Bay Area Hiking: Point Reyes

Just up the road from the Golden Gate Bridge and famed Marin County is one of the best kept secrets of the Bay Area – Point Reyes. While the park itself boasts almost 150 miles of hiking trails, the crowned jewel sits at the Palomarin trail head. If the drive to Point Reyes doesn't awe you (winding along historic Highway 1 inches from hundred-foot coastal drop offs), this trail surely will. 

The Coast Trail starts on the southern end of the park, and immediately the trail pleases. Just a couple hundred yards through effervescent eucalyptus groves you see the coast....from about 200 feet up! Wide pathways make the hiking easy, but be careful; the view entices even the most cautious close to the edge, and vegetated cliffs lead eyes (and hopefully that's all) down to rocky black sand beaches below.

From the cliff side views, the trail leads hikers through varied terrain that keeps the eyes occupied for miles. Dry golden hillsides familiar to East Bayers and short bushes of varied flora line the trails. Evergreens speckling the surrounding hills, some forming covered archways for hikers to pass through. Finally, green leafy vegetation growing high and thick leads to the trail's most popular feature: the Alamere Falls.

Three waterfalls in sequence form a pond-like body of water at the bottom, and views from the still high-up terrain show off the jagged coast. For the more adventurous, climb down crumbling shale cliffs to the beach below. Here, the runoff from the 3 waterfalls culminate into a 4th falling straight to the beach. While the climb down is not difficult cardio-wise, it is not for the faint of heart.  The steep descent requires feet, knees, and hands as the path crumbles with each footfall. Once down you view the 4th waterfall in all its glory, the Pacific Ocean in its vast expanse, and the winding rocky coastline both north and south.

For those who don't hike, try a swim. An estuary has formed between the hills and is accessible by trail or rope swing. Yep, you read right. Adventure seekers can swing by rope from a cliff above into the frigid water of the Pacific. It packs a shock for both observers and participants alike!

The best part about the Coast Trail? Even on a Saturday it is not too crowded. Perhaps it's because Point Reyes falls in the shadow of other close-by attractions; or maybe it's the street signs that local residents take down deterring visitors from finding their neighborhood treasure. But these deterrents should not deter you: Point Reyes and the Alamere Falls is a no miss! (Thanks, Alan, for organizing this unforgettable hiking excursion!):