A scenic round trip at Point Reyes National Seashore: Bear Valley Trail, Coast Trail, Sky Trail, and Old Pine Trail

View of cliffs and Drakes Bay from Coast Trail

If you are planning a round trip from the Bear Valley Visitor Center that includes forest meadows, coastal landmarks as well as a mountain ridge, the Point Reyes trail network provides various options. 

Inverness Ridge, having Mount Wittenberg (elevation: 1407 ft, 428 m) as its highest point, stretches from the north-west of the Point Reyes peninsula to the south-east, such that the visitor center is located north of the ridge and the coast on its southwest side. Therefore, any round trip requires traveling a certain section along the ridge trail, named Sky Trail.  

Inverness Ridge: Sky Trail

At the end of October this year, I hiked south on Bear Valley Trail to Divide Meadow (1.6 miles from the visitor center).

Divide Meadow

At Divide Meadow, I started the round trip by continuing south on Bear Valley Trail (for 2.4 miles)—a riparian trail with tree tunnel sections.

Lots of shade along Bear Valley Trail

Where the Bear Valley Trail meets the Coast Trail, I was going north on a short section of the Coast Trail (for 0.5 miles)—arguable the most picturesque section of the loop hike with its views of endless coastal cliffs and sea rocks.

Coastal features around Drakes Bay

Fire recovery on Inverness Ridge

To complete the round trip from the Sky Trail/Coast Trail junction, you want to cintinue north on the Sky Trail (for 2.8 miles) and then returning to Divide Meadow via the Pine Trail (1.9 miles). With the loop total of  7.6 miles and forth-and-back to Divide Meadow adding 3.2 miles, the overall hike takes 10.8 miles. 

Old Pine Trail

View of Bolinas Ridge from Old Pine Trail

In case you are including a side trip to Kelham Beach (0.5 miles one-way, start at Sky Trail/Coast Trail junction), your grand total will almost be 12 miles. A wonderful day hike with plenty of time to relax at and explore sites of interest and inhale at ease while resting at selected vista points. 

“Busy” Kelham Beach and Drakes Bay