Point Reyes
Notes by piero scaruffi | See Travel resourcesOther California destinations | California hikes | Bay Area hikes } Pictures
IntroductionPoint Reyes is a park 1.5 hours northwest of San Francisco. It is a rewarding place, both in terms of quantity, quality and variety of landscapes, trails and wildlife. I rank it as best Bay Area park. In fact, nowhere else in the Bay Area can you see so much wildlife in the same place.Unfortunately, it is cursed with the same weather as San Francisco: the fog is ubiquitous, especially in the summer. Best time to see it is in winter, late fall and early spring. Spring also brings a deluge of flowers. Mid january to mid march is whale-migration season. Attractions:
Elephant seals can be seen off Chminey Rock, Point Reyes Beach and Drakes Beach from december till april. Sea Lions can be seen at Sea Lion Cove, near the lighthouse. Harbor seals can be seen at Double Point and Drakes Estero from april till july. Recommended hikes:
Links:
Books:
Point Reyes rangers: 415 464-5100 Warning: racoons in Pt Reyes cause a lot more damage than bears in Yosemite. Camping in and around Pt Reyes:
Lodging in and around Pt Reyes:
Lodging in Inverness:
Lodging in Olema:
Lodging in Bolinas:
Lodging in Stinson Beach:
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Hikes
Pictures of these hikes (Click on Bay Area and Pt Reyes). 
Pacific Coast trailPictures of this hike (Click on Bay Area and Pt Reyes - Coast Trail).This would not be a strenous hike because of steep grades, but the distance is trying and thus makes it moderately strenuous. It is one of the greatest hikes in California. Make sure the weather forecast is not "fog" because that could spoil most of the fun. (The weather forecast is always "fog" from may till september, but the fog frequently burns off after 2pm, so calculate to maximize the time between 2pm and 7pm on the trail, and keep in mind that the best photo opportunities are in the southern part of the trail, from Bass Lake to Sculptured Beach). The trail starts at the Palomarin parking lot. After about 3.5 kms you reach a fork. Take the left fork to Bass Lake. The lake (not to be confused with the little pond that precedes it) is about 1.5 kms to your left. (This lake won the Bay Guardian poll for most romantic spot in the Bay Area, but that's probably for people who only do short hikes). Shortly after Bass Lake, there is another pretty lake, Pelikan Lake. A use trail from the northern side of the lake leads to a "saddle" that affords views of the beach below, Double Point Cove.
About 1.5 kms from Bass Lake you reach the cutoff to Alamere Falls.
To get to the beach
you have to scramble down the ravine. These are the best waterfalls on the
beach in California, quite pretty in the spring.
If you have time (and the tide permits it), walk south to the Double Point cove, a favorite spot for seals watching.
On the way back, make sure to spend a few minutes checking the creek that
feeds Alamere Falls, because there are other little waterfalls upstream.
After an impressive overlook, the trail descends rapidly via a series of switchbacks towards a thumb-looking cliff. On one of these switchbacks one gets a great view of Arch Rock and the coast further north. When Arch Rock is but a few meters away, the trail turns inland to go around a little creek. If you leave the trail and head straight for Arch Rock, you'll find yourself standing dangerously on the beach below Arch Rock. Walk north along the edge and you should find a use trail that takes you down to the creek. This is the point where you see the "Sea Tunnel", and you understand why it's called "Arch Rock". After exploring the Sea Tunnel and the beach to the south, cross the creek and use the well-maintained trail to gain the top of Arch Rock. If you followed the Coast Trail, turn left at the junction to reach Arch Rock. This is a 1 km detour but worth it for impressive views both south and north from Arch Rock. Return to the junction with the Coast Trail and head north. After 1km you reach Kelham Beach. To get to the beach, follow a use trail that starts just before a giant tree. It is the only giant tree on your left handside and it comes right after a little canyon that forces the trail to head inland. Right after the tree there is a use trail that descends steeply to the beach. After 4km you reach the cutoff to Sculptured Beach (there is a sign for this one but it is not clearly visible if you are hiking from south to north). It is located between the junction with the Sky trail and the junction with the Woodward trail. If you are hiking from south to north and you get to the Woodward trail, you went 500m too far. Sculptured Beach is famous for its tunnels and caves in the water. You can hike literally in the water during low tide and see a lot more caves. Even with high tide you should be able to walk to a point where you can see the rock that sticks out like a fist. If the tide is low, you can easily reach that rock and beyond (but beyond that rock there is "only" a sandy beach). Less than 2 km and you are at Coast Camp. Another recommended detour is to the top of the hill overlooking the Coast Camp (the hill marked by a strange huge rock formation). To climb this hill, start at the bridge 300m after the junction with the Woodward trail. Walk upstream 200-300m. When the vegetation allows it, start climbing straight up. You should soon be out of the vegetation and climbing along the ridge. At the top you get a view of Drake's Estero (besides the obvious view of the entire gulf from Limantour Beach to Chimney Rock). You can descend on the other side, heading more or less straight for the Coast Camp. Note that there is a use trail leading to the very visible rock of this hill, but this rock formation is still far from the summit and surrounded by thick vegetation. So either you aim for the rocks or for the summit. From Coast Camp one can either reach the Youth Hostel or (more conveniently) Limantour Beach. The Coast Trail is parallel to the beach but eventually bends right (inland). At that point you have to had for the beach. The trail also makes a couple of wild curves to go around little canyons. An alternative to following the Coast Trail is to simply go down to the beach and hike the last stretch on sand: from the group campsite 8AB of the Coast Camp leave the Coast Trail and walk left to the beach. Then turn right (north) and just walk along the beach (the sand is harder near the water).
Whichever way you went, the last km is going to be on the beach.
Look for footprints and it should be obvious where the parking lot is.
Or climb the sand dunes to spot it beyong a little lagoon.
As a general rule, it takes about 30 minutes to reach the Limantour parking
lot from the Coast Camp along the beach.
There is non-potable water at Wildcat Camp and potable water at Coast Camp, but nowhere else along this trail. It can be very cold because of fog/wind. In fact, it is either cold because of the wind or cold because of the fog. Thus this is a very intense hike. Summarizing, the main attractions/detours are:
Pictures of this hike (Click on Bay Area and Pt Reyes - Coast Trail)
Topomaps:
Timetable (October 2001):
Timetable (May 2006):
Driving directions to Palomarin from San Francisco:
Driving directions to the Coast Camp:
Sky trail from Bear Valley visitor center to Arch RockFrom the visitor center take the Bear Valley trail till the first junction (200m). The Wittenberg Trail leads to the top of Mt Wittenberg (3km). Calculate about one hour from the trailhead to the first major junction after the top. The Sky trail leads from Mt Wittenberg down to the Coastal trail (7km). Calculate about two hours from the trailhead to the junction with Baldy trail. Turn left and reach the junction with Arch Rock (500m). Turn right to Arch Rock (400m). Calculate about three hours from the trailhead to Arch Rock. Back to the junction (400m). Continue straight on the Bear Valley fire road to the visitor center (6.5km). Calculate about 1.5 hours from Arch Rock back to the trailhead. Total distance: 18km (about 4.5 hours) 
Northern beaches to Abbotts LagoonAbbotts Lagoon is one of the most impressive sights in Pt Reyes. It is a lagoon near the ocean surrounded by Sahara-style sand dunes. There is a short trail from the road to Abbotts Lagoon.The "northern beaches" are McClures Beach and Kehoe Beach, both north of Abbotts Lagoon and both relatively close to the road. As wild hikers know, there is no trail between the two beaches but it is possible to hike from one to the other... during low tide. The trail, in other words, enters the ocean. Even with low tide, expect to get wet up to your waist. We left one car at Abbotts Lagoon parking lot then we shuttled everybody to the McClures Beach parking lot. We hiked from McClures Beach to Kehoe Beach. The first pass at the beginning is well marked. You get to a little beach, the first of a long series. Immediately after this beach you have to wade through rocks for about 20 meters. The water is not too deep here. The next passage is easier, as there is a tunnel that takes you to the next beach. You will see a waterfall on your left and you enter an area where it is relatively easy to explore the tidepools, even 50 meters into the ocean. To get to the next beach, walk under the arch and then wade your way through for about 10 meters. Now you are on a long beach dotted with rocks. When you get to the end of it, you are in real trouble because the water is very deep. Your best best is to climb the cliff until you see the keyhole. It requires a little bit of climbing skills. If you are overweight, this won't work, because the keyhole is barely 30 cms wide. It takes you straight to the other side, which is Kehoe beach. From Kehoe beach to Abbotts Lagoon is simply a long walk on the beach. You could continue all the way to the lighthouse, except it's about 15 kms of sandy beach. Needless to say, it is important to find out at what time the tide is low. Go to Point Reyes net and click on "Tide". The lower the tide, the less wet you get. We started hiking at 9am and that day the low tide was -1.6 at 10:37. Dress as badly as you can and use your worst shoes. When you hike in the ocean, you want to keep your shoes on. On this trip (May 18, 2002) we saw quite a bit of wildlife and flowers, including elks, whales, snakes, blackbirds, crabs, starfish, anemones (and lots of cows staring at us in disbelief from the promontories). The tidepools are a show in itself. 
Estero LoopStart from Limantour Beach. Follow the Estero trail all the way to Sunset Beach (12kms). Retrace your steps from Sunset Beach to Estero trail until the junction with White Gate (4 kms). Turn left on White Gate to Hollow Rd to the parking lot (5 kms). Walk down the paved road to the Limantour parking lot (2 kms). Total: 23 kms.The best way to experience the Estero is probably to hike one-way from the Estero trailhead to Limantour Beach or to Muddy Hollow Rd, but this requires leaving a car at the Muddy Hollow trailhead and starting the hike from the Estero trailhead. To get to the Estero trailhead drive through Inverness and follow the signs for the lighthouse. The trailhead is on the left handside past the junction with Pierce Rd. Park there an follow the trail for 4kms (about one hour). There are many picture spots along this stretch. At the first junction, turn left. Here you are likely to lose the trail. There is a road between two lines of barbed wire. You should stay on the road. After a concrete water tank (that will be on the right handside) the trail start descending. It then proceeds north and east. At this point it is relatively well marked. If you did not miss it, you will reach the junction with the Glenbrook trail (about two hours from the beginning). Here you can go right (and do the longer route) or left (White Gate, the shorter route). If you turn left you are hiking on the White Gate trail that takes you to Muddy Hollow Rd (not muddy at all) which takes you to the Muddy Hollow trailhead (plenty of parking). The whole trail is 11km according to the official map, but probably 12/13 km. It took me 3.5 hours at a brisk pace. If you turn right, you make it 3km longer and it will take you at least two hours to get to Limantour Beach. One can then continue to Sculptured Beach and get the best of both worlds.
Tomales Point and Abbotts Lagoon
They are both easy round-trip hikes. For Tomales Point: elk can be seen from the trail but, needless to say, there are many elk that do not stand next to the trail to be photographed by tourists, so it is a good idea to leave the trail every now and then and check what's to the right and to the left. Just after Bird Island and before Tomales Point proper there is a use trail on the left that affords spectacular views on the beaches below.
For Abbotts Lagoon: the lagoon is divided in two sections. The first water
that you see from the parking lot is freshwater. This is not connected to
the lagoon proper (that you see only when you get close enough). The trail ends
at the narrow strip of land that separates the two sections. The second
section, the lagoon proper
(saltwater), is usually completely surrounded by sand dunes. Beyond the western
and the northern sand dunes are the beaches and the ocean.
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