point reyes national seashore

peaceful drive through forest land and and ends at beach. Beach has gorgeous surf and clear water ! Take the shuttle out to the lighthouse. Beach is not recommended for swimming due to surf conditions

We started out at the Bear Valley visitor center. The staff was very helpful and the museum area was full of great displays and information about the wildlife. Next, we drove to Drake Beach. This is a great spot to explore. We saw a very close up elephant seal, which was amazing. You can buy tickets here to take a shuttle bus to the lighthouse and to another spot where you can see more marine animals up close, depending on the time of year. The lighthouse was very interesting. We saw a few whales from the observation deck. We decided to take the 300 stairs down to the actual lighthouse. It was definitely worth it.

We especially liked the sea lion fights, the remote lighthouse and the old boathouse. One parks in a large parking lot and takes a bus to the various destinations inside the park. We got there about 10am and there was no crowd, but as we left about 4 pm, the place was jammed. Visit early.

Point Reyes is an amazing place to visit. One would never guess it's less than an hour away from downtown San Francisco. The views once at the end of the park are priceless! I don't believe I've ever been to a more beautiful place in this country! You could make an entire day out of a trip here. Make a picnic basket and take in the natural beauty of this park. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking for something free to do after spending money in San Francisco!

This national seashore is a huge park with a forest, mountains, ocean, beaches, a creek, and many miles of hiking trails. The water was chilly, about 16C, which cools you down on a hot day. The entrance is free.I was here for the first time and went on trails Bear Valley, Sculptured Beach, Kelham Beach, and back; 13 miles in total. Great activity on a day. You'll need a week to explore all the different places in the park.

This place was really beautiful and best of all it was free. A must see on the Pacific Coast Highway

Very large so you will not be able to enjoy the whole park in 1 day, but lovely. Lots of trails. Don't miss the lighthouse. The views of the N Calif coast on a clear day are not to be missed. Over 300 steps to the lighthouse and it is a rigorous climb back up and you must shuttle to the lighthouse. No cell service. Lots of elephant seals and elk. There are several restaurants on the outskirts.

Well worth visiting. Lighthouse was in a partial fog but gave it a errie magical feel to the whole area. Walking down to it was long but well worth it. Views (through) fog were still quite interesting, Went on some of the trails to tomales point and saw Elk on the shoreline from the top of the points trail on a mountain/hill. Watch out for spiders, thought! the bushes you pass along the trail had tons of spiders it was giving the creeps walking past them making sure I did not touch the bushes even a little. Must have been the time of the year when they are prominent.The coast walk and some of the other trials are awesome. The seals seen from elephant seal overlook was cool. Loved it . remember it for years ti come!!!

This park is unbelievably huge. I would recommend printing out a map or directions to the areas you want to see as you will lose cellular service. We saw elephant seals with their pups, wild elk and deer, and cows everywhere. Wild birds and flowers everywhere. It was too foggy to seethe whales, but the bus tour to the lighthouse and Chimney rock was informative and gave a really great view through the land.

Amazing views all over the place.Lots of nice hikes but you can still see amazing scenery from the road.

The weather started to improve after a morning of heavy rain in San Francisco, so we decided to head up to Point Reyes. It's worth calling to find out about the shuttles; on this day the shuttles weren't running because few people were there. We were able to drive directly to the lighthouse. I recommend having at least a windbreaker; I wore a raincoat over a fleece jacket. A placard there said the lighthouse area is the windiest place on the Pacific coast. The 300 steps leading down to the lighthouse were closed that day because of wind. The view from the top is quite nice though we didn't see any whales. Not far from the lighthouse is the Chimney Rock area where it's a short walk to an overlook where you can see a large, noisy colony of elephant seals lining the beach below. It was fascinating to watch them; we saw several pairs of seals clashing with each other, the loser retreating to the water. From there, it was a long drive to the Tule Elk Reserve and already late in the afternoon. We saw a couple of elk on the hillside along the road, but wanted to see more so we started on the Tomales Point Trail. At almost sunset and a mile into the hike, we rounded a bend and saw a herd of elk in the grassy area. We headed back because it was getting dark, but it would have been nice to continue on that trail with its great coastal views. It's a dirt trail, so I recommend wearing hiking shoes especially if it's been raining.

The park service ranger gave an informative tour of the lighthouse. The gift shop stamped my US Lighthouse Society passport. The 1st Order Fresnel Lens is still in the lighthouse and has all its working pieces still in place. For lighthouse lovers, this is a must see. Plus we could see whales right off shore, Roosevelt Elk, a couple of elephant seals, and much more. A fabulous place.

Saturday was busy go during the week or Sunday. The shuttle can take awhile the visit is slow. Don't let this slow you down just plan for it. Bring your own food n drink.

This trail is a must-hike out to Arch Rock-it is glorious. About 9 miles round trip-gentle upslope to start then pretty level.

The Point Reyes National Seashore beach is miles long and has spectacular scenery. This is not a place to go for swimming in the ocean, however, as there are dangerous rip tides and sneaker waves. The sea can be very rough here and sweep you away if you get too close. Be sure to keep people and animals well away from the water to keep them safe. Stay on the sand away from the water. There are two parking lots - North and South - off of Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in the park. From there you can walk for miles up or down the beach. Some parts of the years there are restrictions for animals to protect wildlife, so look over the website to know where you can and cannot go. Can get very crowded on weekends and holidays. There are very limited services and spotty mobile reception, so be sure to fill up on gas and have snacks, water and anything else you need before heading out.