Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore and Lighthouse: Breathtaking Views on the California Coast

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The Point Reyes National Seashore is one of the largest and most important coastal parks in California. Here you can find mile-long beaches, one of the most scenic lighthouses on the West Coast, a beautiful waterfall, and dozens of viewpoints where you can admire the Ocean and do whale watching. Let’s discover all the things to do in Point Reyes and some tips for visiting the seashore.

Where is Point Reyes and how to get there

The park is located about 30 miles north of San Francisco along the spectacular Pacific Coast Highway. The main Visitor Center is the one in Bear Valley (1 Bear Valley Road, Point Reyes Station) which is the real gateway to the park.

If you are coming from San Francisco, it will take you about 75 minutes to reach the Point Reyes National Seashore, which makes it a perfect destination for a day trip. In fact, visitors can still enjoy the park even if they have little time at their disposal. It is just a matter of choosing the right attractions and planning the schedule for the visit accordingly.

Tickets, Hours, and Other Useful Info

The entrance to the park is free. Point Reyes National Seashore is open every day of the year, but hours vary depending on the area. Most of the park is accessible from 6:00 am until midnight, while the Point Reyes Lighthouse Area is open until 10:00 pm. There are three visitor centers within the park:

  • Bear Valley Visitor Center: As I mentioned earlier, this is the main one. Here you can also find a small museum with exhibitions about the history and nature in the park. It is open every day (except Christmas) from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.
  • Point Reyes Lighthouse Visitor Center: This is the visitor center of the famous lighthouse. Here you will find all the information about the history of the lighthouse. The visitor center and the lighthouse access stairs are only open on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
  • Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center: It is located in Drakes Beach and the exhibits inside are dedicated to marine life. There are many fossils and a whale skeleton. Also in this case, the visitor center is open only on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Best things to do in Point Reyes National Seashore

From beaches to trails to scenic roads, there are many activities for visitors within the park. Here are our recommendations.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes Cosa vedere

Surely the most famous attraction of the park is the Point Reyes Lighthouse, one of the most fascinating lighthouses in California to see, even just for the sake of the beautiful nature surrounding it. It was built in 1870 to keep ships safe when passing by the Point Reyes promontory, which stretches a good 10 miles towards the Ocean. Not only one of the windiest places on the coast of California, but also one of the foggiest in the United States, especially during the summer months.

The construction of the lighthouse certainly prevented many accidents, but shipwrecks still did occur.  Consequently, a rescue station was built in 1890 on the beach north of the lighthouse. A second one was built in 1927 at Drakes Bay near the promontory of Chimney Rock. Since 1975 it has been completely automated. To reach Point Reyes Lighthouse, you’ll have to travel the scenic Sir Francis Drake Boulevard all the way to the end. It will take 45 minutes to get here from the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

One thing to keep in mind is that the parking lot is not very spacious (it can accommodate about 40 cars) and, in case you don’t find a spot, be very careful not to leave your rental car in places,  for instance, along the roadside, where it is forbidden to park. In order to reach the lighthouse itself, you will have to descend (and then climb) 313 steps. Keep in mind that when the wind strength exceeds 40 miles per hour, the steps will be closed for safety reasons. So take a look at the weather forecast on this website to avoid bad surprises once you get here. Calculate 5 to 10 minutes for the descent and 15 to 20 minutes for the ascent, and remember that it is forbidden to climb over the handrail.

Also keep in mind that if you want to go when there are few visitors, avoid planning your visit between 2:00 pm and 3:30 pm when there is the greatest influx of visitors. In case you can’t access the stairs, before the start of the descent you can go to an Observation Deck instead, where you can still enjoy a beautiful view of the Ocean and observe the lighthouse from above. This is also a great vantage point for spotting whales passing along the coast. You can access this vantage point every day until 9:45 pm.

Finally, remember that the access hours to the lighthouse are the same as the Point Reyes Lighthouse Visitor Center, and that the access stairway will be closed at 3:30 pm. In case you want to reach another vantage point to admire the boundless South Beach, you may consider taking a short walk to the South Beach Overlook, which is located near the Point Reyes Lighthouse parking lot.

Chimney Rock

Point Reyes California cosa vedere

Chimney Rock is located at the east end of the Point Reyes Headlands, in other words, opposite the Point Reyes Lighthouse. That’s why it’s definitely recommended to combine the visit of these two attractions, considering also that from one parking lot to the other will take only 5 minutes by car. However, there are not many parking spaces available here either. In the morning, there are fewer visitors, so try to visit during that time frame rather than in the afternoon if you want to have better luck finding parking.

Once you’ve parked your car, you’ll have to plan a twenty-minute walk to reach the top of Chimney Rock and enjoy a splendid view of the ocean and the coast. From the parking lot there is also another short trail that leads to the Elephant Seal Overlook where, as you can guess from its name, you can see dozens of elephant seals lying on the beach below every year.

Tomales Point and Pierce Point Road

Point Reyes

We now move on to the northern end of the park. Pierce Point Road will take you to the historic Pierce Point Ranch where you will find a parking lot and the trailhead that leads to Tomales Point. Unfortunately, to reach the end of the peninsula you will have to walk about 10 miles round trip. If you don’t have the time or way to walk that far, you might consider taking the short stretch of road (a little over 1500 ft from the parking lot) down to scenic McClures Beach.

The other major attraction in the area is the aforementioned Pierce Point Ranch. Built in 1858, it was famous for being one of the best butter and dairy producers in the area. The main house of the ranch is one of the oldest buildings in the Point Reyes region. Today you can visit many parts of the structure including a schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, barn, and the dairy production area.

Alamere Falls

Point Reyes California

These scenic waterfalls are located in the southern part of the park. The cascades, which tower 12 feet above Wildcat Beach, are one of the most photographed attractions at Point Reyes National Seashore. Unfortunately, it is not easy to get there because, although there are three options, you will have to hike more than 12 miles round trip. However, the trails that lead to this point are the following:

  • Bear Valley Trailhead (7 miles one way): this is the trail that starts directly from the visitor center.
  • Palomarin Trailhead (6.5 miles one way): the start of this trailhead is about 30 minutes drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, at the end of Mesa Road, a road that in the last part is not paved and has many large potholes.
  • Five Brooks Trailhead (7 miles one way): the beginning of this trail is about 10 minutes by car from Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Tree Tunnel

Attrazioni Point Reyes

Along the course of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, just under 10 miles before reaching the Point Reyes Lighthouse parking lot, you’ll find the perfect place to take a spectacular souvenir photo. This is a natural tunnel created by the cypress trees lining the road that leads to the historic KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station building.

Beaches

Point Reyes National Seashore California

Given the location, the beaches are one of the main attractions of the Point Reyes National Seashore. You can reach the coast where four of the beaches are located directly by car, while the rest can only be visited by following special trails or, in the most particular cases, only by sea. Those that can be reached most easily by car are:

  • Drakes Beach: One of the most popular beaches in the park. Next to the large parking lot, you will find the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center.
  • Limantour Beach: This is basically the continuation of Drakes Beach. It extends for almost 4 miles to the south. There are two parking lots that have short trails to reach the beach.
  • North Beach and South Beach at Point Reyes: They have two different names but they are practically a continuation of each other and they form a coastline over 11 miles long. They are located on the west side of Point Reyes.

Point Reyes: where to stay?

If you want to sleep inside the park there are unfortunately not many options, if you exclude camping. In fact, the only alternative is the HI Point Reyes Hostel. As you can guess from the name, this is a hostel that, in addition to being very nice, also has some private rooms in addition to the classic dormitories. Other accommodations can be found in the towns closer to the entrance of the park such as:

To view all accommodations near Point Reyes National Seashore, please click on the link below.

Search for accommodations in the area


Our Tip:
Looking for accommodations for your trip from California to other parts of the Southwest? Read our guide that contains reviews of hotels and strategic tips for finding accommodations near major attractions: Where to Stay: Our Tips for the SouthWest Area

Warning: Operating hours can change and closures for extraordinary events can occur, so we strongly suggest to check the venues official websites.

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Filippo Nardelli

I have a degree in History of North America and have always been fascinated by the United States.

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