Point Reyes Lighthouse Trail

Point Reyes Lighthouse

The Point Reyes Lighthouse stands on a small platform on top of windblown rocks. Expect salt-spray and fog. In this harsh environment only specialized plant species survive. An interpretive panel tells us:

The wife of a lighthouse keeper once planted a small garden nearby, but with no success. As soon as the carrots sprouted the wind blew them away. Few plants can face up to the ocean's harsh influences.

On a foggy morning, your approach to the Lighthouse Visitor Center may include a short walk under water-dripping cypresses.

Fern plants growing on branches of wet cypresses alongside lighthouse trail

On an outside wall at the visitor center, you will find an offshore map showing the undersea topography of the continental shelf with Cordell Bank, Rittenburg Bank and Noonday Rock.

Undersea map with continental shelf and Cordell Bank: Discover an Oceanscape Under the Sea

Skull of a gray whale

On their spring migration, California gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) pass Point Reyes close to shore and—when the fog lifts—you can see spouting whales breaking through the ocean surface over the shelfscape. The skull of a female gray whale, found in February 1985, is on display next to the Point Reyes Conglomerate peak.

Steps alongside conglomerate

After passing the conglomerate outcrop,  you will find yourself on top of the stairway with 300-plus steps. The stairway sometimes is closed when winds are getting too strong to descend/ascend safely. Gusts exceeding 100 mph have been recorded. A panel summarizes the lighthouse history:

Point Reyes Light has guided and cautioned mariners along this hazardous coast for over 100 years. Built by the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1870, it came under management of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939. Resident personnel operated the station until 1975 when the conversion to automated lights and electronic equipment was completed.

The National Park Service maintains a very detailed Visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse site, which further highlights the lighthouse history and links to information on accessibility and road-closure/shuttle-bus policies during whale-watching season.

Getting to the lighthouse trailhead

From Olema or the Bear Valley Visitor Center, drive north on Bear Valley Road and turn left at its junction with Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Follow Sir Francis Drake Blvd. for about 20 miles to its end—first northwest along the western shore of Tomales Bay to Inverness, then westward over the Inverness Ridge and finally southwest through the Pastoral Lands.

Don't miss Chimney Rock!

Returning from your lighthouse visit, you may want to explore the east-side spur of the headlands by hiking through grassland, enjoying views of Drakes Bay and overlooking surf-zone rocks such as Chimney Rock and the natural bridge at the end of Chimney Rock Trail. To do that, turn right on Chimney Rock Road (before passing again through the “A” Ranch). Find the parking lot and trailhead after about one mile from the Sir Francis Drake Blvd./Chimney Rock Rd. junction.

California Coast: Point Reyes headlands map with lighthouse tip and Chimney Rock tip

See more: Point Reyes National Seashore, California.

Point Reyes Conglomerate

Outcrop of Point Reyes Conglomerate

Point Reyes Conglomerate is exposed on the Point Reyes peninsula. It can be found at the end of the Chimney Rock Trail around the overlook of Chimney Rock and the cliff arch. Next to the Lighthouse Visitor Center—at the other tip of the ocean-surrounded headlands—the conglomerate formation is exposed next to the lighthouse trail (shown above and below). There, on a display panel, and also on a web page it has been described with the following words [1,2]: 

The intriguing rock exposure in front of you is part of a formation that caps the highest hills in this area. The Point Reyes Conglomerate is a formation consisting of a sandy matrix embedded with pebbles, cobblestones, and boulders. Geologists estimate that the formation may be over 50 million years old.

Using less formal terminology, the conglomerate has been described as geologic cookie batter [3].

Features of exposed sandstone and Point Reyes Conglomerate

Watch out for similar conglomerate outcrops and sandstone features while taking a rest on your way down to or up from the lighthouse plateau.

 Lighthouse plateau downstairs

References  and related posts
[1] Point Reyes Lighthouse: www.ptreyes.org/activities/point-reyes-lighthouse.
[2] Point Reyes Conglomerate: www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/dynamic/session6/sess6_sign.htm.
[3]  Lighthouse, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service, Marin Count: bahiker.com/northbayhikes/prlighthouse.html.

Chimney Rock Trail

Map of the Point Reyes headlands with Drakes Bay and Chimney Rock 

Chimney Rock Trail is a short Point Reyes headlands trail between Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean around the Farallon Islands. As you can see on the map above, several rocks and sea stacks dot the south-side coast of the eastern spur of the headlands. Chimney Rock is one of them. To get to the overlook, from where you can see Chimney Rock and the nearby natural bridge, follow the well-marked path from the trailhead (red arrow) to the end of Chimney Rock Trail.

Chimney Rock and natural bridge (cliff arch)

Historic Lifeboat Station (Drakes Bay)

Several social trails lead close to the edges of steep cliffs of mostly Point Reyes Conglomerate, which frequently crumble and slide. Keep a safe distance! On your return walk, you may want to take Underhill Trail to get a close-up view of the historic lifeboat station, constructed in 1927. An interpretive panel at the trailhead “introduces” one of the U.S. Coast Guard crews commissioned to save ships and lives:

These seemingly ordinary men were the heroes of this coast. Like the men who served before and those who served after them, surfmen risked their lives to save mariners in distress. They were always on duty, always prepared and always willing to sacrifice.

Surfmen prepared to save mariners in distress

On your final steps back to the parking lot, you will pass through a residence. You will find a plaque in the wall at the property's south entrance commemorating Francis Drake—an earlier “hero of this coast”—who landed on these shores on June 17, 1579 and took possession of the country, calling it Nova Albion.

How did these shores look then? Were the natural bridge and Chimney Rock already pounded by waves and what were their shapes?

Getting to the Chimney Rock Trailhead

From Olema or the Bear Valley Visitor Center, drive north on Bear Valley Road and turn left at its junction with Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Follow Sir Francis Drake Blvd. for almost 20 miles and turn left on Chimney Rock Road after passing through the “A” Ranch. Find the parking lot and trailhead after about one mile at the end of this narrow two-way road.

If you are on your way back from a Point Reyes Lighthouse visit, turn right at the Sir Francis Drake Blvd./Chimney Rock Rd. junction before getting to the “A” Ranch.

Eastern spur of the Point Reyes headlands with Drakes Bay on the right side

 
Keywords: Point Reyes coast, steep cliffs, heavy surf, sea stacks, historic site, surfmen, coast guard.