Point Reyes Seashore National Park

NPS.GOV/PORE
Point Reyes National Seashore comprises over 100 square miles, including 33,300 acres of coastal wilderness area. Estuaries, windswept beaches, coastal scrub grasslands, salt and freshwater marshes, and coniferous forests create a haven of 80 miles of unspoiled and undeveloped coastline.

Things to Do:
BEACH FIRE
Fire Permit
You may obtain a free permit for a beach fire at Point Reyes National Seashore from any park visitor center. You must follow regulations as described on the permit. On high fire days, all permits are null and void. Call 415-464-5100 for current fire conditions.

DOGS
Visiting With Your Dog
Dogs, on leash, are welcome on four park beaches:
Limantour Beach, North Beach, South Beach, and
Kehoe Beach. The short trail leading to Kehoe Beach
is the only park trail where dogs are permitted. Along
the Bolinas Ridge Trail, in nearby Golden Gate NRA,
dogs on leash are also allowed.

HORSEBACK
Five Brooks Stables (415-663-1570) fivebrooks.com is a full service riding stable with a concession to operate within the National Seashore. They offer a variety of activities and services, including guided trail rides.

WILDLIFE VIEWING
Just by stepping out the door of the Bear Valley Visitor Center you are likely to see gophers or gopher snakes, turkey vultures or great blue herons. You might notice black-tailed deer, jackrabbits, or even a coyote or bobcat. However, the best wildlife watching requires patience and the willingness to venture out on the trails,

Here are some suggested areas for wildlife viewing:
Abbotts Lagoon - 1.5-mile) trail takes you past a fresh water pond to a footbridge crossing the brackish lagoon. If you continue along the sandy lagoon shoreline, you will be rewarded by the dramatic views of the open ocean and along the Great Beach.
Drakes Estero - (1-mile) downhill walk through a deserted Christmas tree farm provides the observant hiker opportunity to see owls perched in the pine trees. Further along the trail is a footbridge, which offers an excellent vantage point from which to view wading egrets and herons, many species of shorebirds, as well as hawks and osprey. 20% of California's mainland harbor seal population can be seen at Drakes Estero.
Elephant Seal Overlook - December through March, a breeding colony of elephant seals can be observed from this excellent vantage point above beautiful Drakes Bay.
Five Brooks Pond - five seasonally appearing creeks empty into Olema Creek within a one-mile section near the current trailhead. winter resting-place for green-backed herons, grebes, hooded mergansers, and ring-necked ducks.
Giacomini Wetlands - newly restored wetlands—as well as the birds and other wildlife that inhabit it—along the Lagunitas Creek spur trail, Tomales Bay Trail, and Olema Marsh Trail, and from White House Pool County Park and the West Pasture Viewing Area.
Lighthouse - At the end of California's longest peninsula, the Point Reyes Lighthouse offers a spectacular place from which to view wildlife. Turkey vultures, ravens, and hawks are regulars. Peregrine falcons are a treat to see. A colony of approximately 12,000 common murres has established itself on the rocks north of the Lighthouse and can be viewed from the observation deck above the Lighthouse during the spring/summer nesting season. gray whale migration occurs January through early May.
Olema Marsh - Olema Marsh is located off Bear Valley Road, about one mile north of the Bear Valley Visitor Center.Kingfishers and red-winged blackbirds are common among the tules and cattails. In autumn, migratory water birds rest in the marsh.
Sea Lion Overlook - about 100 yards east of the Lighthouse Visitor Parking Lot, take the steep 54-step staircase down the side of a cliff to see California sea lions
Tule Elk Preserve - over 440 were counted at Tomales Point, making the the Point Reyes herds one of the largest populations in California. Smaller, free-ranging herds of tule elk may also be seen in the Limantour/Glenbrook area and in the grasslands above Drakes Beach.

CAMPING: Glen Camp, Sky Camp, Wildcat Camp, Tomales Bay's Indian Beach


National Park Week free admission Friday, April 22 to 26, 2013

A presidentially proclaimed celebration of our national heritage. You can plan your visit by what you want to do, or where you want to go. Every national park will have free admission! nationalparkweek.org

EVENTS AT POINT REYES SEASHORE

Big Time Festival July
at Kule Loklo
nps.gov

Traditional Native American trade festival at Kule Loklo, a Coast Miwok Cultural Exhibit. Throughout the day demonstrators exhibit their skills in basketry, flint knapping, clamshell bead making, and more. Learn more about the culture and traditions of the Coast Miwok and other local American Indians at a variety of informational booths. Traditional dancers from the Intertribal Pomo group and Dry Creek Pomo will perform. Vendors will also be selling a wide variety of crafts.

SANDCASTLE FESTIVAL September (the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend)

NIGHT OF NIGHTS July 12
RCA Radio Operator at Historic Coast Station KPH
July 12th every year
from 3 pm to midnight
at the Historic RCA Coast Station KPH

In the annual Night of Nights, historic Morse code radio station KPH returns to the air in commemoration of the closing of commercial Morse operation in the USA. Members of the public are invited to visit the receiving station for this event. The station will be open to visitors beginning at 3 pm at 17400 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard on the route to the Point Reyes lighthouse. Watch for a cypress lined driveway on the right about a mile past the entry to Coast Guard station NMC.

California Coastal Cleanup Day September
10 am to 1 pm
Drakes Beach (Directions)
Meet in front of the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center

Point Reyes National Seashore, in conjunction with the California Coastal Commission, sponsors a Beach cleanup at Drakes Beach. This is a family friendly event.