Best Day Hikes in
POINT REYES
NATIONAL SEASHORE
Discover some of finest trails on the California coast! From Bear Valley to Alamere Falls to Tomales Point, here are my favorite tales—along with the best trails on the Point Reyes peninsula and around Tomales Bay.
Why Go : An unforgettable place to ramble: forested ridges, wild and open coastal bluffs, deserted beaches.
Before You Go : Learn more about tule elk, elephant seals, and the colorful history of Pt. Reyes.
Palomarin & Five Brooks
A handful of brooks, a walk in the woods, and PRNS’s second-highest summit
Forest, meadow and a pathway through pastoral valley
Splendid Coast Trail leads to an unusual waterfall and the “Lake District”
Observe seals and visit tide pools at National Seashore’s south end
Name for earthquake fault, yet a gentle montage of meadows, pastures and woodlands
Bear Valley & Limantour
Earthquake Trail offers engaging lessons about the 1906 San Francisco quake and the San Andreas Fault
Lovely forest and wide meadows along flat footpath from the Visitor Center to the sea
Some claim Limantour Beach is the Bay Area’s best for walking
Up fern- and fir-dotted slopes to Point Reyes highest summit and fine vistas
From one of PR’s most obscure trailheads, hike hill and dale, beach and estero
Sir Francis Drake Highway
Step into the 23rd Psalm: a path through green pastures and by still waters
Brave lifesavers, elephant seals, spring wildflowers and splendid Pt. Reyes panoramas
Homage to Sir Francis Drake at one of the safest and most family-friendly beaches on Point Reyes
Hike to the edge of the estuary and observe seals, sea lions and a multitude of shorebirds
Beacon on the West Coast’s foggiest fringe and iconic Point Reyes landmark
Estero Trail and hillside paths lead to some of the finest tidepools in the national seashore
Tomales Bay & Pierce Point Road
Melancholy beauty at a lonely lagoon, along with spring flowers and gobs of grebes
Remote, backed by dunes and dramatic bluffs, a harbor seal haul-out and a great hike
Way off the beaten path, a gem of a white sand beach fringed with cypress
Sea stacks and more along an inviting shore
Explore big-time bird habitat and California’s tumultuous geologic history
Hearts Desire Beach, Pebble Beach, Shell Beach and a Bishop pine forest
Wander with the tule elk to the tip of Point Reyes-one of The Trailmaster’s all-time favorite coastal hikes
Highway 1
Hike an isolated part of Tomales Bay State Park known for its ospreys and its oysters
Not just a hike, an adventure, complete with cows, redwoods, and grand vistas
Visit heavenly Devil’s Gulch and Stairstep Falls, on the way to Barnabe Peak for wonderful vistas of Pt. Reyes and West Marin
