ACCESSING JEWELL TRAIL. On two occasions in February 2021, I hiked the loop trail consisting of…read moreBolinas Ridge Trail, Jewell Trail, and Cross Marin Trail. My hike was in the counterclockwise direction around this loop trail. The final stretch of this loop hike requires hiking within the narrow space between the Francis Drake Blvd. and a steep downhill slope covered with trees and with lichens called "old man's beard." Jewell Trail has two trailheads. One is located on Bolinas Ridge Trail and the other is on Cross Marin Trail. The trailhead for Bolinas Ridge Trail is next to Francis Drake Blvd., one mile east of Olema. The trailhead on Cross Marin Trail, is situated one mile to the northwest of the Camp Taylor campground. Regarding the Bolinas Ridge trailhead a mile east of Olema, typically between five and ten automobiles are parked here. They're parked on the south shoulder of Francis Drake Blvd., but additional parking places are available on a wide dirt shoulder, across the street and 50 feet to the west. The segment of Bolinas Ridge Trail leading to the Jewell Trail Trailhead provides scenery of amazing beauty. The photographs in the following list describe, by way of pictures, everything that I could possibly describe with words about Bolinas Ridge Trail and Jewell Trail: (1) Photo of wooden maze that allows passage of people, but prevents cows from passing through. The body of the cow is not flexible in the same way that snakes are flexible. If cows were flexible, they could be taught to dance the hula. But cows are unable to do hula dancing. Because cows are not flexible, they cannot pass through the wooden maze. (2) On the left side of Bolinas Ridge Trail, you can see a cluster of trees sitting on a hillock, with a row of stones embedded in the hillock. This hillock occurs about 100 feet down a grassy slope. (3) Same cluster of trees sitting on a hillock, where photo shows a tree coated with "Old Man's Beard" lichens. (4) To the right of Bolinas Ridge Trail is a deep valley. The boulder at the far left has lichen clinging to it. (5) On the right side of Bolinas Ridge Trail is a tall boulder with a stone shelf on it. On this stone shelf, I posed my mountain goat. While taking this photograph, a man and woman, in their 20's, were hiking by. I turned to them and said, "Don't worry, my permit for keeping the mountain goat is all paid up." They responded with a flurry of laughs. (6) Same boulder, with both Strawberry Shortcake and the goat. (7) Photo of deep valley to left of Bolinas Ridge Trail. Jewell Trail is just beyond this valley. (8) Photo of the sign at the trailhead for Jewell Trail. Two men were approaching, riding their mountain bikes. I was impressed by their ability to ride up the steep hill and I said, "You are certainly strong and powerful, but I know you are vulnerable to KRYPTONITE." They understood my joke and laughed. (9) After a minute of hiking down Jewell Trail there's a huge boulder to the right. Photo of the goat, California quail, and northern flicker sitting on this boulder. (10) Further down Jewell Trail, view looking uphill at the beautiful upper part of the valley. (11) Same location by Jewell Trail, with view looking downhill. Francis Drake Blvd. can be seen in the distance. (12) Further down Jewell Trail, the forest begins. Goat and Strawberry Shortcake stand near a zig-zag in the trail. (13) Further on down, the trail enters a shady area, covered with a tunnel of trees. I arranged a fallen white-colored branch, possibly from a birch tree, so that it would show up in the photograph. (14) Photo of a mossy tree covered with a few tiny ferns, located next to Jewell Trail. LICHENS. In many areas of your hike, you will find lichens hanging from trees and lichens growing on rocks. The kind of lichen that hangs from trees is "old man's beard," also called beard lichens of the genus Usnea. Photographs of beard lichens are available from, "pointreyesnature dot com/alamea-trail" and also from Kundsen and Carlberg (2005). Other kinds of lichen at Bolinas Ridge include Rimularia insularis and Rinodina falvosoralifera. Colorful lichens that grow on rocks include, Xanthoria elegans, Rhizoplaca melanopthalma, and Saxicolous lichens. REFERENCES. ( 1 ) K. Knudsen and T. Carlberg (2005) Bulletin of the California Lichen Society. Vol. 12, No. 2, page 36. ( 2 ) Tom Carlberg (2012) Bulletin of the California Lichen Society. Vol. 19. See, page 27. ( 3 ) Larry St. Clair (1999) Bulletin of the California Lichen Society. Vol. 6, No. 2. ( 4 ) Kocourkova (2012) A Checklist of the Lichenicolous Biota of California Opuscula Philolichenum. 11:64-103. ( 5 ) Lichens, surprising pioneering organisms (2019) Encyclopedia of the Environment. ( 6 ) Article by Sheela McLean, available from: "methownet dot com/grist/features/lichens.html

If you're not familiar with this Trail, the San Francisco Bay Trail has a lot of different…read moresegments. They aren't all connected yet, so you can sort of pick and choose which segment you want to go on. The trail is designed and maintained by a lot of wonderful volunteers, who do this as a labor of love. So special kudos to all those wonderful volunteers! Today, I hiked the Trail section at the Hamilton Wetlands. It's pretty easy to get to and the trail is well maintained. However, I did not see any drinking faucets, and there were just a few out houses. Many of the trails are excellent for young families. Today, I saw a ton of families, even with little kids riding bikes with training wheels. At the Hamilton Wetlands, keep in mind that the internet is almost nonexistent. This proved to be a big disappointment, since I wanted to run some of the Vizzit places audio tours. But I had to give up on that. Nevertheless, the San Francisco Bay Trail is a wonderful project, with a ton of places to visit. I recommend you try different segments that are appealing to you. Don't forget to check out the Vizzit application, which has audio tours for some of their segments.

Husband and I heard about this trail from a friend and decided to do it today. This is an easy,…read morerelatively flat trail that is also quite wide, though somewhat rocky. We passed kids with their moms, older couples, dogs, and, and a couple of joggers, but the trail never felt busy or crowded. The path goes East-West and gives beautiful views of Terra Linda, San Anselmo, and even a little bit of San Francisco is the day is clear enough. We didn't have a lot of time, so when the trail broke off into a few different directions at about the .75 mile mark, we turned around to go back to the car. The trail was a bit muddy but was a very nice quick walk. Please be considerate as you are parking in a neighborhood; drive slow and maybe try to keep your voice down. We noticed that some of the driveways have parking blocks to prevent people from turning around in their driveways.

I have biked this long fire road on multiple occasions--mostly without mishap, but sometimes, WITH…read moremishaps. I park at Natalie Coffin Greene Park, near Ross, and then bike around the Lakes. It can be quite steep and challenging at places, but it's still nonetheless a popular spot for cyclists. I don't recall seeing too many hikers, but I suppose some people hike it as well. I have never seen strollers or horses on this road. No mini bikes either. From the East peak of Mount Tam, I once took Eldridge grade down. It was way too difficult for me, and I had to walk carefully around lots of boulders. The problem was that if one fell off the bike you could easily go down a ravine on the other side, never to be heard from again. Well okay, it was not really that bad, but I was still pretty careful. In The Lakes District near Ross, I find Eldridge grade to be a a fun ride down. I usually start at Filter Plant Road, and then connect to Eldridge grade.

This is a 2.1 mile loop trail in the Berkeley Hills. The Berkeley parks people just finishing…read more"paving" the upper portion of this trail with bark, and clearing many of the paths. Its a fantastic hike that rewards you with amazing east and west views. If you do the full loop, you will experience an 860 elevation change throughout. So there are some slopes, but its still would rank as relatively easy. It is not suitable for mountain bikes. The trail is well marked, but make sure you have enough daylight to complete the loop. The loop takes about 50 minutes for me to complete. There's also an easily accessible bathroom 3/4 of the way through the loop that's maintained by the parks people. There is no water, so bring your own. And no cell phone coverage on the hike. Which is delightful!

Checked out Roy's Redwood Preserve in San Geronimo, CA. Free street parking on Nicasio Valley Rd…read moreby W. Nicasio Rd. We started on the right Redwood Loop Trail, little shade, mostly sun on this side. Saw the prescribed burn on some hills, then we took Mossy Rocks Trail down the stairs, to the boardwalk trail. Lots of nice redwood trees, I like the Fairy Ring Trees. We did about 3 miles there, can be extended to nearby parks. One pit toilet near the boardwalk trail. It was super full when I used it Sunday 6/28/26. I emailed Marin County parks to tell them, not sure anyone saw it. Worth going.

What a gem this spot is. There are multiple trails & loops you can choose from. The trails are very…read morewell maintained. The diversity of the landscape is fantastic. Truly appreciated the areas for kids & also ADA friendly. We enjoyed seeing some majestic old and tall redwoods. Large detailed map at start of trails- we took a screen shot which was a big help. Thank you, Marin County Open Space District for keeping this park in tiptop shape!

This trail is a hidden treasure. It boasts spectacular 360 degree views and gentle rolling hills. I…read morehonestly can't say anything about it that isn't better represented by the photos. P.S. We saw a snake on the trail and a hawk!

Such a good find if you are on this side of the Bay.. not too strenuous but trails are long enough…read moreto get a good hike in.... especially enjoyed the wild flowers and view from multiple angles.

Sky trail is a peaceful escape from the crowds at Point Reyes. While you can access it via several…read moretrails that climb up from Bear Valley, the actual trailhead is along the road Limantour Road, about 3.5 mile mark. There's a small dirt lot on the left hand side. On Labor Day, the lot wasn't full and the trail itself was very peaceful. I followed Sky Trail towards Sky camp but turned off prior to the camp on to Horse Trail, then Z Ranch to the Mt Wittenberg spur. On the return trip turned right on the Mt Wittenberg trail which loops back to Sky and takes through the rest of the loop past Sky Camp and back down to the trailhead. Mt Wittenberg is the highest point in Pt Reyes but don't expect sweeping or epic views. It's a quiet woodland trail where you can get some peeks out at the bay. Taking Sky Trail here involved less elevation gain than if you climbed up from the trails near Bear Valley. NPS has a good description of the trail here: https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/hike-to-mount-wittenberg-from-sky-trailhead.htm The hike along Sky Trail is about the journey as it meanders through lush forest and occasionally offers some ocean or bay views. It was impacted by the 2020 Woodward fire and a few sections lack shade due to the canopy burning but overall, the forest seems to be recovering nicely. I enjoy this trail for the quiet and to be in the forest. Late summer, there were a few wildflowers and things have stayed amazingly green. Although my loop was shy of 5 miles, Sky trail connects with many others. The visitor center at Bear Valley offers decent maps and guidance from rangers if you're looking for any other ideas. Point Reyes has so many options for hikes and lesser known park trails-after 12 years of visiting, I'm still finding new adventures to enjoy. Sky Trail will now be a regular for me.

When it comes to local hiking trails, there are three elements that will steal my heart away just…read moreabout every single time; a heavily wooded forest, lush green foliage, and beautiful coastal views. The Sky Trail has all of this. So naturally, I fell in love with this trail right off the bat. The Sky Trail is a lightly trafficked hiking trail that runs through Point Reyes National Seashore. You can connect to this trail from a few different trails within the park. I started my hike from the parking lot near the Bear Valley trailhead and made a right onto the Mount Wittenberg trail. From here, it's about 2 miles until you reach the Sky Trail. The hike from Mount Wittenberg to the Sky Trail is pretty intense, and starts off immediately inclining through the forest. It's mostly uphill until you reach the Mount Wittenberg summit. Once you've made it to the summit, you'll see a few trailhead signs and a trail split. From here you'll continue on the Mount Wittenberg trail for about a half mile until you reach the Sky Trail. You'll start to decline as you get closer to the trail. And my oh my is this trail gorgeous! This section of the Sky Trail is surrounded by a plethora of tall trees. As you continue down the path, you'll start to notice a break in the trees and the stunning views of the coastline will hit you like a ton of bricks. There are also sections of the trail that are plant heavy and vibrantly green. Once you pass this, you'll end up descending down a steep and narrow pathway until you reach the Coast Trail. It's about a 3 mile trek until you reach the connecting trail, and about another mile or less if you want to get down to Kelham beach. So, roughly 6 miles from the parking lot to the beach via the Sky Trail (and that's one way). Going down the Sky Trail can be tough because it's super steep on the way down, but coming up is a real challenge. If you want to skip the treacherous hike all the way back up the hill, you can take the Coast Trail back to Bear Valley, and this will loop you back to the parking lot. It's also a more scenic trek along the coastline, and you'll get to walk amongst pretty Redwoods and a beautiful stream along the Bear Valley trail on the way back. Point Reyes has so many incredible hiking trails, but because the Sky Trail requires some additional trekking to get to, it's far less traveled. Would highly recommend the Sky Trail for people who are looking for a challenging hike without much foot traffic.