Point Reyes National Seashore Parks and Outdoors Vacations

Point Reyes National Seashore Parks and Outdoors Travel Guide

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Coastline at Drakes Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, California
Drakes Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore, California (Stockbyte/Getty)

Point Reyes National Seashore Parks and Outdoors Highlights

By Travel Expert: Ann Marie Brown
  • If you want to see marine mammals at play, Point Reyes National Seashore is wet and wild. An elephant seal overlook at Drake's Bay offers an impressive vantage point from which to view the 5,000-pound elephant seals as they form a breeding colony from December to March.
  • Four campgrounds in Point Reyes National Seashore are accessible only by biking, hiking, or horseback riding. Sky Camp is the easiest to reach at only 1.4 miles from the Sky trailhead. Glen Camp is set in a wind-protected, wooded valley. Coast and Wildcat Camps are within a few hundred feet of the ocean. Backpack the Coast Trail and stay at a different camp each night, or pick one camp and stay for a while.
  • There are no bad trails in Point Reyes for birding, but one of the best, easy bird-watching walks is the Muddy Hollow Trail to Limantour Beach. The trail passes a pond favored by waterfowl as it travels to the estero and beach, where sandpipers, willets, egrets, and herons are easily spotted. Black phoebes, marsh wrens, and song sparrows can be spotted amid the coastal scrub.
  • Paddle the glassy waters of Tomales Bay with its sheltered coves, tidal marshes, remote beaches, shallow lagoons, and forested ridges. The 15-mile long bay is a pupping site for harbor seals and is the largest unspoiled coastal embayment on the coast of California.

Point Reyes National Seashore Overview

35 miles NW of San Francisco

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Hotels

expert favorite hotel
Ten Inverness Way B&B
10 Inverness Way
Inverness, CA 94937
Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
Distance: 2.7 Miles
(from destination center)
Parks Expert Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
Traveler Rating
Not Yet Rated
Recommended for:
Parks and Outdoors travel
expert favorite hotel
Holly Tree Inn
P.O. Box 642
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
Distance: 3.6 Miles
(from destination center)
Parks Expert Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
Traveler Rating
Not Yet Rated
Recommended for:
Parks and Outdoors travel
Point Reyes Country Inn and Stables
12050 Highway One
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
Distance: 4.1 Miles
(from destination center)
Parks Expert Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
Traveler Rating
Not Yet Rated
Recommended for:
Parks and Outdoors travel
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Attractions

expert favorite attraction
Chimney Rock
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, California 94956 Map
Distance: 6.9 Miles (from destination center)
Description: A 2.5-mile loop overlooking Drakes Bay and the... Read More
Parks Expert Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
Traveler Rating
Not Yet Rated
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Parks and Outdoors travel
expert favorite attraction
Pierce Point Ranch
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, California 94956 Map
Distance: 9.4 Miles (from destination center)
Description: Follow the self-guided trail to the renovated... Read More
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5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
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Recommended for:
Parks and Outdoors travel
Estero Trail
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, California 94956 Map
Distance: 1.8 Miles (from destination center)
Description: The Estero Trail is a challenging route over... Read More
Parks Expert Rating
5.0 out of 5
5.0 out of 5
Traveler Rating
Not Yet Rated
Recommended for:
Parks and Outdoors travel
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