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



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