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.