I am looking for some advice for a day trip to Point Reyes. I have been before, but my husband has not and I was thinking that if the weather is nice over the weekend before Valentine's Day, I would surprise him with a day trip to Point Reyes - a picnic, a little hiking, some beachcombing, and just hanging out. I am not really familiar with the area though - I have picnicked near the visitors center, walked the earthquake trail, and driven out to the lighthouse, but that is about it.

So, I am looking for some advice about where to picnic, where to hike, etc. Any favorite spots? My husband's hobby is photography and he got a nice lense for Christmas that he is wanting to try it out - picturesque is a requirement, although that shouldn't be difficult to find there - LOL.

I would like to hike to the picnic spot - nothing too strenuous, maybe a mile or so one way - but I would like to be out and about. Maybe just a place where we can walk down a beach for a ways away from the car.

Looking at a map of Point Reyes, the area along Drakes Bay and estuary looks interesting, maybe near Limantour Spit.

I am not expecting crowds on a Saturday in February, so it should be pretty easy to get a spot to ourselves. Is that a reasonable assumption?

If there's no rain (and there hasn't been for awhile) you should have a great time. Personally, we always make a run out to Johnson's (on the way to the lighthouse--left turn) for fresh oysters. MMMMM--gotta go, NOW!

We went up there for a day trip last year and loved it. We took the road out to the lighthouse and then took the road out to the Kenneth Patrick Visitor Center on Drakes Beach. It is a lovely spot. From there there is short trail up to a great view spot where we had a picnic lunch. Another thought for a cool spot to picnic would be somewhere along the Chimney Rock trail at the end near the lighthouse. It is fairly open to the elements so if it is a windy day you might loose your hat, but it's a great walk. The end of the trail is a very special place. On the day we went you could see the Farallon Islands from there!

-Bill

AH, you're coming up my way !
Beautiful place, Pt. Reyes. Methinks your hubby and his lens will be
having a blast !

OK, now before Pam SF gets here and tells you to go out to Abbotts Lagoon

-I am going to advise you to go out to Limantour. Park the car, head over the dunes and walk to the left. As you trek there will be fewer and fewer people.
(If the weather is at all decent-read
not windy, a sun cloud mix will do- you may be surprised at the number of silly folks, like us, who love Pt. Reyes in
winter.)

After a mile or so, you'll probably
be by yourselves enough to park your packs and nosh. Or keep wandering, it's a lovely stretch of beach ! If you trek all the way to Arch Rock-you can scale an easy ladder up from the beach and double-back along the Coast Trail.


If you want a tad more hiking, I'll give you directions for the Palomarin Trail, which follows the bluff from
just above Bolinas to Alamere Falls (a cool waterfall that falls into the ocean/beach below-if we've had some rain.)

Johnson's Oysters had been sold and is now called Drakes Bay Oyster Co., BTW.

Happy Travels !

R5

PS

Bill's idea about Chimney Rock is super
if the wildflowers are blooming !

R5

Thanks guys Looks like lots of good choices. Now lets hope that the weather cooperates with my plan! Just hoping for no rain and minimal wind. The beach in the winter is one of my favorite places to be.

Also - any good recommendations for a good place to stop to get some sandwiches and other things for our picnic? We will be coming up from the south.

The drive out towards Limantour Beach is lovely and feels very remote. The marsh you have to cross before accessing the beach is quite something in terms of all the wildlife and plantlife abounding there. I have somehow always found myself at Limantour in the dusk hour, and I have many happy memories of watching sunsets there.

On the opposite side of the Pt. Reyes peninsula, the drive out to McClures Beach can be spectacular. Not for the beach itself - it's not the best of the bunch. There is a plateau up in the hills before you start descending towards the Tomales Point visitors center/trailhead and the McClures Beach access. The vistas from here are stunning and will give you a very clear understanding of the layout of Tomales Bay and the Pt. Reyes Peninsula.

You could spend part of the day in one locale and then drive over to the other to catch the sunset. Traffic heading out of the park towards 6 p.m. or so can be a bit heavy, so it might pay to hang out till it gets a bit darker.

The town of Pt. Reyes Station has the excellent Bovine Bakery for a coffee and pastries stop before your jaunt.

For a hidden spot, go to McClures Beach. Walk down to the beach. Then go left to the far end of the beach, walk through the cut in the cliff and chances are you'll have the small cove all to yourself.

Here's a good thread about area eats (my posts are "kiliki"):

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?...hl=point+reyes

Chimney Rock fits your picnic spot perfectly-1 mile each way-but this time of year on weekends you have to take the shuttle there and to the Lighthouse (due to whale watching crowds). So keep that in mind. Limantour Beach would be a nice picnic spot, and you can drive there.

A more secret and remote picnic spot, with a great view, would be from the end of the Mt. Vision road. Find this narrow (and lightly used) road west of Tomales Bay State Park off Sir Francis Drake Bvd., take it to the end, and walk up about 50 yards, where you'll find fabulous views of the whole PR peninsula. You can find a picnic spot there or walk a bit on the trails that start from there and find a good spot. You can see where I mean on this pdf map:
http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisi...d/map_park.pdf

Have fun! It's certainly a very special area.

Hi J !
From the south are you traveling up from
the GG Bridge ? 80/580 & Richmond-San Rafael Bridge ? Then are you traveling
up to Pt. Reyes via Hwy 1 or Sir Francis
Drake in to Olema ? Petaluma/Pt.Reyes Rd
into Pt Reyes ?

Your route will make it easier to advise you on a deli.

I think it will be safe to head home prior to 6PM-it will be dark by then in mid-Feb. It is kinda fun to hang out a little at Limantour, or wherever you choose until a bit after sunset. Just travel with a good flashlight.

R5

Thanks for all the advice so far Sounds like we will need to choose 1 or 2 spots and then go back again (and again and again) to see more. That's why I love this area - so many great places to explore within a couple hours of home.

We live in San Jose, so I was thinking we would just head up 280 and then go through SF and over the GG Bridge - I think that is the most direct route, plus it is an opportunity to drive over the GG bridge, which I never pass up

Hanging out after sunset sounds like a really good idea - and I always have a flashlight in my day pack (and a small 1st aid kit, matches, toilet paper, garden shovel, soap, water, extra layers of clothing, dry socks, binoculars...) I have been called a lot of things, but "unprepared" has never been one of them - LOL.

And the most direct route from that way is to get off at 4th St in San Rafael, take a left back under 101, and then hook up with Sir Francis Drake bvd. A lot of people get off at the SFD exit but that takes longer (lots of lights and traffic).

Hmmmm....IME, there are equal lights-traffic-congestion whether you take Sir Francis Drake exit or
4th Street exit from your exit off 101 out to Fairfax. Once through Fairfax the sailing will be smoother.

I think I might just head up Hwy 1
through Mill Valley & Muir Beach and just enjoy the drive-takes about 45 mins. from your exit off Hwy 101 (Mill Valley/Stinson Beach) up to Pt Reyes. OH and You could stop for brunch at the Dipsea Cafe along
Shoreline Hwy in Mill Valley. Yummy !

Gosh, J. you're bringing back great memories when we lived in Mill Valley
along Shoreline Hwy. We hiked in the
GGNRA-Marin Headlands all the time-
and it was so easy to get to Pt.Reyes.
Good times, indeed !

File this for your next visit-(as they don't do this Jan-Mar). On the 1st & 3rd Saturday of the month you can take a night tour of the Lighthouse.
The time of the tour depends on sunset
on tour day. We chanced upon this one Sat in May and they let us join them due to no shows. Just luck and I wouldn't chance it now that we know about it-you must call 415-669-1534
the morning of the tour.

You'll learn the history of the lighthouse and the Fresnel lens and- if they are still doing this-they turn on the light-(while screening it from actually shining out to sea) and it's simply magnificent !

Oh, yeah, the deli, LOL !
Whale Of A Deli on the corner of Mesa and Hwy 1 in Pt. Reyes Station should have what you need. If you want to add some very special cheese to your picnic, stop by the Cowgirl Creamery
barn on 4th St in PRS. You could also stop by the Mill Valley market in downtown
and pop in to The Depot for coffee
while you're there.

Hope it all works out, whatever you choose.

R5

To avoid the suburban traffic on Sir Francis Blvd. I usually use the Lucas Valley road, through Nicasio and the Point Reyes-Petaluma Rd. to Point Reyes Station. Picnic items can be picked up at the Cow Girl Creamery building.

Ok-it's true I would say Abbott's Lagoon

So here's my two cents worth:
Abbotts Lagoon is a migratory waterfowl refuge. It's a flat walk through pastureto a small lagoon and then a bit farther out to the ocean beach. Total distance out to the ocean is 1.5 miles or so. In February you are not likely to see many wildflowers. You will see cows and lots of red winged blackbirds on the path out. The water is filled with pelicans, plovers and gulls. The pelicans are usually the brown ones but you might also see some white ones.

Limantour is a great suggestion as well. (It's our contender for #1) You can drive out to Limantour and then park. It's about a 1/4 walk to the beach I am guessing.

Another spot might be Tomales Bluff. You drive almost to McClure's Beach and you will see old dairy farm structures on your right. Park here.
Then walk the dirt road as far as you like. It has mild inclines but I do it which is saying alot about the relative
ease of the walk. After a relatively short distance you will be able to see the Pacific Ocean on your left and Tomales Bay on your right. The whole distance of the trail is 10 miles. You can easily do one mile or less and still see some great stuff. This is an area in which you will also see Tule Elk grazing. Picnic on the left side of the trail. There are lots of outcroppings of rocks. You can gaze at the ocean below.

If you want sandwiches, I think R5's idea of the Whale of a Deli is a good one. You can also go to Tomales Bay Foods(go through town-Point Reyes Station and turn left when you can't go straight anymore). It will be just a few doors down on your left. Inside you will find Cowgirl creamery and a deli. You can get cheese and bread (look for Brickmaiden Bread). There is also a small produce stand where you can pick up fruit.

You actually have to go through the town of Inverness to make your way out to Abbotts Lagoon or Tomales Bluff. You can get sandwiches made at the Inverness store but they are really not particularly good IMO.

I might suggest you take snacks from home then venture up Hwy 1 from Point Reyes Station heading North to Marshall. You will see the Marshall store on your right. They make pretty good sandwiches here and also have oysters. There are some nice places to sit.

If you are going to be out there in the late afternoon and early pm, consider having dinner at:

The Station House(Point Reyes Station) casual, Niman Ranch burgers, fried oysters etc.

I am a Lucas Valley Road fan myself but I think it can be a bit confusing at first as an access road to Point Reyes Station.

BTW~Since your husband likes photography you might want to check out Marty Knapp's studio(on Hwy 1 heading North just outside of Point Reyes Station). He also has a storefront in downtown Point Reyes Station. Google both Marty Knapp and Art Rogers. They are both local photographers. Marty does landscapes and Art does portraits.

Enjoy! Like R5, I am a great fan of Point Reyes in the winter.

ttt

Wonderful wonderful wonderful. Thanks for all the ideas, esspecially for the local photographers. Now lets just hope the weather holds

ooh so sorry..Marshal store will be on your left!

Thinking about headin' out there Sunday !

R5

Looking at the weather report, it might be sunday for us too. The forecast for Saturday calls for 90% chance of rain, but only around 40% for Sunday.