I enjoyed a couple of days backpacking with my brother along the Coast Trail between Bolinas and Point Reyes National Seashore. We decided to make a big loop of it. We had a rough idea of our route and had reserved two campsites for the two nights we had planned. Other than that, we were there to explore.
We received a warm welcome just a mile or so from the trailhead:
Palomarin Trailhead to Glen Campground (9.2 miles)
This section felt magical, with lots of misty, shady wet sections of trail.
As the day wore on, the mist burned off and we were left with great views along the beach.
We had some idea that maybe we could hike along the beach north from Alamere Falls to Wildcat Campground, but a) the cliffs didn’t look welcoming to drop down, and b) the tide was in all the way to the bottom of the cliffs.
Glen Camp was great: lots of shade (at least a few spots had shade, ours included).
Glen Campground to Coast Campground (7.2 miles)
The morning was cool again and the first section from Glen to Bear Valley Trail crossing was shady and beautiful.
The rise from there to the first large Baldy Trail saddle (there are several saddles) was hot and exposed. From there the trail follows the rim of a valley that was burned out in 2020 (see also this story map) until it descends across an arid slope down to the beach. The point where the Woodward Valley Trail merges with the Coast Trail is about a mile from the Coast Campground where we stayed the night.
The Coast Campground is exposed with no shade, but the campsites feel isolated from each other due to the high bramble. A lot of wildlife around the camp (quail, bunnies, deer, etc.).
The beach around Coast Campground felt exclusive, like we were lucky to be there. This unnamed creek had some stunning light and colors.
We came back to our campsite and found this big buck having a scratch.
Coast Campground to Palomarin Trailhead (13.9 miles)
Given we had to cover in 1 day what we had taken 2 days to do, we opted for the most direct route along the Coast Trail.
Was this the same coyote who had greeted us when we arrived?
We took a slight detour around Ocean Lake, but otherwise kept to the main path and didn’t stop much. We were tired. We were grateful that the Pelican Inn was open for a late lunch.
Summary
30.3 miles, 6288 feet of elevation over 3 days. Much exhaustion. Much beauty. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.
My GPX track (view on Footpath).
Last modified on 2023-09-26