Point Reyes National Seashore

Muir Beach Overlook

Thursday it was time to head back north over the Golden Gate to Point Reyes National Seashore. I stopped at the Muir Beach overlook along the way and it was early enough so that everything was calm and peaceful. I followed the ocean along the winding Route 1 to the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

I walked the Earthquake Trail which is a short trail with waysides about the 1906 earthquake and the San Andreas Fault zone. It was both terrifying and thrilling. At one point they showed a fence that had been split apart 16 feet by the 1906 earthquake! Its shocking to me that the earth can move like that in less than a minute.

I was both hoping and fearing that I could feel a tremor because I have never experienced an earthquake (although along the San Andreas fault probably isn't the best place to experience one). I then headed out to Kule Loklo which is a replica of a Coast Miwok village. I'm always fascinated to learn how indigenous people lived and the more I travel across this country that more I notice how similar things are and yet so different.

Kule Loklo

The Kule Loklo trail looped around to the Morgan Horse Ranch which is a working ranch that trains Morgans for use in National Parks. It was a quiet day at the ranch but there were exhibits talking about their training and breeding program and it was pretty interesting.

Morgans

I drove out to Limantour Beach which was mostly deserted. After seeing all the other places that Point Reyes has to offer that day, I would skip the long drive out to Limantour in future visits since its just a basic beach.

Limantour Beach

Drake's Beach

I headed down to Drakes Beach which was stunning. There are white sandstone cliffs which was a nice change of pace from the sands of Limantour. I continued down to Point Reyes Lighthouse. The lighthouse itself was closed but you can see it from an observation deck. This place is known as the windiest on the Pacific Coast and the second foggiest place on the North American continent. Luckily the winds were pretty moderate when I was there and the sun was shining so the view were great. The area is known for its whale watching but I think I was a bit too late in the season so I didn’t see any whales. 

Point Reyes Light

I did however see lots of seals which was awesome.

Seals

Its crazy to see them all just piled up on the beach. 

I stopped at Point Reyes Beach on my way out just to see some of the heavy surf. 

North Beach

At this point my car was getting pretty low on gas as I hadn’t accounted for Point Reyes being so remote and all the viewpoints so far apart. Plus all the roads were very twisty and hilly so it was always a slow go. I started to fret that I would run out of gas but I decided to power on up to Pierce Point Ranch. It was once one of the most successful dairy ranches of its time and now serves as a historic complex where visitors learn about the agricultural heritage of this area.

Pierce Point Ranch

When I first started driving through the grasslands of Point Reyes I was astonished to see them covered in cows. Although the land is protected by the National Park Service, there are still active dairies and cattle ranches spread throughout the park that are carrying on their ancestors legacies.

Grasslands

Grazing cattle

Pierce Point is surrounded by the Tule Elk Reserve. As I was driving out I saw some elk lounging in the grass and it was trippy to see elk with a backdrop of the Pacific since I’d only ever seen them in the mountains. 

Elk!

My favorite part of the Pierce Point area was McLure’s Beach. It's only accessible via a short steep trail but its gorgeous. The best part was that there was no wind (can you tell I can't stand the wind)? Every place I’d been around the coast throughout the week had a strong breeze but this cove was sunny and calm. It was so relaxing, it was definitely my favorite spot. I made it out of the park and to town where I filled up on gas for the drive back. I stopped at Stinson Beach along the way to give myself and my car a rest from the winding roads. Then it was back across the Golden Gate one more time where it was time to pack up and get ready to leave San Francisco.

McLure's Beach

McLure's Beach

Winding road along the coast