Muir Woods, Pt Reyes Questions
 

We plan on spending a day in Muir Woods and Pt Reyes while visiting San Fran in March. We will get an early start leaving by 7:30 or 8:00. We will drive over Golden Gate and then on to Muir Woods and Pt Reyes. We have been to Sequoia NP(spent 3 days there), and plan on seeing the Redwoods(just a few hours there) in the summer. Are the Muir Woods then something I even want to consider? How much time should I allow there?
Then we will continue on to Pt Reyes. What are the main hikes I should consider there? I know the Tomales Pt. is a good one, but should I allow that much time for one hike? Is it that good? It seems like I read about a waterfall that runs from a cliff onto the beach and into the ocean. Any comment on that? I guess we should go to the lighthouse as well. From reading other posts, it sound like I should continue a few short miles to the Russian River, as that is supposed to be a scenic section? It doesn't matter if we get back to S.F. at 10pm. We can return the rental car the next morn and just pay the hefty parking price.

We basically have a full day for this and just want to have an idea of what we are doing on this day.

I thought I might try the Station House for lunch or dinner. Any good?

We plan on doing this on a Monday, if that makes any difference.

The Muir Woods are beautiful, yet with your desired itinerary I'd give them about 30mins and be off to Pt Reyes !

Seriously, as you seem to be aware the Tomales Pt. trail is a good 5 hour loop, and IMHO, not as spectacular as some of the vistas at the beginning and end of the Palomarin Trail
(where the waterfall runs off the cliff) and it's a good 4 hour loop.

Lots of great Pt. Reyes info, good maps, and shorter hikes can be found here-
http://www.nps.gov/pore

So, let's imagine you're out of Muir Woods by 10AM, your at the
Palomarin Trailhead by 10:45-11:00AM
You rush through the loop and you're back at you car at 3PM. This leaves you and hour to get out to and see the lighthouse, which closes at 4PM
(and is closed Tues & Wed as well).
It's not going to happen from the southern tip of Pt. Reyes. You'll need to factor in a bit of a lunch break in there as well.

It's not a few short miles from
Olema/Pt. Reyes Station up to Jenner (the Russian River joins the Pacific here)- it's about 50 miles and it's a good hour plus drive of curvy roads -
though it is quite scenic !

Here's another possible plan:
Go up to Pt.Reyes first thing,
pick a hike, or the lighthouse
(March is good for whale watching from the lighthouse) and a shorter hike. Have lunch in Olema or Pt. Reyes. Take Hwy 1 up just south of Jenner -take Hwy 116
in to Duncans Mills/Monte Rio/Guerneville -there are magnificent stands of redwoods along the way. If you want to stop and walk among them -visit the Armstrong Redwoods in Guerneville -much less crowded than Muir as well.
www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=450

From Guerneville you can continue east to Hwy 101 and sail back into SF. Just plan not to connect on to 101 South in Santa Rosa during rush hour. :)

R5

Also while in the area, you might enjoy seeing the nesting areas of the Blue and Green Heron. It is in Marin not far from Sausalito, and will try and get more directions for you.

Anyway the Herons nest in tall trees surrounded by hills so if you walk up the trails you have a birds eye view of the nests and the birds. There were hundreds of them when I did this a few years ago.

Muir Woods is a lovely day trip and well worth the trip. While there I have seen a family of deer, just grazing. Also be careful of the banana slugs.

There is a restaurant/Inn there to stop for lunch.

Enjoy your trip.

OK, so now I am thinking of skipping Muir. Maybe head straight for Palomarin, then to the lighthouse. Maybe then to Armstrong.

Map out your route and travel times
and post back - oh, and we "spring forward" to
Daylight Savings time on March 8
which may help in your planning.
Also, plan for the Palomarin to be muddy in spots.

R5

Dear spiro:

The coastal redwoods are a different species than the giant sequoias of the Sierra Nevada. Try to see the Muir or Armstrong stands.

MY

I think Muir Woods is truly magical; the trick is to get there EARLY, as near to 8 am as possible. If you do this, you can spend a leisurely hour walking around the floor of the grove, stop at the coffee shop for a midmorning snack and hot chocolate, then head north to Point Reyes. I would stop at Point Reyes Station and get a picnic lunch from the takeout place inside the barn mall; the food is excellent. Then go to the parking lot for Tomales Point. Walk 1/2 mile down to McClure's Beach, which is the most beautiful I have seen except perhaps Pfeifers in Big Sur. You can leave your lunch stuff in the car and then hike out as much of Tomales Point trail as you feel like. I have done the whole hike and don't think it is worth it, an hour or two of walking will be fine and should be very beautiful in March. Then go back to Point Reyes Station and have dinner at Point Reyes Station cafe.
Enjoy!

Here's the map of Point Reyes.

http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisi...d/map_park.pdf


I'd agree that you should get to Muir Woods as early as possible and, even if you do just the main trail, it would be worth it.

For Point Reyes, if there is no fog, go to the lighthouse first. Then walk along the wonderful Pt Reyes Beach below.

Once back in your car you could stop off at the Oyster Farm, if you like oysters.

For a shorter but still fairly strenuous hike, try the Mt Wittenberg trail which starts right from the Visitor's Center parking lot.

The Alamere Falls trail is not always open. Sometimes the falls can be accessed only when ranger led.
http://www.bahiker.com/northbayhikes/palomarin.html

March is still winter at Pt. Reyes. It can be wet and windy. If it's windy, the wind will be very cold since it's coming off the ocean. Both the Tomales Point and Alamere Falls trails are best on calm, balmy days. April, May, Sep thru Nov are usually the best months. Also, Alamere Falls is a little tricky getting down to. Sometimes, you can get down but not back up and then you have to hike down to Wildcat Camp to access the trail.

I would have a Plan B in mind in case the weather is bad. Hikes at Drake's Beach or Limantour might be a better option. One of my favorites is to walk down the beach at Limantour to Sculptered Beach and then come back on the Coast Trail.

Also, the Chimney Rock Trail near the lighthouse is a good one if the weather is nice. On the beach in front of the Lifesaving Station are usually a number of elephant seals during March.

It's a LONG drive to Pt Reyes. Pretty, but longer than I bargained for.

The drive from Pt. Reyes to Guerneville's Armstrong Woods will be 1.5 hours, mostly on winding roads. Skip Guerneville and Armstrong and enjoy Muir Woods, as long as you get there early since the parking lots get full. Redwoods are very different from Sequoia's, even if they are in the same family.

What is the name of a place to get picnic lunch in Pt. Reyes Station area? what is the name of the place at barn mall?

If I don't make reservations at Station House Cafe, will I have to wait forever?

Well, it's not a mall, it's a renovated barn called Tomales Bay Foods which houses the Cowgirl Creamery, for wonderful fromage, and the Cowgirl Cantina, where you can pick up sandwhiches, salads,
fruits, etc.

Unless it is a holiday Monday, then I would think it wouldn't be too crowded at the Station House Cafe.

R5

I would first go to Pt. Reyes, come back and have lunch in Inverness or Pt. Reyes Station. Drive south on hwy. 1 and just about when the Stinson Beach-Bolinas lagoon is visible, turn left on the marked road (there is a road sign indicating a T intersection). Follow that road up the hill and always take the right-hand road when coming to a fork until you arrive at the point where either the road goes downhill or straight ahead toward Mt. Tam. Take the Mt. Tam road to Mt. Tam which is a visual delight if the fog is staying at the ocean's edge. From there a late afternoon stop in Muir Woods is possible on the way back to SF.

Oops, fog is not likely to be a problem in March, but rain might be. On the other hand, the atmosphere tends to be crystal clear between rains.