Nice walk along the Pacific coastline, through rocky and sandy beaches.

Location: Mount Tamalpais State Park

» Official Trail Map: Decent quality map. However, mileage information is missing. Not enough details of trail intersections, some of which have no signposs.

» RedwoodHikes Trail Map: Annotated trail map of Muir Woods National Monument and most of Mt Tamalpais State Park. An excellent quality trail map ($6.95 in Jan 2012) that is recommended for avid hikers. Mt Tamalpais has plenty of trails and trail intersections. This map shows them very clearly. Much better than official state parks map or GGNRA map.

To Steep Ravine Campground (0.5 miles): From Highway 1, follow Rocky Point Trail (0.4 miles) to reach a narrow paved road going down to the campground area. Follow the paved road (0.1 miles). Much before reaching the campground area, turn left into a metal gate.

Circle around Campground (1.5 miles) From the paved road, follow an unmarked trail all the way to a rocky beach in the south. Then it is possible to talk all along the coastline, over rocky sections to connect with a trail that meanders next to the coastline, all the way to Steep Ravine cabins. There is a long, quiet beach in the north. In low tide conditions, it is possible to scramble over the rocks in the north of the beach. Some sections of the scramble are potentially dangerous as they are quite steep. In September 2012, I was able to reach all the way to the southern boundary of Bedrock Beach. To reach the beach, I'd have to climb down a steep rocky section, about 30 feet high. I did not have the skills to attempt that. So my friend and I turned back.

To Highway 1 (0.7 miles): From the beach, walk 0.1 miles to the paved road, then walk 0.2 miles along the paved road to reach a junction with Rocky Point Trail. Follow Rocky Point Trail for 0.4 miles to reach Highway 1.

Notes: Yelp Reviews for Steep Ravine Campground.

Location: Along Highway 1, near Stinson Beach City, CA . No street address. Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions: See Google Map for exact location of trailhead. Rocky Point Trail is shown clearly. There is a pullout for about 5 cars at the trailhead. No signs.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: None (last visited: September 2012)

Capacity: About 5 cars may be parked at the trailhead.

Latitude: 37.882746     Longitude: -122.621228