Camino
Alto Open Space Preserve,
Marin County Open Space District,
Marin County
In brief:
2.7 mile partial loop through open space bordering Mill Valley neighborhood, includes
a short distance on steep paved streets.
Getting there:
From US 101 in Marin County, exit East Blithedale/Tiburon Boulevard. Drive west
on East Blithedale about 0.8 mile, then turn right onto Camino Alto. Drive north
on Camino Alto about 0.5 mile, then turn left onto Overhill. Drive uphill about
0.2 mile on Overhill, then turn right onto Escalon. Park on the side of the road.
Trailhead details:
Side of street parking at the edge of a residential neighborhood. There are no
parking or entrance fees. No drinking water, maps, or restrooms. No designated
handicapped parking, but if trail conditions are agreeable wheelchairs users may
be able to navigate some distance on Escalon Fire Road. There is no direct public
transportation to this trailhead. You could pedal from the bus stop on East Blithedale
in Mill Valley, but it's not a safe walk on Camino Alto to the trailhead. Note:
Camino Alto's trail names vary in maps and trail books, and none of the trails
are signed.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phones, stores, and restaurants back around Camino Alto and East Blithedale
in Mill Valley. No camping.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 2.7 mile partial loop hike is easy. Trailhead elevation is
around 360 feet. The featured hike starts out level, climbs steeply to about 730
feet, descends moderately steeply, then returns to the trailhead on a level trail:
total elevation change is about 500 feet.
Rules:
Trails are multi-use. Dogs permitted on the hike described below: they are allowed
on leash on trails and fire roads, or under voice command on fire roads only.
The Official Story:
MCOSD's Camino
Alto page
MCOSD 415-499-6387
Map Choices/More Information:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Download the Alto Bowl/Horse Hill pdf
map from the MCOSD website.
• Trails of Mt. Tamalpais and the Marin Headlands, by Gerald Olmsted
(order
this map from Amazon.com) is useful.
• Mount Tam Trail Map, published by Tom Harrison Maps (order
from Tom Harrison Maps). Comparable to the Olmsted map.
• Open Spaces: Lands of the Marin County Open Space District,
by Barry Spitz (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and detailed trail descriptions.
• Hiking Marin by Don and Kay Martin (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a useful map and a suggested hike through Camino
Alto.
View
photos from this hike.
Camino Alto, 
comprised of a few fire roads wrapped around developed areas in the lower southeast
foothills of Mount Tam, is an ideal neighborhood preserve. At the Escalon trailhead,
less than a mile from the busy intersection of East Blithedale and Camino Alto
(the road), parking is ample, permitting easy access. Dogs are allowed on the
preserve's trails, and you'll likely see walkers greeting each other (and their
canines) by name. Although folks and their dogs who live nearby get the most use
out of the preserve, Camino Alto makes a fine staging area for long Tam hikes,
or short walks or jogs. Escalon and Upper Summit Fire Roads are nearly flat, while
Middle Summit Fire Road is moderately steep. You can take an out-and-back hike
on either, or bridge the two routes together with a short (but steep) walk on
paved Summit Road. For a long out-and-back hike with plenty of elevation change,
start on Escalon Fire Road, then 
string
together Middle Summit Fire Road, Corte Madera Ridge Fire Road, and Blithedale
Ridge Fire Road. Turn back wherever you choose -- there are dynamite views of
Mount Tam and the surrounding area along most of the route.
For the featured hike, start at the open space
gate at the end of Escalon Drive. Broad, multi-use Escalon Fire Road weaves
at an even pace through coast live oak, California bay, toyon, madrone, coyote
brush, monkeyflower, a few redwood, and plenty of invasive broom. Trees block
most views, but look for a clear spot on the right where you might have a view
south to San Francisco, and east to Horse Hill (part of the Alto
Bowl Open Space Preserve) and Ring Mountain.
Highway 101, blocked by Horse Hill, is not visible. Traffic and neighborhood noise
are common as the fire road runs north between
Camino Alto (the road) and housing developments, some still under construction.
At 0.12 mile you'll reach an unsigned junction with Camino Alto Fire Road. Continue
straight.
Escalon Fire Road continues at a level grade,
skirting a hill on the right. Redwoods and hazelnut thrive in some sections, while
coast live oak, madrone, and California bay remain common. In summer, long after
most wildflowers have bloomed, you might see pink clusters of buckwheat and purple
coyote mint along the trail in dry areas. On a clear day there's a lovely view
of Mount Tam on the left. At 0.65 mile you'll reach an unsigned multiple junction
(in Tamalpais Trails Barry Spitz reports MCOSD rangers calls this interchange
the "Escalon Octopus"). Middle Summit Fire Road crosses the fire road,
which according to the MCOSD map
becomes Upper Summit Fire Road here(even though it attains a lower elevation
than Middle Summit Fire Road). Continue straight, to the left of the pumphouse,
on Upper Summit Fire Road.
The name may have changed, but the trail remains
the same, a wide nearly-level fire road open to hikers, equestrians, and cyclists.
As Upper Summit Fire Road edges around a hillside, to the left, redwoods and California
bay make the most of the hill's shelter. You may notice coast live oak, buckeye,
and thimbleberry, and more broom in the sunnier stretches of trail. At 1.29 miles
Upper Summit Fire Road ends at an open space gate, at the edge of a residential
neighborhood. Continue straight to an unsigned junction with paved Summit Road
at 1.30 miles, then turn left.
This narrow road, accessing houses and 
estates,
climbs sharply. Watch out for vehicles. The grade is relentless, but you may occupy
yourself looking for tiny-leaved yerba buena growing on the sloping hillsides
along the road. At 1.54 miles Summit Road makes a tight turn right, continuing
uphill. Look for an open space gate straight ahead, to the left of a water
hydrant.
Once on the other side of the gate, you'll begin walking
downhill, on Middle Summit Fire Road. Be sure to pause for a look east, over the
bay and all the way to the hills of Contra Costa County. Another wide, multi-use
fire road, Middle Summit Fire Road almost immediately adopts a moderately steep
downhill grade. Coast live oaks are the dominant trailside plant, although you
might also see madrone, California bay, and broom. A few small rock rose plants,
with bright pink flowers, are conspicuous in late spring and early summer. The
descent is broken up by a single short steep hill. Through the trees and downhill
to the left you might be able to make out patches of Upper Summit Fire Road. At
the top of the hill, before the trail descends again, there's a lovely view of
Tam, to the right. The fire road presses on downhill, giving up more nice views
east along the way. Several spacious houses are visible on the right; the fire
road runs along the preserve boundary here. At 2.02 miles you'll return to the
Escalon Octopus. Turn right and retrace your steps back to the trailhead.
Total distance: 2.66 miles
Last hiked: Monday, July 22, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
comprised of a few fire roads wrapped around developed areas in the lower southeast
foothills of Mount Tam, is an ideal neighborhood preserve. At the Escalon trailhead,
less than a mile from the busy intersection of East Blithedale and Camino Alto
(the road), parking is ample, permitting easy access. Dogs are allowed on the
preserve's trails, and you'll likely see walkers greeting each other (and their
canines) by name. Although folks and their dogs who live nearby get the most use
out of the preserve, Camino Alto makes a fine staging area for long Tam hikes,
or short walks or jogs. Escalon and Upper Summit Fire Roads are nearly flat, while
Middle Summit Fire Road is moderately steep. You can take an out-and-back hike
on either, or bridge the two routes together with a short (but steep) walk on
paved Summit Road. For a long out-and-back hike with plenty of elevation change,
start on Escalon Fire Road, then 
string
together Middle Summit Fire Road, Corte Madera Ridge Fire Road, and Blithedale
Ridge Fire Road. Turn back wherever you choose -- there are dynamite views of
Mount Tam and the surrounding area along most of the route.
Camino Alto (the road) and housing developments, some still under construction.
At 0.12 mile you'll reach an unsigned junction with Camino Alto Fire Road. Continue
straight.
becomes Upper Summit Fire Road here(even though it attains a lower elevation
than Middle Summit Fire Road). Continue straight, to the left of the pumphouse,
on Upper Summit Fire Road.
estates,
climbs sharply. Watch out for vehicles. The grade is relentless, but you may occupy
yourself looking for tiny-leaved yerba buena growing on the sloping hillsides
along the road. At 1.54 miles Summit Road makes a tight turn right, continuing
uphill. Look for an open space gate straight ahead, to the left of a water
hydrant. 