Muddy Hollow Trailhead Hike (7/28) Preview

This week we return to Point Reyes National Seashore to do a loop hike from the Muddy Hollow Trailhead. Last July we did a shuttle hike ending our outing at the Limantour Beach parking lot. Later in the year, the National Parks Service closed the section of the trail that leads to Limantour and when we did the Muddy Hollow Trailhead hike again in December 2008, we followed the new route and looped back to our cars and the hike's starting point.

Here's Wendy's description of our upcoming hike: "This trail has been redone and the pond removed to create more wetlands. Now we can do this as a loop instead of a shuttle. Great views and, we hope, some birds! Last year the elk were already bugling the first week in August so with luck we’ll see and hear them. Note: this hike is longer than we usually do (about 7 miles), but last time we made it back on time."

Directions to the trailhead: Take Sir Francis Drake Boulevard west to Olema. Turn right on Route 1, then make an immediate left onto Bear Valley Road. Continue past Park Headquarters (turn in if you need a restroom, there are none at the trailhead) and go left on Limantour Road. When you see a paved road to the Hostel on the left, turn right on the dirt road to Muddy Hollow parking lot. Carpool from St. Rita at 8:55 am.

Weather forecast: As of Sunday, July 26, the National Weather Service forecast for this area was patchy fog before 11 am, otherwise mostly sunny with a high near 56. West southwest wind between 8 and 17 mph with gusts as high as 21 mph. (Click here for an updated forecast).

More on this hike: The Martins' book, Hiking Marin, was lasted updated in 2006, so it does not show the re-routed trail back to the Muddy Hollow Trailhead. But their hike "G7 Coast - Beach - Muddy Hollow Trails" does show the area where we'll be hiking. However, the Point Reyes National Seashore's North District Hiking Map does show the new loop trail and pegs the distance at exactly 7.0 miles. The following Google Earth image shows the area (click on it to open a large picture in your Web browser).