In the late 16th century, British explorer Sir Francis Drake is thought to have stopped at Point Reyes during a round-the-world journey. The ship’s chaplain wrote a description of the landscape and complained about “the stinking fogges” that shrouded the headlands in summer.
That hasn’t changed.
For the record:
4:30 p.m. Sept. 7, 2016This story incorrectly says bicycles are allowed on the route. Bicycles have limited access to the backpacking loop and campgrounds inside the parkland.
The fog, the hulking headlands and the craggy cliffs define this stunning slice of California’s coast. Point Reyes National Seashore is not really on the way to anywhere; you must seek it out off Highway 1 in mellow Marin County about 30 miles northwest of San Francisco.
A marooned fishing boat is reflected in low tide pools along Tomales Bay at Point Reyes National Seashore.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A view of the bow of the Point Reyes, one of many shipwrecks along the Point Reyes Headlands.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Guides prepare to take a group of kayakers on a tour of Tomales Bay from Heart Desires Beach. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A surfer passes through a ray of the setting sun in Bolinas Bay.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The view from the trailhead to the lighthouse overlooks Point Reyes Beach.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Visitors walk the half-mile trail approaching the Monterey cyprus trees en route to the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A sparrow sings on the side of the trail to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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It’s 308 steps down and 308 back up to the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse, which began operating in December 1870 and was decommissioned in 1975. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times )
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The Point Reyes Lighthouse stands watch over the Pacific.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A kayaker paddles out as a fisherman returns in Bolinas Bay.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Visitors find natural places to nap at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Surrounded by tall grasses, visitors walk along the Earthquake Trail at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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John Lill of Kentfield enjoys the scenery as he reads on a sandbar along Tomales Bay.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The Marin-chic village of Point Reyes Station has one gas station, a bevy of boutiques and “little star,” a.k.a. Osteria Stellina, a big-city Italian restaurant in a charming little town.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The view through the balcony at a newly renovated room at Tomales Bay Resort in Inverness.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Drakes Beach is a landscape of cliffs-meet-surf.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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The surf swirls at Drakes Beach as the sun creates prism images.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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You can find solitude and dramatic cliffs at Drakes Beach. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Stunning cliffs fill the landscape at Drakes Beach.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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An elephant seal takes a swim as others nap in the setting sun at Chimney Rock in Iverness. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times )
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Early morning fog hovers over a cattle ranch near the trailhead to the Giacomini Wetlands. The trail down to the restored wetlands habitat meanders through a series of cattle gates and is a good birding spot.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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A cow wanders in the early morning fog near the trailhead to the Giacomini Wetlands.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Tule elk stand poised on a hillside in the Tule Elk State Natural Reserve. The native elk once numbered in the thousands, until they were nearly hunted to extinction in the 19th century. Today, the elk population is the largest it has ever been in California.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Surf and sun create a dreamscape at Drakes Beach.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Beachgoers walk through the dunes and grasses at Limantour Beach. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times )
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Beachgoers enjoy vast sandbars along Tomales Bay.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
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Clear water and the deep blue sky at Tomales Bay.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
The national seashore designation can be a bit confusing. True, the beaches along Drakes Bay are a drawing card for visitors, but equally beautiful meadows and fir-tree-filled woods can be found in the interior.
A four-day backpacking trip from the park’s eastern boundary provides plenty of time to experience it all — and slip far away from paved roads.
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For the first night, you can’t beat Sky Camp, an inland campground that overlooks the bay and the headlands. The sweeping views below camp provide a teaser of what’s to come.
The easy trail from the Bear Valley Visitor Center takes you along a deeply shaded path lined with towering Douglas firs and a smattering of oaks. You come to 11 campsites tucked neatly into the flank of Mt. Wittenberg, the park’s high point at 1,407 feet.
On day two, head toward the water and bed down at Coast Camp, a flat, beachy campground that can be foggy and windy but is oh-so-close to the waters that Drake emerged from four centuries ago. From here, it’s an easy walk to popular Limantour Beach, where bush lupine bloom in springtime.
Spend two more days on foot, staying a night in the woodsy, wind-protected Glen Camp in the interior of the park and another at Wildcat Camp, a meadow near southeastern beaches and Alamere Falls, a rock-pounding cascade that flows from the cliffs to the shore.
Beachgoers walk through the dunes and grasses at Limantour Beach.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times )
One thing you won’t see during your walkabout: Arch Rock, a onetime natural landmark that used to be a popular hiking destination and picnic spot. The formation was buried in rubble last year after a bluff collapsed, killing a hiker who was on the overlook.
By the end of four nights, you will have hiked 6 to 10 miles a day, depending on your routes and the number of side trips you take. The terrain is gentle, the views sublime.
Visitors are allowed to bicycle on this backpacking loop. It’s strictly regulated, and you need permits to stay at the $20-a-night camps.
The maximum stay is four nights, which you can spend at one or two camps, or try to hit all four. Each campground has a vault-style toilet and water spigot. You can read a description and see pictures of the sites at www.lat.ms/ptreyescampgrounds.
The Bear Valley Visitor Center is a good starting point for your backpacking trip (to trim miles you can start at Limantour Road) and then map your route. Go to www.lat.ms/permits to learn how to reserve backcountry permits.
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Short on time? The National Park Service recommends several day hikes, some only two or three hours, that vary in mileage. Go to www.lat.ms/dayhikes.
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Mary Forgione launched and wrote The Wild, a weekly newsletter featuring insider tips on the best of Southern California beaches, trails, parks, deserts, forests and mountains.
