Bear Valley to Coast Camp, Point Reyes
An easy weekend getaway to the pristine natural coast
Essentials
- Type of trip: Weekender
- Drive time from San Francisco: 1.5–2 hours
- Difficulty and total mileage: 12 miles roundtrip, easy to moderate (there’s also a shorter 4mi RT route from a different starting point)
- Crowds: Light
- Temperatures: Generally nice year-round. Temps can range from 70°F daytime to nighttime lows near 50°F. Check the current forecast here.
- Permits: Required for all overnight backpacking trips. You can reserve a campsite up to 6 months in advance on recreation.gov, or try your luck getting a permit the day-of if any reservations are canceled.
- Bears/threatening wildlife: No bears, but raccoons and other rodents would love to eat your snacks. The campground has food lockers, so need to pack in a bear canister.
- Water situation: No water along the way, but water spigots are available at the campground.
- Fire situation: Camp stoves and beach fires are allowed; check with the visitor's center for current fire restrictions and to obtain a permit. Also, it’s a good idea to pack in some fire starter, since you’ll likely be starting a fire on the wet sand.
Prep
Gear: Check out my temperate climate backpacking checklist for a recommended set of stuff to bring for this trip.
Food: For this hike, we opted for real food rather than freeze-dried.
Campground accommodations: It’s best to leave around dawn on Saturday and make the drive early in the day, especially if you don’t have a reservation.
Trip Details
Saturday
We left San Francisco around midday, not exactly sure where we’d end up. This was a spontaneous backpacking trip, and we didn’t have a reservation or permit for any campground. We decided to head north along the coast, first trying our luck at Samuel P. Taylor State Park (no luck), before heading over to Point Reyes National Seashore.
We walked into the ranger station feeling all but certain that there would be no permits available. But the backpacking gods were in our favor, and we snagged a last-minute cancellation at Coast Camp, which is usually fully booked 6 months in advance!
Our hike started from the Bear Valley Visitor's Center and headed up towards Mt Whittenberg to the Woodward Valley Trail.
The first 4 miles of the trail weaves through gorgeous, lush coastal forest and tackles all of the 1,200’ elevation gain. In the last two miles of the hike, the views open up for a sweeping coastal vista.
From here, you’ll descend to Coast Camp. Although the campground itself doesn’t have a view, it’s a short 5-minute walk to the beach. The campground has pit toilets, trash bins, water spigots, picnic tables, and food lockers.
Sunday
On the way out, we decided to try a different route, taking Fire Land Road to Sky Trail and then back down along the Horse Trail for a total of 7 miles and 1,500' elevation gain.
