A Day In Point Reyes National Seashore

Physical Address:

1 Bear Valley Road
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

Hours Of Operation:

Point Reyes National Seashore is open daily from 6AM – 12AM except on Holidays.

Weather:

The weather is Point Reyes can very fluctuating. It is recommended to always come prepared and also check their website, before planning your travel.

Note: There is no entrance fees to visit the National Seashore.

Wildlife

Point Reyes is home to 46 species of native land mammals. While driving or hiking through the seashore you are likely to see some of these residents, such as bobcat and the tule elk. The shoreline, that interface between the aquatic and terrestrial environments, provides prime haul-out and breeding sites for several species of seals and sea lions. 

Visitor Center

Bear Valley Visitor Center is the park’s primary visitor center which provides an orientation of the park’s roads, trails, and human and natural history. There is an interior exhibit space which provides a glimpse of the diverse ecosystems and cultural heritage of the park.

There are also audio-visual programs, shown in the auditorium, which are also available upon request. There is also a bookstore which has Natural history books, cards, and posters for sale. Visitor center is open everyday from 9:30 AM–5:00 PM PST except on holidays.

There is a visitor center at the Drakes Beach,  the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center contains exhibits that focus on maritime exploration in the 1500s, marine fossils, and marine environments. The Kenneth Patrick Visitor center is open from 10:00 AM–4:30 PM only on weekends.

There is also a visitor center at the Point Reyes Lighthouse and offers exhibits on the Point Reyes Lighthouse, marine life, & maritime history, as well as a small bookstore and are open only on weekends from 10:00 AM–4:00 PM.

Divide Meadow

Divide Meadow is a 3.2 miles roundtrip hike from the visitor center. You get a chance to stroll through a forest of towering Douglas fir trees alongside Bear Valley Creek. The trail is fairly well shaded and several benches along the way offer resting spots. The trail gradually ascends 240 feet (73 meters) over 1.6 miles (2.6 km), crossing the creek a few times, before the forest gives way to Divide Meadow.

Time Needed: 1-2 hours

Point Reyes Downtown

The town of Point Reyes Station is a small town in Marin County, California. It serves as a hub for surrounding area, including the National Seashore. If you are looking for restaurants, coffee shops, etc this is the place you need to stop.

Note: We didn’t stop at any restaurant or coffee places since we had already packed food and beverages from home and all souvenirs we got from the visitor center itself.

For more detailed list of stores, restaurants, activities to do and much more visit https://ptreyes.com/arts-entertainment-shopping/

Cypress Tree Tunnel

A must visit in Point Reyes. Planted around 1930, the Monterey Cypress trees that now create the “tree tunnel” at the Point Reyes Receiving Station is a signature landscape feature that evokes some of the prestige that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) placed in the profitable, historic operation of the KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station. Monterey Cypress is one of the few tree species adaptable to the wind and ocean weather conditions of Point Reyes.

Distance: Cypress Tunnel is an out and back 0.8 miles trail and takes approximately 1hr to complete with an average elevation of 19ft.

Location: Located at what is now Point Reyes National Seashore’s North District Operations Center.

Address: 17400 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Inverness, CA 94937

Drakes Beach

This is a popular beach within the Point Reyes National Seashore. It is accessible by car and features a visitor center, a book store and picnic area. It has dramatic sandstone cliffs, viewable elephant seals and sand dollars.

Important: Watch out for the area which are seasonally closed to protect elephant seals.

Point Reyes LightHouse

Another must visit attraction in Point Reyes is the lighthouse. The historic Point Reyes Lighthouse was built in 1870 to warn mariners of this navigational hazard and served for 105 years. The Point Reyes Lighthouse was retired from service in 1975 when the U.S. Coast Guard installed an automated light adjacent and below the historic tower. 

Distance: In order to get to the lighthouse, you need to walk 0.4 miles uphill to the lighthouse visitor center and then descend 313 steps.

Note: The stairs and the visitor center are open from 10 AM to 4PM. Also, when wind speeds exceed 40 mph, the stairs leading down to the lighthouse are closed for visitors’ safety.

Parking and Location: A paved parking lot with space for 38 vehicles at the west end of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The Lighthouse Visitor Center is 0.5 miles to the west via a foot path, which departs from the west end of the roundabout at the northwest end of the lot.

The Point Reyes Lighthouse Visitors’ Parking Lot is approximately 45 minutes by car from the Bear Valley Visitor Center via Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

For more information, visit https://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/lighthouse.htm

Pic: Steps to the lighthouse. Sorry for the dark picture 😦

Elephant Seal Overlook

This is a 0.3 miles walk from the Chimney rock parking area. Rock parking area. From the parking lot, follow “Elephant Seal Overlook” signs that direct you down the driveway. Bear left at the Y and continue to the trailhead for the Elephant Seal Overlook trail. The relatively flat dirt trail leads to the Elephant Seal Overlook.

You can also search for Elephant Seal Overlook on the google maps.

Pic: From the overlook area, apologies for the zoomed picture.

Actually we were lucky enough to find more seals near the Drakes beach area.

Pic: A closer look of Elephant Seals.

Sunset

There are plenty of places that offer good sunset points in Point Reyes. Sunset from Chimney Rock, Shell Beach, Lighthouse (Although this might get crowded during sunset time), Shipwreck area, and Drakes Beach.

Note: We didn’t visit the Shipwreck area, but this is something you could add to your list of attractions to see.

Drakes Beach area can be the best point to catch sunset although there are no bad sunset spots in Point Reyes 🙂

Our Take on this: You can spend anywhere from few hours to a day or two days in Point Reyes National Seashore. Although you can spend more than a day here, we recommend one day should be good enough to visit the top attractions.

If you are in California Bay area, you can definitely plan a day visit to the Point Reyes National Seashore. This can be an amazing weekend gateway.

That’s it for this page on Point Reyes. Please let us know your experience on your visit to the Point Reyes and share us any feedback/comments….