Point Reyes National Seashore

Location: County: Marin. Nearest City: Point Reyes Station. See map 1.

Campsites, facilities: Coast Camp: There are 12 individual and two group hike-in sites, with piped water and pit toilets. Backpacking stoves are required for cooking. Glen Camp: There are 12 hike-in sites with piped water and pit toilets. Backpacking stoves are required for cooking. Sky Camp: There are 11 individual sites and one group site (walk-in only) with piped water and pit toilets provided. Fire grills are provided. Wildcat Camp: There are nine individual and three group hike-in sites with piped water and pit toilets. (The three group sites can hold 25 people each.) Fire grills are provided for use with charcoal, but no wood fires are permitted in the park. No vehicles or pets are permitted at camps.

Reservations, fees: Reservations are required; $10 per night, $30 per night for the group site (maximum of 25 people); four-day maximum stay.

Contact: Call park headquarters at 1-415-663-8054.

Operating hours, seasons: Call the park for information; open all year round

Directions: Point Reyes NS: From U.S. 101 in Marin, take the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard exit and drive about 20 miles to Highway 1 at Olema. Turn right on Highway 1 and drive a very short distance. Coast Camp: Turn left at Bear Valley Road and drive north for two miles to Limantour Road. Turn left at Limantour Road and drive six miles to the access road for the Point Reyes Hostel. Turn left and drive two-tenths of a mile to the trailhead on the right side of the road. Glen Camp: Turn left on Bear Valley Road and drive north for seven-tenths of a mile. Turn left at the "Seashore Information" sign and drive to the park headquarters parking lot and the Bear Valley Trailhead. It is a 4.6-mile hike to the camp. Sky Camp: Turn left on Bear Valley Road and drive north for seven-tenths of a mile. Turn left at the "Seashore Information" sign and drive to the park headquarters parking lot and the Bear Valley Trailhead. Wildcat Camp: Turn left on Highway 1 and drive about 10 miles south to Olema-Bolinas Road (often unsigned). Turn right and drive 2.1 miles to Mesa Road. Turn right and drive 5.8 miles to the Palomarin Trailhead. It is a 5.6-mile hike to the campground on the Coast Trail.

Weather, clothing: The weather can be changeable; layered clothing is recommended.

Trip notes: Coast Camp: This is an ocean-bluff setting, a hike-in camp set just above Santa Maria Beach. It is a 2.8-mile hike to get here, the northernmost camp on the Coast Trail. From Coast Camp, the trail contours south along the bluffs above the beach for 1.4 miles to Sculptured Beach. Reservations and a backcountry permit are required. Glen Camp: Glen Camp is set in the coastal foothills, right at the edge of where forest gives way to grasslands. The hike to it starts at the Bear Valley Visitor Center, where you can obtain your backcountry permits and hiking information, and is routed on the popular Bear Valley Trail. It is 1.6 miles to Divide Meadow, with a modest 215-foot climb, then another 1.6 miles through Bear Valley to the Glen Camp Trail. Turn left and hike 1.4 miles, with the trail lateralling in and out of two canyons to reach the camp. Get a map, a reservation, and bring everything you need. Sky Camp: Sky Camp is set on the western flank of Mount Wittenberg on Inverness Ridge. To reach the camp, take the Bear Valley Trail from park headquarters and walk a mile to the Meadow Trail. Turn right (north) on the Meadow Trail and hike 1.5 miles to the Sky Trail, cross it, and continue one-half mile to the campground. No open fires and no pets are permitted. You must have a backcountry permit from the Bear Valley Visitor Center to camp here. Wildcat Camp: This backpack camp sits in a grassy meadow near a small stream that flows to the ocean, just above remote Wildcat Beach. The trail is routed along the ocean for about a mile, heads up in the coastal hills, then turns left and skirts past Bass Lake, Crystal Lake, and Pelican Lake, and, ultimately, to Alamere Creek.

 Where to go Camping

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 Miwok Lodge 439