Sky
Trailhead,
Point Reyes National Seashore,
National Park Service,
Marin County
In brief:
5 mile partial loop through Douglas fir woods to the top of Point Reyes's Mount
Wittenberg.
Getting there:
From US 101 in Marin County, exit San Anselmo/Sir Francis Drake. Drive west on
Sir Francis Drake about 20 miles, to the junction with CA 1. Turn right and drive
about 0.1 mile, then turn left onto Bear Valley Road. Drive about 2 miles, then
turn left onto Limantour Road. Drive about 3.3 miles to the signed trailhead on
the left side of the road.
Trailhead details:
Gravel parking lot with about 10 spots. No entrance or parking fees. No restrooms
or maps at the trailhead. If you need a map, stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center
on the way: once you turn onto Bear Valley Road, drive about 0.3 mile, then turn
left at the Seashore Information sign and drive a short distance to the visitor
center. Pay phone and restrooms at Visitor Center. There are no designated handicapped
parking spots, and trails are poorly suited to wheelchairs. There is no direct
public transportation to this trailhead.
Gas, food, and lodging:
Pay phone, stores, and restaurants on Sir Francis Drake in Inverness. Gas in Point
Reyes Station. There are overnight accommodations available on the eastern fringes
of the park, including a handful of motels in Inverness, and numerous bed and
breakfasts just off Sir Francis Drake. Point Reyes has several hike-in campgrounds
-- inquire at the Point Reyes Ranger Station in Bear Valley, or read more about
the options here.
No car camping in the park. Point Reyes Hostel, farther down Limantour Road, is
an inexpensive lodging option.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 5 mile partial loop hike is easy. Trailhead elevation is about 680
feet. The highest elevation in the area in Mount Wittenberg, at about 1400 feet.
Total elevation change for this hike is about 800 feet.
Rules:
Most trails are open to hikers and equestrians only. Bikes are allowed on Sky
Trail only as far as Sky Camp. No dogs.
The Official Story:
NPS's Point Reyes page.
Bear Valley Visitor Center (Ranger Station) 415-464-5100
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Download
the park map pdf from NPS
• Other
Point Reyes maps from NPS
• Point Reyes by Jessica Lage (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a good map and descriptions of trails around
Sky Trailhead.
• Trail Map of Point Reyes National Seashore, by Tom Harrison (order
from Amazon.com)
is the best all-purpose map to Point Reyes.
• Don and Kay Martin's Point Reyes National Seashore: A Hiking and Nature
Guide (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a number of useful maps, including a map of
this hike. Much of the information is duplicated in their Hiking Marin
book (order
this book from Amazon.com), but the Point Reyes book has some nice extras.
• 101 Great Hikes of the San Francisco Bay Area, by Ann
Marie Brown (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a simple map and descriptions of a featured
hike.
• View 68 photos from the
hike.
Sky Trailhead is just a few miles up the road from the
Bear Valley Visitor Center, 
but
it's far from the maddening crowds that congregate at Point Reyes' most crowded
trailhead. Sky's small, tranquil trailhead, with no amenities, is a great starting
point for a hike to the top of Mount Wittenberg. Most hikers begin at Bear Valley
(where the elevation is around 100 feet), and hike to the summit via Mount Wittenberg
Trail, which despite being pleasantly graded, ascends about 1300 feet. The elevation
at Sky Trailhead is about 700 feet, giving you a significant head start on the
tack to the summit. You can also start at Sky Trailhead and hike to the beach
and back via Sky Trail, Fire Lane Trail, Coast Trail, and Laguna Trail. This loop
clocks in at about 9.5 miles, and drops and then regains about 700 feet. A few
other loop and out-and-back hikes are possible; consult a map to create the hike
you desire.
For this featured hike, start at the Sky Trailhead
parking
lot and walk up the obvious gated fire road, Sky Trail, open to cyclists (as
far as Sky Camp), equestrians, and hikers. A slight ascent begins under oaks and
Douglas fir. Huckleberry shrubs stand in thick clumps off the sides of the trail,
along with thimbleberry, hazelnut, ferns, and honeysuckle. The shade is short
lived, as Sky Trail soon enters chaparral. You may see quail scampering across
the trail, seeking shelter under coyote bush, bush lupine, or California coffeeberry.
A stand of tall, dead bishop pine skeletons stand downslope to the right, testament
to the devastating 1995 Mount Vision fire. Young bishop pines are reinvigorating
this forest. This spot is a good place to compare the two main conifers found
on Point Reyes. Bishop pines have two long needles per cluster, and large cones.
Douglas firs have short needles that poke out from the branch like a bottle brush.
The cones are small, and to me, resemble pine cone candles
that are dripping wax (they just look melty). Small Douglas fir are perhaps more
easily recognizable for most people, as the young trees are often harvested for
Christmas trees. Large towering Douglas fir (with no needles or cones in sight)
can be confused with redwood, in which case the bark is a helpful clue to the
tree's identity (visit the Douglas fir page
for some photos). First glimpses west to the ocean can be gleaned through
remains of the bare bishop pines. Sky Trail keeps a reasonable and steady pace
as it ascends, taking the opportunity to duck under some Douglas fir as the path
curves uphill. Through occasional breaks in the tree cover you may see mostly
treeless rolling hills miles away to the east. A tangle of oaks, huckleberry,
California bay, creambush, hazelnut, and Douglas fir create a lush feeling. At
0.76 mile, at the crest of a hill, Sky Trail meets Fire Lane Trail at a signed
junction. Continue downhill to the left on Sky Trail, to the signed junction
with Horse Trail, at 0.80 mile. Bear left on Horse 
Trail.
Look to the left here for a luxuriant display of
salal, a plant commonly used in floral displays. Salal produces white bell-shaped
blossoms in winter (about the same time that huckleberry shrubs bloom), and edible
dark blue berries in late summer. After one short steep hill, Horse Trail, open
to equestrians and hikers, adopts a mostly level course. The narrow path sweeps
across a hillside populated with poison oak, huckleberry, wild rose, creambush,
and blackberry. Large old Douglas fir persevere downslope to the left, benefiting
from the shelter of the hill. The steep dropoff to the north permits some sweeping
views of Mount Vision. A sunny stretch of grassland and chaparral, punctuated
with coyote brush and bush lupine, ushers Horse Trail to a signed junction at
1.17 miles. Turn right onto Z Ranch Trail.
Z Ranch Trail, which may be used by equestrians
and hikers, soon seeks refuge in a 
thick
forest of Douglas firs. After a short moderate climb, the path levels to an easy
pace. The tree cover is so extensive that there is virtually no undergrowth
on the left side of the trail in sections. To the right, the foliage clears occasionally
to permit views of Mount Vision, still bearing scars of the 1995 fire.
Gradually, Douglas firs thin and mix themselves through grassland, where gopher
holes pockmark the landscape. At 2.00 miles, Z Ranch Trail ends at a signed multi-trail
junction. This is a good spot for wildflowers in the spring. Turn left onto
the trail to Mount Wittenberg Summit (respect the restoration effort by staying
on the trail, ignoring the shortcut).
Lizards might scatter as you hike uphill on the
narrow path in summer. Where the trail crosses the shortcut, turn back for the
best view west, to Drake's Bay and the southwestern tip of Point Reyes. As you
ascend the trail increasingly is choked with young Douglas firs. Rather abruptly,
at 2.20 miles, 
the
path runs out of steam at the summit, a flat bare spot rimmed with Douglas firs.
No views to the north or west are accessible, but walk to the right and downhill
a few feet to enjoy nice vistas south and east. Mount Tamalpais is visible on
clear days (although every year the view diminishes as the tree cover thickens).
Although the views are a little disappointing, the summit is a great place for
a lunch break, or short snooze in the sun. When you're ready to continue, retrace
your steps back down to the multi-trail junction. Take a soft right
(the sharp right is your old friend Z Ranch Trail) onto Mount Wittenberg Trail
(toward Sky Camp).
The wide and level hiking and equestrian trail
angles under the crest of a grassy hillside. Deer (including the unusual and non-native
fallow and axis deer) are often spotted on this part of the mountain. A look downhill
to the right exposes Sky Trail, which will be the next path on this featured hike.
Huckleberry shrubs nestle beneath Douglas firs
on the left side on the trail. At 2.77 miles, Mount Wittenberg Trail ends at a
signed junction with Meadow Trail and Sky Trail. Turn right onto Sky Trail.
Sky Trail (which is open from the Sky Trailhead
to Sky Camp to cyclists, but not here) dips downhill underneath Douglas fir and
California bay. Look for snowberry, huckleberry, and ferns in the understory.
The trail bisects the same hillside you're already traversed, just at a lower
elevation. On a hike in October, I was surprised to glimpse the back end of a
bobcat as he dashed under the cover of the trailside brush. As Sky Trail begins
an easy descent, a tangle of paths around Sky Camp come into view. Monkeyflower
grows profusely on the right bank. Stay straight (on the widest and most defined
of the trails) and continue past the signed junction with the path to Sky Camp
(restrooms are available right off the trail to the right) at 3.51 miles.
Sky Trail passes a verdant hillside, thick with
hazelnut and Douglas fir, before crossing through another area still scarred by
the 1995 fire. Blackened tree trunks and leafless branches are a bit spooky. California
coffeeberry shrubs give the area burst of green color even in autumn and winter.
As you draw close to the previously encountered junction with Horse Trail, you
might see more salal on the right side of the trail. At 4.10 miles, bear left
to remain on Sky Trail, and retrace your steps to the trailhead.
Total distance: 4.96 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, January 5, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page.
but
it's far from the maddening crowds that congregate at Point Reyes' most crowded
trailhead. Sky's small, tranquil trailhead, with no amenities, is a great starting
point for a hike to the top of Mount Wittenberg. Most hikers begin at Bear Valley
(where the elevation is around 100 feet), and hike to the summit via Mount Wittenberg
Trail, which despite being pleasantly graded, ascends about 1300 feet. The elevation
at Sky Trailhead is about 700 feet, giving you a significant head start on the
tack to the summit. You can also start at Sky Trailhead and hike to the beach
and back via Sky Trail, Fire Lane Trail, Coast Trail, and Laguna Trail. This loop
clocks in at about 9.5 miles, and drops and then regains about 700 feet. A few
other loop and out-and-back hikes are possible; consult a map to create the hike
you desire.
parking
lot and walk up the obvious gated fire road, Sky Trail, open to cyclists (as
far as Sky Camp), equestrians, and hikers. A slight ascent begins under oaks and
Douglas fir. Huckleberry shrubs stand in thick clumps off the sides of the trail,
along with thimbleberry, hazelnut, ferns, and honeysuckle. The shade is short
lived, as Sky Trail soon enters chaparral. You may see quail scampering across
the trail, seeking shelter under coyote bush, bush lupine, or California coffeeberry.
A stand of tall, dead bishop pine skeletons stand downslope to the right, testament
to the devastating 1995 Mount Vision fire. Young bishop pines are reinvigorating
this forest. This spot is a good place to compare the two main conifers found
on Point Reyes. Bishop pines have two long needles per cluster, and large cones.
Douglas firs have short needles that poke out from the branch like a bottle brush.
The cones are small, and to me, resemble pine cone candles
that are dripping wax (they just look melty). Small Douglas fir are perhaps more
easily recognizable for most people, as the young trees are often harvested for
Christmas trees. Large towering Douglas fir (with no needles or cones in sight)
can be confused with redwood, in which case the bark is a helpful clue to the
tree's identity (visit the Douglas fir page
for some photos). First glimpses west to the ocean can be gleaned through
remains of the bare bishop pines. Sky Trail keeps a reasonable and steady pace
as it ascends, taking the opportunity to duck under some Douglas fir as the path
curves uphill. Through occasional breaks in the tree cover you may see mostly
treeless rolling hills miles away to the east. A tangle of oaks, huckleberry,
California bay, creambush, hazelnut, and Douglas fir create a lush feeling. At
0.76 mile, at the crest of a hill, Sky Trail meets Fire Lane Trail at a signed
junction. Continue downhill to the left on Sky Trail, to the signed junction
with Horse Trail, at 0.80 mile. Bear left on Horse 
Trail.
thick
forest of Douglas firs. After a short moderate climb, the path levels to an easy
pace. The tree cover is so extensive that there is virtually no undergrowth
on the left side of the trail in sections. To the right, the foliage clears occasionally
to permit views of Mount Vision, still bearing scars of the 1995 fire.
Gradually, Douglas firs thin and mix themselves through grassland, where gopher
holes pockmark the landscape. At 2.00 miles, Z Ranch Trail ends at a signed multi-trail
junction. This is a good spot for wildflowers in the spring. Turn left onto
the trail to Mount Wittenberg Summit (respect the restoration effort by staying
on the trail, ignoring the shortcut). 
the
path runs out of steam at the summit, a flat bare spot rimmed with Douglas firs.
No views to the north or west are accessible, but walk to the right and downhill
a few feet to enjoy nice vistas south and east. Mount Tamalpais is visible on
clear days (although every year the view diminishes as the tree cover thickens).
Although the views are a little disappointing, the summit is a great place for
a lunch break, or short snooze in the sun. When you're ready to continue, retrace
your steps back down to the multi-trail junction. Take a soft right
(the sharp right is your old friend Z Ranch Trail) onto Mount Wittenberg Trail
(toward Sky Camp). 
on the left side on the trail. At 2.77 miles, Mount Wittenberg Trail ends at a
signed junction with Meadow Trail and Sky Trail. Turn right onto Sky Trail.