Spanning over 70,000 acres, Point Reyes National Seashore is a nature preserve where flora and wildlife meet to create the ultimate hiking experience. This portion of the peninsula nested in Marin County, California has been protected from development since 1962.
The journey to this part of the Bay Area includes crossing bridges, sitting through traffic, and maneuvering your car to the wicked twists and turns. Nonetheless, the trip includes driving though beautiful redwoods, views of white sand beaches and clear blue waters.
The mission at this wildlife preserve was to discover Alamere Falls. While looking at the map, the multitude of trails can leave you slightly confused in figuring out the shortest route. Don’t fool yourself; the shortest route really does not mean short by any means.
After 2.5 hours and nearly bottoming out the car, I reached Palomarin Trailhead. I was greeted by a cute bunny and a gray wolf—Captain Hopps and Nick Wilde to be specific (for those of you similar with Zootopia). You know that feeling of excitement before you know what you’re getting yourself into? The map outlined a 5.5 mile hike to the waterfall along the Coast Trail. With a rough 15 minute mile calculation, it was going to take around 1.5 hours to reach the destination. Not bad I thought at the moment.
I pranced through the forest, jogged up a few hills, enjoyed the ocean breeze hitting my face. 45 minutes into the hike, the uphill incline and uneven pathway was taking a toll on me. Hydration is key! Once I passed the Lake Ranch Trail, I found Bass Lake, a tranquil spot to take a quick rest stop. The people hiking back don’t give you much hope. The only thing they say is you have a long way to reach the waterfall.
This hike will make you feel like you’re unfit. I passed wooden bridges and bushes and more trees. The sun seemed to be shining brighter, and sweat trickled down my face. Finally, one sweet couple walking back said to look for an arrow make of stones which directs you to a shortcut to the waterfall.
At this point, it had been close to 2 hours of hiking, and I used the arrow of stones to guide me. I heard the stream of water and couldn’t feel any happier. After carefully scaling down along the steam, I hit gold! The Alamere Falls is beautiful, with several cascades and layers all the way down to a picturesque beach.
I had thought the hike down to the waterfall was pretty dangerous, but after looking down at the beach, I wondered how on earth did people get there. Walking along the edge, I found what looked like the only way down—a very sketch, rocky incline (bottom left picture).
Once I cautiously climbed down, it really was not as bad as it looked and found that the waterfall cascaded down to the beach as well. I sat under the waterfall and found my moment of zen. A feeling of warmth filled me and I made peace with nature. It may have bullied me for hours but it was well worth the reward.
By this time, it was close to sunset, and there was no way I wanted to hike back in the dark. I made my journey back, which was even harder than reaching the waterfall. My legs were cramping, and my arms and legs were covered in dirt. Every wooden bridge I passed meant I was steps closer to my car. A little over two hours later, I plopped down in my car and waved my hand to a surreal adventure that will be repeated in the future.