Point Reyes National Seashore

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Point Reyes National Seashore

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lubmac
lubmac
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5 out of 5
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Views and History and Wildlife Combined

  • October 1, 2009
  • Rated 4 of 5 by NiceGinna from Evanston, Illinois
Views and History and Wildlife Combined

We spent a day exploring the wild Point Reyes Seashore with its great views. Sir Francis Drake landed here in 1579, in the beautiful inlet named for him. And you can see the distinctive Tule elk, wandering over the hillsides like ghosts, with their pale color standing out against the green of the hills. These animals were once in danger of extinction but now have become almost too numerous. After a walk along the sea, we investigated the Pierce Farms, built in the late 1800's. The complex includes a cow barn, a place to churn the butter, a large farmhouse, and even a school. In the 1890's, the butter was well known and sold to the very best restaurants and gourmet food shops in San Francisco.

The park is huge and has many areas to discover. The Welcome Center is informative, with a good display of the wildlife habitats in the area.

From journal Two Weeks in San Francisco

Editor Pick

Point Reyes' Beaches

  • May 5, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Point Reyes' Beaches

Point Reyes is nearly framed by water on all four sides, with beaches that are among the Seashore’s principal attractions. The Great Beach—aka Point Reyes Beach—stretches 10 miles along the Pacific. You can drive to North Beach and South Beach, both near the middle of the shoreline, about two miles apart. I was the only one on the shore, a fantastic experience. The surf everywhere on the Pacific is extremely rough, and swimming is not permitted. Even those walking near the water should exercise caution.

On the east, sandy Drakes Beach covers two miles on the bay of the same name, where the great English sailor may have landed during his 16th century circumnavigation of the globe. Water has clearly eaten into this land; white limestone lies exposed at the ends of the hills, as if their eastern ends had been cleaved away. In either direction, that limestone abuts the arc of sand stretching to the elephant seal breeding grounds at Chimney Rock. The sand and white cliffs fit the description of ‘Nova Albion’, claimed by Drake for England somewhere along northern California’s coast, but there’s still uncertainty about whether he landed here.

A large parking lot indicates that this spot gets pretty active. The visitor center here is open only on weekends and holidays, and Drake’s Café is open in summer. During the winter, shuttle buses to the lighthouse board here on busy whale-watching weekends. But on a Monday, we were again the only ones here.

On the north side is Tomales Bay, a 10-mile sliver of water atop the San Andreas Fault. At its southeastern end is the small community of Inverness, just below the southern unit of Tomales Bay State Park. Heart’s Desire Beach is here, reached by a right turn off Drake Boulevard. It’s one of the safer beaches, as it lies along a cove within the protected waters of the Bay. Marshall Beach is further north along Tomales Bay—continue along unpaved L Ranch road past the turnoff to Heart’s Desire. It’s just over a mile hike from the road’s end out and down to the beach.

Returning to the intersection, head to two northern beaches along the Pacific by bearing right to head out Pierce Point Road. You first reach the trailhead for the half-mile hike to Kehoe Beach, the northern end of the Great Beach, which features dunes along a stream outlet. Further north is the steep trail down to McClure’s Beach, a very different beach along a rocky cove.

Several beaches lie along the northern edge of Drakes Bay, reached from near Bear Valley Visitor Center. Limantour Road is a quick left turn that then weaves its way across the ridges for nine miles to Limantour Beach. This was the ranger’s first recommendation for a short visit. To the west stretches Limantour Spit, a two-mile-long sand bar that protects the eastern end of Drakes Estero. Further east along Drakes Bay are Sculptured Beach and Kelham Beach, accessed by lengthy hikes from the Road or Bear Valley.

From journal Back to the Bay

Editor Pick

Point Reyes National Seashore

  • May 5, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Point Reyes National Seashore

On the map, Point Reyes is a large green spike—or perhaps a high-heeled shoe—sticking into the Pacific. It’s not hard to see it as a possible coastal ‘add-on’, and indeed, it didn’t start life sitting here north of the Golden Gate. It’s a living embodiment of the motion that takes place along the San Andreas Fault—during the 1906 earthquake that devastated San Francisco, the Point jumped 10 feet north.

But those 10’ are only a small part of Point Reyes’ journey: it actually started near Monterey, and has moved in the direction of Puget Sound ever since. You can tell that by the imaginary line running NW to SE along the coast, cleanly separating Point Reyes from the Mainland, running through Tomales Bay and down the Olema Valley before hitting water again at Bolinas Lagoon. Nearly all the land west of this line—which is the San Andreas Fault—lies in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Surprisingly, this is the only National Seashore along the Pacific Coast. What’s preserved here is a mix of headlands, pastures, estuaries, and beaches, with a lighthouse and a historical controversy thrown in for good measure. In addition, there’s terrific wildlife, with Tule Elk at the northwestern point, Elephant seals along the bay, and whale-watching off Point Reyes itself. Several large parking lots hint at the crowds that come in season, but our time on the Point was largely solitary. The exceptions were the lighthouse, where even on a Monday afternoon we met dozens of others, and the 10 or so people with whom we watched the Elephant seals sunning themselves. At Drake’s Beach, South Beach and other places, we were alone.

The Seashore has three visitor centers—Bear Valley, the main one just inside the entrance; Lighthouse, a small one-room affair (but with a ranger); and Ken Patrick at Drake’s Beach, only open on weekends. The first of these holds the only complete set of resources for exploring the area. Like the Point itself, you’re already far from lots of things, and they all get rarer as you head toward the ocean.

The solitude here in western Marin continues to impress me. If you hurry—but why would you?—you can be here in 45 minutes from San Francisco. The last leg of that trip, climbing away from sea level north of Bolinas into the valleys along the Fault, was a trip back in time. People, buildings and civilization receded as we headed farther north. The park has no stores or gas, and you shouldn’t count on the small towns nearby for too much. Perry’s Deli in Inverness is a great small grocery store, and Point Reyes Station has gas. But you’re best off coming with what you need and enjoying the surroundings.

However, as the ‘crowds’ at the lighthouse indicated, at the right times and in the right places it can be busy. When the California Greys migrate north in winter; the park road closes, and weekend shuttles run from Drakes Beach to the Lighthouse to accommodate the crush of people.

From journal Back to the Bay

Editor Pick

Point Reyes National Seashore

  • October 25, 2003
  • Rated 5 of 5 by lubmac from Lubbock, Texas
Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes was a surprise to me. It has such a variety of terrain to see! There are rolling grassland hills, rocky outcrops, farmland, and beaches. As we drove from the Bear Valley Visitor's Center to where the Lighthouse Visitor's Center is (over 20 miles), we passed through historical ranches that are still in operation, one of which had a herd of elk grazing along the hilltop. We saw over 30 deer along the way to and from the lighthouse, too.

When we got to the Lighthouse Visitor's Center, it was closed and enshrouded with fog, but the vistas from the overlooks by the parking area were awesome to see and well worth the drive. The rugged beaches and cliffs with the waves crashing against them were mesmerizing to look at, so much so that it was hard to get back in the car to leave. As we drove back toward Route 1, we saw a buck along one of the fences. I stopped to look, and then as I started to drive slowly along, the buck trotted along too, as if to say, "You're in my territory and I'm watching you until you leave." Anyway, if you want a nice drive or like to hike in the open, try Point Reyes Seashore.

From journal Seeing the sights of San Fran

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