A Day In Point Reyes
Point Reyes is the perfect destination for a quick Bay Area day trip. It's a relatively short drive from San Francisco, and offers beautiful hiking trails and sweeping views for the weary city dweller.
For such a small town, Point Reyes Station boasts a surprising amount of good eats. We picked up important food supplies from Cowgirl Creamery and Bovine Bakery. While some people may try to convince you that savory scones or macaroni and cheese aren't necessities for exploring Point Reyes, I assure you they are and that those people are fools.
After loading up the car (and our stomachs) with food, we set out east for our first destination: the Cypress Tree Tunnel. Located twenty minutes outside of Point Reyes Station, the Cypress Tree Tunnel is actually the road that leads to the KPH Maritime Radio Receiving Station.
Walking through the trees is a great way to remind yourself of the majesty of nature. It's calming to feel the cold air on your face and watch the sun break through the leaves.
Next up was Point Reyes Lighthouse. From the parking lot, you have a fairly short walk through some fun trails that eventually takes you to a stairway where you have to descend 304 steps to finally get to the lighthouse.
I really started to feel at ease as we made our way down the steps to the lighthouse. Look at all this incredible stuff! This massive ocean! This orange moss! These sinister looking crows!
Seriously, what are these crows planning.
Remember those snacks that you didn’t think were necessary? Guess what? this is the perfect time to bust out an olive scone and eat it while you marvel at endlessness of the ocean.
Located on the other side of the peninsula, is Chimney Rock Point. You’ll be treated with spectacular views of the ocean as you walk along the trail and if you're lucky, you'll see some Tule Elk bounding about. We came during the winter, but if you hit this up in the Spring time you’ll be treated to a ton of beautiful wildflowers along the trail too.
After spending some time in silence, watching the waves and the Tule Elk, we decided to call it a day. We stopped back in at Point Reyes Station to grab a delightful Italian dinner at Osteria Stellina and then made our way back home, a little bit lighter, a little bit more relaxed, and way more fuller.