Hiking: January 29, 2022
Tomales Point Trail
Point Reyes National Seashore, Inverness, CA
Tomales Point Trail offers spectacular views of the Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean and is part of Point Reyes National Seashore park located in Marin County, California.
- Length: 10.28 miles
- Elevation Gain: 1,280 ft
- Route Type: Out & Back
- Trail Details: AllTrails / 3D Map
- Media: Photos / Video
This trail is one of the simplest routes that you will ever hike with great views. There is no other trail that intersects this trail. There is no way you will get lost in this trail. You will be hiking on a small portion of the land where one side is the Pacific Ocean and other side is the Tomales Bay.
The trailhead is at Historic Pierce Point Ranch. There is a small parking lot at the trailhead. Note that there are no restrooms at the trailhead or on the trail. Fortunately there is a restroom at 0.2 miles from the trailhead at McClures Beach parking lot. Be sure to use the restroom before starting your hike. There is no restroom or water for 10 miles of the hike.
This trail gets crowded as the day passes, so start early if you want some solitude at the Tomales point. The parking lot gets filled up after 10 AM. After finishing my hike at 1:30 PM, the parking lot was overflowing, and I saw cars parked on the edge of the road.
It is a long drive to reach the trailhead parking lot. You will be driving on a narrow, uneven road. The views are beautiful, and you will see a couple of ranches along the way. It is going to be a very slow ride to the parking lot, so keep that in mind in your planning.
The first mile of the trail is almost level and opens to the view of the Pacific Ocean on the right side. After this, the next one mile is an ascent along the ridge crest to the highest point on this trail. This is the biggest ascend on this trail.
After this “peak”, you will start descending and reach the lowest point on the trail. As you descend, trail becomes very narrow and overgrown with bush lupine and other shrubs, so you better wear pants to avoid the skin getting scratches from these shrubs.
Keep a watch on surrounding area for wildlife at this section. You may see deer, coyote, turkey, and best of all elks.
This trail is a Tule Elk Preserve in Point Reyes Nation Seashore. You are almost guaranteed to see tule elk along the way. But I don’t know what time of the day you will see the elks. When I started the hike, I was near this section at 10 AM and didn’t see any elks, but while coming back I was at this section around noon and saw a bunch of elks. Also, I found out that there are certain months of the year when people go here to view the elks. More info at Viewing Tule Elk page.
After this section, you will be walking on the sand and also on a narrow path with overgrown bushes. You will start seeing multiple paths. But don’t worry, you can take any path and eventually you will join the main route. Also, if you get lost or confused you just walk north towards the Tomales point. Note that speed of your hike slows down a bit here since you are walking on loose sand.
Towards the end, you will be hiking downhill towards the Tomales point. On the left side, you will see Bird Rock, populated with many birds.
Once you reach the point, there are multiple places to see the spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean. Be careful on the edges of the cliffs. As you may know part of the bluff collapsed in January 2017. This place gets overcrowded with hikers. If you don’t start early, it ruins your hike if you want a peaceful view of the ocean.
Since it is an out & back hike, you will trace the same route back to reach the trailhead. If you start early, you will see lots of hikers on the trail going to the Tomales point while you are going back to the trailhead. There are places you will have to stop and give way for the oncoming hikers.
If you are hiking this trail, here are few points that you want to consider.
- Start early. Ideally before the sunrise. This trail gets crowded as the day passes.
- Pick a day with no fog. With the fog, you will get disappointed with the hike. I don’t know how to figure out whether the day will have a fog or not. I just used user comments in the AllTrails. If someone commented the previous day saying clear sky, I just trusted that the next day will be the same :)
- Wear pants. Sections of the trail are covered with bush lupine and other shrubs. Your skin will definitely get scratched by these shrubs.
- There is no shade, not even 1% on this trail. Whole trail is exposed. So hat, sunscreen, and water are a must.
This is one of the trails that offers beautiful views throughout the hike. The view of the Pacific Ocean and the bay is pristine. Apart from the views, you will also see various wildlife. I will definitely be hiking this trail again in the evening to see the sunset.
Until then,
Happy Hiking!
