Upon reviewing my Bay Area National Parks list, I first noticed the designation of a national seashore. My experiences with the NPS had been mostly limited to national parks and the occasional monument.
There are currently a total of 10 national seashores: Seven national seashores on the Atlantic Coast: Cape Cod, MA, Fire Island, NY, Assateague Island, MD, Cape Hatteras, NC, Cape Lookout, NC, Cumberland Island, GA, and Canaveral, FL, two on the Gulf Coast: Gulf Islands, FL & MS and Padre Island, TX and only one on the Pacific Coast: Point Reyes, CA.
Even though I didn’t know Point Reyes by name, I definitely knew of the photogenic icons, such as the famous Point Reyes Tree Tunnel and Lighthouse. Both were places that I had already bookmarked in my social media feed for future trips.
Since, we were doing a twofer from Muir Woods, which is about an hour’s drive to get to the Bear Valley Visitor Center at Point Reyes Station, we had to be selective on what we wanted to see and do with the remaining daylight hours. So, I did what I normally do when in need of expert advice and asked the trusty park ranger.
He said hands-down without a beat, Tomales Point Trail to Tomales Point. There we would be going through the Tule Elk Reserve with gorgeous sunset views of the Pacific Ocean. And boy did we see some amazing sunset views. We saw herds of elk grazing and roaming. Some even crossed the trail right in front of us!
The hike is about 9.5 miles but because we were racing against the sun we agreed to turn around before reaching Tomales Point so that we could soak up the sunset and make it back to the car during blue hour.
Good to Know:
- Bring a good windbreaker and something to cover your ears. It gets pretty windy on the peninsula.
- Erosion is a real concern. In January 2017, a large piece of the bluff collapsed at Tomales Point. Park Rangers warn that this will most likely happen again and to be cautious of your surroundings and stay away from the edge. Report any cracks observed to the park’s Visitor’s Center.
Point Reyes National Seashore
1 Bear Valley Road
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
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