Coast Trail to the Beach Hike



Coast Trail along Drakes Bay
All Rights Reserved Photo by Rosy Woodruff 2011



Spring is well on its way, and providing a multitude of beautiful sunny days to hike in Point Reyes. On Sunday the sun was shining and the weather was warm; a perfect day to go out and explore. I decided to head out Limantour road to the Youth Hostel where I could jump on the Coast Trail and take a walk out to the beach. Before departing, I took a detour out to the daffodil field tucked away near the hostel. Once an operating Daffodil farm, the field continues to bloom in great numbers each year. After a tricky creek crossing, I hopped up a small hill and was suddenly surrounded by hundreds of yellow and white daffodils. Although the flowers were numerous, I could clearly see where several visitors had picked flowers and left large bare patches in the field, which was a bit disheartening. All in all, however, the daffodil field was beautiful and well worth the effort to get there.

 

Photo by Rosy Woodruff 2011. All Rights Reserved


After I had my fill of daffodils, I moved on to the Coast Trail. Even though it was a magnificent day, the path was not as crowded as I might have expected. Coast Trail consists of a graded fire road that follows a creek down to the coastline before turning south and meandering along the low cliffs. The north side of the trail is lined with coyote brush broken up by spectacular bunches of Douglas Iris, Indian Paintbrush and Buttercups.

I continued to make my way down the trail, stopping occasionally to snap a picture or bask in the warm sun. As I reached the bottom of a hill where the trail crosses the creek, I turned the corner and in front of me was a long deep puddle. After stopping for a moment to assess the situation, I realized there is a shallow sandbar along the north side of the puddle that I could carefully maneuver to avoid taking water inside my boots. The puddle covers a low point in the trail and gradually accumulated more and more water during all of the stormy weather that pounded Point Reyes over the winter, but should dry up in no time if the weather persists. The puddle marks the low point in the trail, and after crossing it I began to climb a gentle slope in the trail until I reached the ocean. The trail travels parallel to the beach, but there are several offshoot trails that offer beach access.

 

Hillside lined with Douglas Iris and Indian Paintbrush
All Rights Reserved. Photo byRosy Woodruff 2011



After taking a relaxing lunch break on the beach where clear skies provided incredible views all the way out to the Farallon islands, I continued along Coast Trail until it collides with Fire Lane Trail which eventually connects with Laguna trail then heads back to the parking lot. This section of the trail is a bit of a steep climb for a bit, but if you stop and turn around while catching your breath, the views are absolutely awe-inspiring. As the trail reaches the top of the crest, one can see where the Inverness ridge is recovering from the 1995 Mount Vision fire, which decimated acres of Bishop Pine forest, but gave us a great deal of insight into fire ecology. Soon after the smoke cleared, fire-thriving plants that had not been spotted in Point Reyes for years began popping up everywhere, their seeds having laid dormant for decades underneath the thick canopy of Bishop Pine; waiting for the day when a surge of intense heat would allow them to open.



Remnants of the 1995 Mount Vision Fire
All Rights Reserved. Photo by Rosy Woodruff 2011


All in all, it was a marvelous day for a hike, and the Coast Trail is definitely worth checking out as the seasons change and continue to provide us with more and more excellent hiking days. This trip can be done backwards starting at Laguna Trail and finishing with Coast Trail to avoid the steep incline near the end, or Coast Trail is an excellent option for a leisurely bike ride down to the beach and back.



Biking in Point Reyes National Seashore

Lots of folks go hiking in Point Reyes, although great bike trails exist. Just outside Point Reyes Station, we went for a mellow bike ride on the Bear Valley Trail, located at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. I have lived in this area for five years now, and told countless people to go check out Arch Rock. I have heard it is a great spot to go, that it is lovely, a nice beautiful hike and yada yada. For whatever reason, I have never gone!! So when a friend came to visit last week, it was a perfect opportunity to play tourist in my own town and check out some places I have never been, and Arch Rock was at the top of my list. I have hiked on the Bear Valley trail, but never out to the arch. This trail is perfect because it combines a bike ride, a hike, and a beach walk. You start in a forest, go to chaparral and end up at the ocean. There is a creek you walk along for awhile and cross to get to a viewing spot of the arch, anyway, great combination; this trail really shows off Point Reyes National Seashore.

Starting from the parking lot it is about 1.5 miles to Divide Meadow, a great spot for a picnic, snack or throwing a Frisbee if you are walking. There are a couple of trails that diverge off of this trail, but bikes aren’t allowed. There are bathrooms at the meadow, which is a nice feature, although I always forget they are there for some reason. On bikes it took us less than ten minutes to get to the meadow, so we weren’t ready to stop yet. Anyway, another 1.5 miles gets you to the trail junction. At this point you have to lock up your bike, racks are provided, and continue on foot. I was bummed at first to get off the bike, but the wildflowers were going crazy and there was a lot of great stuff to take pictures of, and on a bike I would have blown right by and never even noticed. It is about a mile from the bike racks out to the ocean. The trail stops at a bluff at which point you will notice a switchback down into the creek. This part of the trail is a little sketchy for folks that aren’t as stable on their feet.

We got there at a high tide, oops, should have planned that better. So beach walking was limited, but we could still wander around and see the waves crashing through the arch.