Matt
Davis-Steep Ravine Loop Rules:
Park is open from 7 a.m. to sunset (hours fluctuate slightly during the year).
Bikes and horses are permitted on some trails; Matt Davis and Steep Ravine are
hiking only trails. Dogs are not allowed in the state park.
The Official Story:
CSP's
Mount Tam page.
Pantoll Ranger Station 415-388-2070
Map/book choices and more information:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Region map to get there.
• Download the park
map pdf from CSP's website.
• 
This hike is described
and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber
(yup, that's me, the creator of this website). Order
this book from Amazon.com.
• Redwood
Hikes has a great map and descriptions of this hike, with gorgeous photos.
• Barry Spitz's Tamalpais Trails (order
this book from Amazon.com), a book with a pullout map of Tam is a great
guide.
• Olmsted Brothers' map, A Rambler's Guide to the Trails of Mt. Tamalpais
and the Marin Headlands (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
• Hiking Marin by Don and Kay Martin (order
this book from Amazon.com) has a good map and descriptions of this hike.
• 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.
• The official State Park map is available (for a fee) at the ranger station.
Matt Davis/Steep Ravine/Dipsea
Loop in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
View
photos from this hike.
This popular hike departing 
from
the town of Stinson Beach, strung together from Matt Davis, Steep Ravine, and
Dipsea trails, is probably my favorite Mount Tam hike, and is right up there
on my bay area top ten list. The 7 mile loop features a bit of everything, with
waterfalls, redwood, Douglas fir, and oak forests, grassland, canyons, and views
galore. These three trails are some of Tam's best, and combining them into one
hike intensifies their pleasures. Matt Davis is a masterpiece of trail construction
-- the perfect trail through a spectacular landscape. The entire experience,
from Stinson Beach to Pantoll (and back), is a joy. Steep Ravine starts out
in a pretty redwood canyon and gets better with each step, as you descend past
waterfalls and down a famous ladder. The hike only spends a short time on historic
Dipsea, but this segment showcases fabulous, gasp-worthy views of Stinson Beach,
the Pacific coastline, and Point Reyes.
I would recommend this loop for any 
season
but summer. Since Steep Ravine and Matt Davis are accessed by the popular Pantoll
trailhead, these trails are crammed during tourist season, although you will
find more peace early on a weekday. The first few weeks of spring are just about
the perfect time, for that's when the waterfalls are still dramatic and wildflowers
sprawl through both grassland and forest.
Begin your hike on Stinson Beach's Belvedere
Avenue, just up the street from the fire station (although you could start
and end at Stinson Beach). A few steps past a "wrong way" sign,
Matt Davis Trail begins on the right, clearly signed. This hiking only trail
immediately steps onto a bridge and crosses a creek, where alder, thimbleberry,
and buckeye thrive in damp conditions. Multi-trunked California bays shade the
narrow path, and an invasive ivy greedily hugs the ground. You might also notice
cottoneaster, a non-native shrub with red berries, and some poison oak. At about
0.14 mile, you'll reach an unsigned junction. The path to the right heads to
Panoramic Highway.
Bear left to remain on Matt Davis Trail. The trail crosses the creek
again, then reaches another junction at 0.16 mile, this one signed. Turn
right and continue on Matt Davis Trail.
The trail begins a moderate ascent, guided
occasionally by wooden fences. Buckeye and California bay offer shade, and a
creek provides soothing aquatic murmurs. You might see iris, forget-me-not,
milkmaids, buttercup, and vetch blooming in early spring. Matt Davis Trail draws
near the creek, then turns left and winds back uphill to cross the stream
on a bridge. After a few more tight switchbacks you'll emerge in chaparral,
where you can enjoy an initial view west to the ocean. Shrubs of silver lupine,
toyon, sagebrush, broom, poison oak, and coyote brush crowd the trail.
Enjoy the sunlight while you can, for the trail quickly heads back into the
woods. Big-leaf maple and buckeye trees grace another bridge where cascades
of water rush downhill in winter and early spring. A series of steep steps curve
uphill, reaching a pretty spot
with giant rocks and lichen draped trees. Stone steps continue the climb, finally
ending as the trail levels off to a more moderate ascent. At the Bischof Steps
the trail curves right, under the shadow of a massive boulder, Table Rock. The
creek is just a few feet off the trail to the left here, and shows off a pretty
cascade. Matt Davis Trail keeps ascending, zigzagging up the side of the mountain
through a wide canyon. At the top of the boulder, look for a small sign pointing
left to Table Rock. Duck under some buckeye to emerge at the top of Table Rock,
a perfect rest or lunch stop with excellent views to Stinson Beach. Back on
Matt Davis Trail, Douglas fir are prominent on the hillsides, standing ramrod
straight while California bays often arch themselves across the trail. You might
also notice tanoak, huckleberry, poison oak, a variety of ferns, and in spring,
trillium. Although those grueling sets of steps are now just a memory, there
is one harsh 2-foot high step formed in the root of a Douglas fir. Eventually
the trail crosses over to the western slope of the mountain, continuing to ascend
in broad switchbacks. I saw lots of coralroot under the trees in March. Finally,
Matt Davis Trail steps out into grassland. The hillside rolls steeply toward
Ridgecrest Boulevard, but the trail curves right and keeps a thankfully easy
pace as it angles east. 
The
ocean is visible back to the west. Twice you'll step into the shade when Matt
Davis Trail passes through creases in the hillside, then pops back out into
the sunshine. This grassland fosters blue eyed grass, California buttercups,
filaree, and bluedicks in early spring. At 2.53 miles, Matt Davis Trail meets
Coastal Trail at a signed junction. Bear right to continue on Matt Davis
Trail (the following stretch is a Bay Area Ridge Trail segment).
The trail lingers for a few steps in the upper
reaches of a wooded narrow ravine. A small seasonal waterfall descends from
the left in winter and early spring. Back in grassland, the trail climbs very
gently to a somewhat signed junction at 2.73 miles. Hawks are commonly spotted
hunting near here. The path to the left
climbs steeply to the ridgeline, while the path to the right ascends a few feet
to a viewpoint. Even from the junction a view south emerges, encompassing the
Marin Headlands, San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the coastline well
into San Mateo County. Continue straight.
With one last sweep through grassland, the trail
heads into a woodland of Douglas fir, California bay, redwood, and canyon and
coast live oaks. In late winter and early spring a few seasonal waterfalls trickle
down small gulches where maples benefit from damp soil. You may see beautiful
pink calypso orchids nestled close to the ground in late March. Hound's tongue
and milkmaids are more common. The trail makes steady progress at a nearly level
grade, toward Pantoll. Although the forest blocks all views, cars are audible
as they drive along nearby Panoramic Highway. Matt Davis Trail leaves the woods
for a rocky stretch of grassland, dotted with ceanothus and coyote brush. I
perched on a trailside rock for a snack along here, not realizing there was
a bench nestled in a cluster of chamise just around the corner. At 4.20 miles,
you'll reach a signed junction near Pantoll Road.
Bear right, descend and then carefully cross Panoramic Highway. A few
steps drop down to the Pantoll Parking lot. Veer right across the upper lot,
and look for the signed start of Steep Ravine, off a paved service road,
at 4.25 miles.
Hiking-only Steep Ravine begins a descent along
a canyon wall. Fences herd hikers down a string of switchbacks to the canyon
floor, where the trail joins a modest stream as it travels toward the sea. While
the stream is still small the trail skips over the channel a few times, winding
through redwoods like a slalom course. But before long, Webb Creek feeds into
the canyon, transforming the stream to a more formidable waterway. Bridges ford
the creek, which is lined with huckleberry, California bay, tanoak, and Douglas
fir. Some good-sized redwoods loom overhead, and litter the canyon, necessitating
a few ducks here and there. Look for trilliums,
milkmaids, hound's tongue, and stream violets in spring. Suddenly you'll arrive
at the top of the ladder, right beside the drop of a waterfall. I suppose some
people descend it face first, but the wood is usually pretty slippery, so take
it slow. At the base be sure to pause and look back at the falls. The trail,
influenced by all this moisture, takes on a slippery texture, so use caution
descending rock steps. A giant redwood which had fallen, blocking the trail,
is notched with a square cut large enough to squeeze through. Steep Ravine Trail
keeps descending, along the way passing another memorable waterfall, with a
pretty pool at the base. At 5.95 miles, Dipsea Trail heads left over a bridge,
departing from a signed junction. Continue straight, past an old dam,
to another junction (this one unsigned) with the other leg of Dipsea, at 6.00
miles. Turn right. The trail ascends, following a small pipeline, and
reaches another junction, this one signed. Continue straight
on Dipsea Trail.
Dipsea rises through a jumble of plants, with
Douglas fir and coyote brush prominent. At 6.06 miles, you'll reach yet another
junction with a fire road. Continue straight on Dipsea. Closed to equestrians
and cyclists, Dipsea ascends a little, crests, then descends easily. The initial
view after the crest is breathtaking -- the ocean, Stinson Beach, Bolinas Lagoon,
and the mountains of Point Reyes sprawl at your feet. At 6.18 miles, Dipsea
crosses Hill 640 Fire Road. Continue straight.
Springtime flowers include checkerbloom, wild
radish, blue and white lupine, and California poppy. The trail dips into a damp
area where you might see or hear quail. Traffic on nearby Panoramic squelches
the mood a bit. Dipsea begins descending at a more moderate grade, through shrubs
of coyote brush and purple bush lupine. Suddenly the trail turns into the woods,
with a creek on the right. Some gnarled buckeyes stand along the trail, along
with California bay, hazelnut, and currant. A boardwalk ushers you through a
sunny spot where willow and twinberry bushes grow. At 7.07 miles, Dipsea approaches
Panoramic Highway. Carefully cross, then pick up the signed trail again on
the opposite side.
Cottoneaster overwhelms the sides of the trail.
At 7.19 miles, Dipsea plops you out on the side of Highway 1. With caution,
walk along the side of the road to Belvedere Avenue. Turn right and return to
the trailhead.
Total distance:
7.30 miles
Last hiked: Tuesday, July 6, 2004
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