Every Trail Tells a Story
Rift Zone
Walk the San Andreas Fault in its gentlest mood-earthquakes not included.
A one-way stroll with refreshments and history waiting at Olema or Bear Valley.
A montage of pastoral landscape with a spiritual vibe.
The word rift, whether describing a fissure in a friendship or lateral movement along an earthquake fault, does not have pleasant associations; therefore, it might be with some surprise that the hiker discovers pastoral beauty and tranquility along the Rift Zone Trail.
Yes, this is the famous San Andreas Rift Zone, the geologic scar where the Pacific and North American plates grind past one another. The very fault that helped level San Francisco in 1906-and still inspires late-night disaster movies-also happens to be a peaceful corridor of green pastures, grazing cattle, and gentle woodland. Instead of trembling earth and tumbling cities, you’ll encounter meadows filled with buttercups and fences you’re politely asked to close behind you. In other words, the only thing shattering out here might be your expectations.
The trail is accurately named-it follows the San Andreas Rift Zone-but the terrain traversed appears less like a textbook diagram of tectonic mayhem and more like a montage of quiet rural landscapes. It’s the kind of walk where you half expect to see a yoga class on the grass, not a gaping fissure in the ground.
Much of the land belongs to the Vedanta Society, a Hindu-oriented religious community that has maintained a retreat in the valley since the 1940s. Their presence explains both the sense of serenity and the occasional posted reminder to respect private boundaries. Passing through their lands feels a bit like moving through a natural cathedral, shaded by Douglas fir, bay laurel, and hazelnut.
Because the route is nearly level and only moderately long, it’s ideal as a one-way hike with a car shuttle. End at Bear Valley Visitor Center for restrooms, maps, and interpretive exhibits-or detour into tiny Olema for a snack, a deli sandwich, or perhaps something stronger at the tavern.
Best seasons for this walk are autumn through spring, when rains green the meadows and streams carry water. In summer the trail gets dusty, horses churn up the tread, and yellowjackets may remind you that rifts aren’t just in the earth.
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.
From the Five Brooks lot, head west past a mill pond created in the 1950s to support logging. Today the saws are silent, and young firs are recolonizing the slopes beside venerable old survivors. At 0.3 mile, pass Stewart Horse Camp, then descend to join the signed Rift Zone Trail.
The path winds among hazelnut and bay, crosses a branch of Olema Creek, then climbs gently on switchbacks into Vedanta Society land. Here, for about two miles, you’ll follow an old farm road beneath a moist canopy of fir, oak, and ferns. The shade is deep, the air quiet, and the sense of retreat palpable.
Past a corral and pasture grazed by Angus cattle, the route crosses open meadows framed by windbreaks of eucalyptus and cypress. Keep an eye eastward for a short connector leading to the Point Reyes Seashore Lodge in Olema.
Continue across another meadow, pass through a gate, and ascend a low knoll. From here, it’s an easy descent into Bear Valley. The trail ends at a junction with Bear Valley Trail, just a stone’s throw from the visitor center.