How was your fourth? Ours was a holiday for two at Point Reyes National Seashore.
We definitely had an adventure. We went on a spur of the moment trip without any prior overnight accommodations. We were able to do this being that we didn't have kids in tow. I don't recommend doing this on a holiday weekend unless you don't mind a challenge. But we did anyways!
If you've never been there it's about a 2.5 hour drive from Sacramento depending on traffic. There are multiple ways to get there, we chose the route that took us by the Rouge et Noir cheese factory. Otherwise known as the Cheese Factory. We always stop in to pick up some of their Jalapeno Pepper Jelly and Triple Creme Brie. If you go up Sir Francis Drake Hwy you may encounter slow traffic after you pass Platform Bridge Rd. and a few miles before the town of Olema. This is due to a road failure, now both lanes have to share one lane and take turns at a stop sign. It was fun watching the drivers ahead having itsy bitsy meltdowns, I guess they were in a hurry. We saw a lot of 3 point turns while waiting patiently and listening to a local radio station (A three-point turn is a driving technique that allows you to change directions on a narrow street).
We pulled into Samuel P. Taylor SP to test our luck, no such luck! As we expected no one cancelled and all sites were booked excluding disabled. So we headed to Point Reyes Park Headquarters to test our luck there. FYI, all of the campsites in the park are walk in sites and we didn't pack for that. The shortest hike in site that was available was over a 1.5 mile hike. This was not an option for many reasons. I had a backpack that was meant for mountain biking and wasn't designed to have things secured to it, we also had a big tent, big sleeping pads, a big two burner Coleman stove. We had big everything, so we kept moving.
On our journey to Drakes Beach we stopped in the town of Inverness to get ourselves a beverage. We walked into Vladimir's Czech Restaurant which has been a mainstay since 1960. The original owner passed away a few years ago and the restaurant is now run by his wife and daughter. After ordering our drinks we were informed they only take cash or checks. Or should I say Czech's. No worries! Turns out they have an ATM across the street at the local grocery store (and a great assortment of chocolates!). If you walk around to the back of the grocery store and take a short path you will find some picnic tables and a little further past that is this old boat named the "Point Reyes".
Next stop, Chicken Ranch Beach. This is a popular local beach however there is no parking lot so you must park on either side of the road. The water here is calm and a good place for younger children to enjoy the water. The beach itself is not your typical sandy beach and is composed of what appears to be tiny shells. The waters are calm being on the Tomales Bay and the short walk in is easy for all age groups. This beach is used by many kayaker's and you can rent kayaks just up the beach at Blue Water Kayaking.
Did someone say oysters? We've got the place, Drakes Bay Oyster Co. This is on Oyster Company Rd. which is on the left side of the road on your way to the lighthouse. If you see the Life-Saving Station Cemetery sign on your right, you just passed it. They have many sizes of oysters available that can be purchased either shucked, un-shucked or in a jar. Our favorites are the shucked ones with hot sauce, lemon juice and a little chili paste. This oyster farm is the only one in the Point Reyes National Seashore and is known by many of the locals as the former Johnson Oyster Farm.
Drakes Beach is about a 15 minute drive further up Sir Francis Drake Blvd. As you make the the drive down into the parking lot you have a great view of the coast(weather permitting). On your right hand side of the parking lot there is a little path that leads to a monument hidden within the trees, if your quiet you may be lucky enough to come across a spotted owl or two. At the visitors center there is a little deli to grab a bite to eat, we didn't go in this time because were prepared and brought snacks(Triple creme cheese, smoked oysters, jalapeno jelly, tri-tip and a bottle of red). Looking out onto the beach if you look up to your right you can often watch remote control gliders being launched from the bluff.
While relaxing seaside we discussed our options for the night. Since all hotels and car camping sites were reserved already we had only one option left. Group campsites. Yep, we rolled into the Samuel P. Taylor group sites and low and behold one of the two sites were not even half filled with tents. So we went up and asked one of the persons we knew was with this group and asked them if we threw them a few dollars could we use one of the sites away from their group. Yes!!!! We scored a site for $10- for the night. We had no table nor fire but we had a place to spend the night. We were having the best little weekend adventure.
Bright and early (not really) around 9am we woke up and broke camp. The first thing on our agenda was breakfast and for that we went back over to the the pinic area at the Point Reyes Park Headquarters. There are about a dozen tables under the trees and the bathrooms close as well. After our breakfast we went on the Earthquake interpretive trail that starts behind the bathrooms. This trail is pretty cool and there is a spot where you can actually see how the 1906 Earthquake shifted the earth by about 14'. Neat stuff.
Marshall Beach, this was our first time here. This beach is a little further north from Hearts Desire Beach in Tomales Bay State Park. The road to Marshall Beach is actually the next right past the park entrance. The hike was so nice, there were only two other vehicle in the parking lot when we arrived. The hike down to the beach was only 1.2 miles and was easy going until the last 1/4 mile or so and then it was a steep until you reached the bathroom and beach area..There where wild flowers galore It appears you can camp here and there are signs for permitted fires. Food for thought. Holy jellyfish Batman! The beach was totally covered with peanut butter & jellyfish, it was so cool. For obvious reasons I didn't go in the water.
Our final destination for the weekend was Kehoe Beach. This was a pleasant suprise. There were very few people here when we pulled in and even fewer when we left. There were about 14 cars when we arrived and less than 10 when we left. I'm just guessing but I think the further you drive north towards Tomales Point the fewer people you will encounter. The drive from the Point Reyes Park Headquarters to here is about 30-40 minutes. There is no parking lot at this beach but there is plenty of room on either side of the road, there are also vault toilets at the trail head.
We were a bit snackish when we arrived so we pulled out our cheese, jelly, tri-tip and some bread and made ourselves some sandwiches. You can see the picture of our creation below. I will never get tired of that cheese and jelly! The hike in is super easy, its only a 1/4 to a 1/2 to the beach. There is a little incline when you reach the sand dunes, when we walked up there were a pair of sandals someone had left for their return trip. The dunes are topped with grass and there are plenty of spots to set up camp for the day. We found a spot a little ways down the beach on a little dune to sit and bask in the sun with our toes in the warm sand. Unfortunately our stay was short since we planned to watch fireworks at my sisters house and that was three hours away.
That was our little trip in a nutshell. I hope you had an enjoyable 4th.
Point Reyes map/info: http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/maps.htm
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