A beautiful hike through varied terrain including sandy beaches, rocky beaches and forests.

Location: Tomales Bay State Park

Location: cul-de-sac on Camino Del Mar, Iverness, CA 94937 . No street address. Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions: From US-101 North, take exit 450B towards San Anselmo. In half a mile, merge onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Continue for 27.6 miles, then turn right onto Camino Del Mar. Drive for 0.7 miles to reach the parking lot for Tomales Bay.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: None (last visited: August 2010)

Capacity: More than 10 cars may be parked here.

Latitude: 38.114511     Longitude: -122.871405

» Official Trail Map: Good map showing various trails.

To Hearts Desire Beach (5.0 miles): From the parking lot at the end of Camino Del Mar, follow Johnstone Trail (2.6 miles) to reach an intersection with Jepson Trail. Turn right on Johnstone Trail (1.8 miles) to reach Hearts Desire Beach. Continue walking along the beach (0.6 miles) to reach Indian Beach.

Indian Beach (1.3 miles): When the tide is low, you may walk an additional 1.3 miles round-trip along the rocky shoreline of Indian Beach, which lies to the west of Hearts Desire Beach. The beach has Miwok settlements.

To Camino del Mar (4.4 miles): From Indian Beach, retrace your steps (0.6 miles) along the beach to reach Hearts Desire Beach parking lot. Then follow Jepson Trail (1.0 miles) to reach an intersection with Johnstone Trail. Follow Johnstone Trail (2.5 miles) to Shell Beach. Continue along Johnstone Trail (0.3 miles) to reach the parking lot at Camino Del Mar.

Indian Beach has Miwok settlements. An extended walk along a rocky shoreline is feasible in sufficiently low tide conditions