Every Trail Tells a Story
Five Brooks & Firtop
Explore Point Reyes’ forested heart away from the ocean.
Hike through a living remnant of pre-fire conifer forest.
A shady summit meadow perfect for a PG-rated picnic.
Five Brooks & Firtop are one of those downright weird landscapes rearranged by action along the very, very nearby San Andreas Fault. Two of the five brooks-Olema Creek and Pine Gulch Creek-are parallel watercourses, hardly a quarter mile apart, and yet they flow in opposite directions!
The favorite hiker’s loop from Five Brooks is one of the few national seashore trails where the ocean is not an overwhelming presence; most of Point Reyes is all about the wide blue Pacific-bluff walks, beach hikes, crashing surf. fact, It’s a no-show on this trail, replaced instead by shady canyons and forest.
Stewart and Greenpicker trails explore fittingly named Firtop, a fir-surrounded meadow rated “PG”-Picnicking Great. The summit of Firtop (1,324 feet), the national seashore’s second highest peak, offers a fine lunch stop but no panoramic views. In previous lives, Stewart Trail served as a logging road and U.S. Army road, and is now a wide hiking trail, occasionally used by NPS maintenance crews to service Wildcat Camp. Greenpicker Trail adds spice, narrowing to a classic singletrack that switchbacks steeply toward Firtop’s summit.
What you get from this hike is fault-sculpted valleys below, quiet fir groves above and quiet. The loudest sound you’ll likely hear is the knock of a woodpecker or the chatter of a Steller’s jay.Hike in spring and the understory greens up with huckleberry and sword ferns, while wildflowers like Douglas iris and trillium brighten the forest floor. In fall, mushrooms pop up in improbable numbers, as if the forest has been decorated for some fungal festival. And any season, the firs themselves remain the true stars-straight, solemn, and fragrant, the kind of trees that would be cast as “wise elders” if Point Reyes were a stage play.
It’s not all solemn, though. This being the San Andreas Fault zone, the ground itself can seem to shift underfoot. Don’t worry-it’s usually just a rabbit darting across the trail, though a little earth-rumble reminder is always possible in this restless landscape. Pack a sandwich, take your time, and let the forest do what it does best-quiet you down and lift you up.
From Highway 1, some 9 miles north of Stinson Beach and 3.5 miles south of Olema, turn west at the signed turnoff for Five Brooks and drive 0.25 mile to the large parking area.
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Begin at the gated dirt road by the information board. In a few minutes you’ll pass a shallow pond, then enter Douglas fir country that will keep you company most of the way. At 0.4 mile, junction with Olema Valley Trail, then continue north as Stewart Trail begins a steady climb-moderate but relentless-toward Firtop.
At 1.1 miles, turn onto Greenpicker Trail for a steeper but more scenic ascent. The footpath switchbacks through fir forest, sword ferns, and huckleberry patches. Glimpses through the trees reveal slices of Olema Valley and Bolinas Ridge. NPS recently rerouted the trail, making the final approach to the summit gentler and more sustainable.
At the 3.0-mile mark, reach Firtop’s fir-ringed summit meadow, where Stewart Trail rejoins. Pause here for lunch, then descend eastward on Stewart Trail. The wide road drops through more fir forest, with remnants of its past life as a paved route.
After passing Ridge Trail at 3.8 miles, Stewart descends into a ravine before looping back to meet itself at 6.1 miles. Retrace your initial 1.3-mile stretch southeast to return to the Five Brooks Trailhead.