Tomales Point Hike

For more photos of this wonderful hike please go to our website, steps2home.com, under Outdoor Fun.

August 28, 2011

The Tomales Point hike starts at Pierce Ranch trailhead which is a 30-minute scenic drive from the quaint town of Inverness, and is the final stop on the road leading out to the Point. The drive out is a treat in itself because of the open views to grazing land and the water beyond. The hike is approximately 9.5 miles out and back and is generally level with several gradual ascents and descents.

On this Sunday, there were docents available about 1 1/2 miles into the hike to answer questions and give some closeup views with their spotting scope. Looking down into a small valley, a herd of Elk could be seen  grazing  close to a small inlet of Tomales Bay. We paddle by this spot when we kayak, looking up into the same valley, hoping to catch sight of the Elk. Now we know it is possible to see them from that vantage point.

One of the many outstanding features of this hike is that you have Tomales Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other! The terrain is mostly out in the open except for a beautiful grove of Cypress just before the final push out to the end of the point, a wonderful place to take a break. As you get closer to the end of Tomales Point the trail becomes sandy and the hike a little more strenuous. We decided to eat lunch where the Elk had matted all of the tall grass down for beds at the very tip of the point, overlooking Tomales Bay and farther out to Bodega Bay and beyond.

The views here are truly magnificent in all directions. The weather conditions are changeable, this day the fog came in very quickly but the effect was for the Elk to sort of ”magically” appear out of the mist, very cool.