riding nearby. We had a regroup there on the forum ride last weekend.

http://www.solanocounty.com/SubSection/SubSection.asp?NavID=609

There's a lot of state parks that would work, especially on the coast.

http://www.parks.ca.gov/parkindex/region_info.asp?id=1&submit1=go

How about China Camp State Park east of the San Rafael city hall right on the Bay? It's about a 10 mile ride out from San Rafael and has both a bike in camp area and drive in plus a quaint remnant of an old Chinese fishing village right on the Bay with a snack bar, museum and old pier.

I don't know if they've changed their policy, but Samuel P. Taylor will always let you know camp if you're coming by bike, even if the camp ground is full.

Pomo sounds good :)
About a 30 mile ride but probably some challenging hills

Anyone familiar with Pomo: is Willow Creek road unpaved? I read that somewhere online and can't tell from the satellite imagery, very well could be. I have cross tires that can handle it, just want to make sure everyone else is prepared with the right tires too.

china camp could work

There are KOA or Kamp grounds of America sites in Petaluma (too close) and Cloverdale. To short cut to the Cloverdale KOA take the summertime river crossing just south of Asti. The gate may be closed to cars but an SRCC ride went across there a few weeks ago.

Pomo sounds good :)
About a 30 mile ride but probably some challenging hills

Anyone familiar with Pomo: is Willow Creek road unpaved? I read that somewhere online and can't tell from the satellite imagery, very well could be. I have cross tires that can handle it, just want to make sure everyone else is prepared with the right tires too.

It's mostly paved but the last bit is gravel. Plan accordingly.

Yeah, Willow Creek road is all paved coming up from Occidental, then dirt dropping down towards Jenner. I rode it in January when it was closed off and got dumped on, and the creek below was flooding the road out, but it was a blast descending that with 29x2.35 tires!

Also of note was this was a training ride for touring the west coast, so I left SR and came back that day, good ride, 65 miles or so, fully loaded... doing it one way should be great for a nice short day ride.

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