Point Reyes National Seashore - California

Address:Bear Valley Road
Point Reyes Station, California
Tel: (415) 464-5100

With over 32,000 acres of wilderness, estuaries, windswept beaches, coastal scrub grasslands, salt and freshwater marshes, and coniferous forests, Point Reyes National Seashore is a haven of unspoiled nature.

The rocky coast of Point Reyes National Seashore is just north of San Francisco where the peninsula juts out miles into the Pacific Ocean. The Coast Miwok Indians were the first human inhabitants of the Peninsula, and over 120 known village sites exist within the park. Today, visitors can enjoy abundant recreational opportunities. Some popular activities include hiking over 147 miles of trails and spending a night on backcountry campgrounds and sandy beaches. Other favorites are kayaking, biking, hiking, and beach-combing. If you fancy wildlife, keep your eyes peeled for harbor seals, sea lions, and elephant seals about the park. Young visitors will especially enjoy the chance to become a Junior Ranger as they discover the local wildlife and hike the trails. Kids who are hungry for more can even come back to Point Reyes for summer camp.

There are plenty of available restaurants and delicatessens to choose from should you get hungry while here. If you're looking to camp out, plan ahead as Point Reyes only offers backcountry hike-in camping. Point Reyes is located approximately 30 miles north of San Francisco on Highway 1, which runs along the west coast of California. So don't miss this fabulous seashore—a perfect getaway for the whole family.

Point Reyes National Seashore contains unique elements of biological and historical interest in a spectacularly scenic panorama of thunderous ocean breakers, open grasslands, bushy hillsides and forested ridges. Native land mammals number about 37 species and marine mammals augment this total by another dozen species. The biological diversity stems from a favorable location in the middle of California and the natural occurrence of many distinct habitats. Nearly 20% of the State's flowering plant species are represented on the peninsula and over 45% of the bird species in North America have been sighted. The Point Reyes National Seashore was established by President John F. Kennedy on September 13, 1962.