Marin County Hiking At Its Finest!

Map of Mt. Tamalpais State Park and Muir Wood National Monument

Describe a classic hike in Marin County, and one might get several responses: "Take the Miwok Trail in the Marin Headlands" or "Climb the summit of Mt. Tam for panoramic views!"  I offer a classic route emblematic of the Marin County hiking experience that captures its diversity, beauty, and challenge.

With my friend Lynn, I started out on the Dipsea trailhead at Stinson Beach (a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area), taking a small side road, and crossing Highway 1.  The trail climbed gradually through coastal chaparral, and briefly entered a forest glade, offering cool shade on this warm, sunny day in February.  The trail topped out at an overlook, offering splendid views of Stinson Beach, Bolinas Bay and Bolinas Lagoon.

Freefall with Stinson Beach in the Background

We re-entered forest, and descended shortly to a bridge, which is the intersection of the Dipsea and Steep Ravine trails.  Lynn and I crossed over Webb Creek continuing east on the Dipsea trail, and then climbed a long series of stairs up steep terrain.  As we ascended occasional trail runners passed by us - this trail is famous for an annual footrace!  We continued huffing and sweating up the trail under a canopy of madrone and bay trees, which later transitioned into a young redwood forest.  The scene was serene!

The Dipsea trail left the shade and continued through sunny open space, offering beautiful sweeping views of the Marin Headlands and San Francisco to the south, Oakland and Mt. Diablo to the east, and the Farallon Islands to the West.  Here, Lynn and I took a break to eat a sandwich, bask in the sun, and admire the views.

Lynn Poses Near a "Family Circle" of Redwoods.

We then descended steadily east on the Dipsea Trial through a mixed forest of Douglas fir, tanbark oak, and madrone trees.  We came to an intersection of the trail which alerted us of a bridge closure over Redwood Creek at Muir Woods National Monument.  Instead of taking the official detour, we chose to be adventurous, and continued on the steep drop down the Dipsea.  We easily crossed shallow Redwood Creek near the dismantled bridge, and entered Muir Woods.

Muir Woods influenced me to move out to California... seriously.  When I first saw the old-growth redwoods here in 2002, I was amazed and awed by their size - I had never seen anything like them before.  I was also blown away by the fact that they are located so close to San Francisco.  I continue to be enamored by the redwoods.  Muir Woods is an outdoor cathedral filled with 250-foot tall redwoods, sword fern, sorrels, and banana slugs, which should be visited by everyone.  That said, on this Saturday, it seemed like everyone was visiting Muir Woods!  Through the first mile of our hike, it was hard to escape the crowds wanting to visit this place, but after crossing the fourth bridge, near the Alice Eastwood Trail, our journey was less congested and much quieter.

Our journey continued up the Bootjack Trail, which follows narrow ravine of Redwood Creek.  Several times I was drawn to photograph quaint, beautiful falls and mushrooms along the trail.  We climbed steeply out of the dark canopy of redwoods, and re-entered a forest dominated by mixture of young redwoods tanbark oak, and bay trees.  Along the way, we passed a few hearty tourists, who had hiked more than 2-miles form the Muir Woods parking area - props to them for sucking the marrow from the bone of life!

Falls on Redwood Creek

Lynn and I left the Bootjack Trail, and reached the Pantoll Ranger Station after a short .4-mile hike on the Alpine Trail.  At the busy campground, we sat down for a rest, which included a second lunch, and refilling the water bottles.  I admired the number of outside cycling, hiking, or just frolicking in the outdoors - this is how life should be!

We continued our journey on the Steep Ravine Trail, which follows the aforementioned Webb Creek back to the Dipsea Trail.  True to its name, the trail is indeed steep in many areas.  At one point along the way, Lynn and I had to climb down a 10-foot ladder!  Nonetheless, it was a beautiful descent through a deeply carved ravine, lined with thickets of sword fern and the occasional forget-me-not flowers.  At one point along the way, I had to stop and admire what appeared to be a rare trillium.  We also ran into several hikers going the opposite way, scrambling back to the Pantoll Ranger Station before the sun set.

We reached the Dipsea Trail again, closing our scenic loop hike.  We ascended familiar trail, but were treated to a different scene, as the sun was starting to set.  The coastal mountains of California now had deeper colors and more depth in these golden hours - my camera was very happy to be out of the harsh mid-day light.

Lynn and I scrambled down to Stinson Beach just in time to catch a picturesque California sunset.  Kids were still playing on the beach, and couples were basking in the final rays of sunlight on what had to be one of the most beautiful days in February ever!  I thought about the wonderful diversity I had just experienced: beach, forests, ridges with panoramic views,  redwoods, and deep ravines.  Can I experience Marin County more fully?

Sunset at Stinson Beach