Point Reyes National Seashore Parks and Outdoors Travel Guide

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)
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Point Reyes National Seashore Parks and Outdoors Travel Tips

By 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

The craggy coast of Point Reyes National Seashore is situated just north of San Francisco, where the headlands of this beguiling peninsula jut out ten miles into the Pacific Ocean. The end result is an unusual proximity to the 20-mile-wide "highway" along which gray whales migrate, providing awesome vistas for this parade of mammalian giants, particularly at Chimney Rock and the Point Reyes Lighthouse. And that's not all—you can also see the fun-loving antics of harbor seals, sea lions, and the sheer sloth of elephant seals. Read More

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Hotels

Ten Inverness Way B&B

10 Inverness Way
Inverness, CA 94937 Map

Distance: 2.7 mi.
(from destination center)

Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
expert favorite hotel
Expert Rated & Recommended
5.0

Holly Tree Inn

P.O. Box 642
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956 Map

Distance: 3.6 mi.
(from destination center)

Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
expert favorite hotel
Expert Rated & Recommended
5.0

The Inn Above Tide

30 El Portal
Sausalito, CA 94965 Map

Distance: 26.4 mi.
(from destination center)

Hotel Class: Not Yet Rated
expert favorite hotel
Expert Rated & Recommended
5.0
All Point Reyes National Seashore Hotels »
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Attractions

Chimney Rock

expert favorite attraction
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, California 94956

Distance: 6.9 mi. (from destination center)

Description: A 2.5-mile loop overlooking Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean, Chimney Rock trail is most famous for... Read More
Expert Rated & Recommended
5_0

Pierce Point Ranch

expert favorite attraction
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, California 94956

Distance: 9.4 mi. (from destination center)

Description: Follow the self-guided trail to the renovated 19th century ranch at the end of Pierce Point Road. Tule elk roam the renovated ranch, which represents the area's rich agricultural history.... Read More
Expert Rated & Recommended
5_0

Mount Tamalpais State Park

expert favorite attraction
Marin County
801 Panoramic Hwy.
Mill Valley, California 94941

Distance: 19.1 mi. (from destination center)

Description: Mount Tamalpais State Park spans 6,300 acres of redwood and oak forest, grassland, chaparral, and... Read More
Expert Rated & Recommended
5_0
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Airports

Major Airports near Point Reyes National Seashore

Distance (mi.)
San Francisco International Airport 41.6 map
Oakland International Airport 43.7 map
San Jose International Airport 72.3 map

Other Smaller Airports near Point Reyes National Seashore

Distance (mi.)
Modesto Municipal Airport 108.9 map
Carmel/Monterey Peninsula Airport 117.3 map
Merced Municipal Airport 140.4 map

Flight Deals to Point Reyes National Seashore

Originating From
Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) $106
Orange County (SNA) to San Francisco (SFO) $106
San Diego (SAN) to San Francisco (SFO) $106
Las Vegas (LAS) to San Francisco (SFO) $126
Seattle (SEA) to San Francisco (SFO) $126

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