Point Reyes National Seashore
From its thunderous ocean breakers crashing against rocky headlands and expansive sand beaches to its open grasslands, brushy hillsides, and forested ridges, Point Reyes offers visitors over 1500 species of plants and animals to discover. Home to several cultures over thousands of years, the Seashore preserves a tapestry of stories and interactions of people. Point Reyes awaits your exploration.
About under an hour from San Francisco by car.
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
No entrance fee is charged at Point Reyes National Seashore. Point Reyes National Seashore charges no fees for parking at visitor centers, beaches, or trailheads or for day-use activities, such as hiking, wildlife viewing, bicycle riding, kayaking, horse riding, fishing, attending ranger-led programs, visiting the Point Reyes Lighthouse, picnicking (25 persons or fewer), etc. The only fees are for overnight camping…
Hours
| Point Reyes National Seashore | Daily · Opens at 6:00AM |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and March the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Glen Campground | 12 sites | |
| $30 a night · The Glen Campground is open year-round, 24 hours a day. Camping is by permit only. Camping permits must be obtained before starting your trip. · 12 reservable | ||
| Sky Campground | 12 sites | |
| $30 a night · The Sky Campground is open year-round, 24 hours a day. Camping is by permit only. Camping permits must be obtained before starting your trip. · 12 reservable | ||
| Wildcat Campground | 8 sites | |
| $30 a night · The Wildcat Campground is open year-round, 24 hours a day. Camping is by permit only. Camping permits must be obtained before starting your trip. · 8 reservable | ||
| Coast Campground | 14 sites | |
| $30 a night · The Coast Campground is open year-round, 24 hours a day. Camping is by permit only. Camping permits must be obtained before starting your trip. · 14 reservable | ||
| Tomales Bay Boat-in Camping | 20 sites | |
| $30 a night · The Tomales Bay beaches on which Boat-in Camping is permitted are open year-round, 24 hours a day for those with a current boat-in camping permit. · 20 reservable | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Bear Valley Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The park's primary visitor center provides an orientation of the park's roads, trails, and human and natural history. The interior exhibit space provides a glimpse of the diverse ecosystems and cultural heritage of the park.
- Point Reyes Lighthouse Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
The Lighthouse Visitor Center (LHVC) offers exhibits on the Point Reyes Lighthouse, marine life, & maritime history, as well as a small bookstore. The stairs down to the lighthouse are only open when the LHVC is open and wind speeds remain below 40 mph (64km/h).
- Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Located at beautiful Drakes Beach, the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center contains exhibits that focus on maritime exploration in the 1500s, marine fossils, and marine environments. A minke whale skeleton is suspended from the ceiling. Allow 20–30 minutes to view exhibits.
Explore
Things to do
- Hike the Chimney Rock Trail40-90 Minutes
Enjoy spectacular views of Drakes Bay, the Pacific, and, in spring, wildflowers along this open coastal walk. From January through May, look for migratory whales from the point.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Marshall Beach Trail50-90 Minutes
Marshall Beach is a 400-foot-long (366-meter-long) beach on the west side of Tomales Bay in the northern part of the national seashore that may be reached via the via the 1.2-mile-long (1.9-kilometer-long) Marshall Beach Trail.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike to Mount Wittenberg from Bear Valley2-3 Hours
The hikes described on this page start at the Bear Valley Trailhead and feature steep 400 meter (1300 feet) climbs to Mount Wittenberg, the highest point on the Point Reyes Peninsula at 1407 feet (426 meters) in elevation.
Opens on the Park Service site - Bike the Bear Valley Trail to the Glen Trail Junction1-3 Hours
This wide gravel trail through Douglas fir forest is great for a family cruise, a mellow ride, or the start of a multi-sport adventure! This trail begins at the Bear Valley Trailhead, at the south end of the Bear Valley Parking Lot.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Woodward Valley Loop6-7 Hours
Travel from forest to tidepools on this ambitious hike. This trail includes beautiful forest and spectacular coastal hiking with sweeping ocean views, though much of this area was burned in the Woodward Fire that began as lightning strikes in August…
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike to Divide Meadow1-2 Hours
Stroll through a forest of towering Douglas fir trees and along a shaded creek on this family-friendly hike to Divide Meadow. This hike begins at the Bear Valley Trailhead, at the south end of the Bear Valley Parking Lot.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 12Hide
- Hike the Abbotts Lagoon Trail to the Ocean60-90 Minutes
Take an easy hike that will lead you past a unique coastal lagoon bordered by sand dunes to the Pacific Ocean. This hike offers great opportunities for viewing birds and wildflowers.
Opens on the Park Service site - Fishing at Point Reyes
Fish on! Point Reyes National Seashore allows fishing as a means of providing for public enjoyment, and customary and traditional use, and regulates fishing to ensure that it is managed in a manner that avoids unacceptable impacts to park resources.
Opens on the Park Service site - Swimming at Point Reyes
What comes to mind when you think about the beach? Surf, sand, and swimming are a few words associated with a day at the beach.
Opens on the Park Service site - Bike to Sky Campground30-60 Minutes
Ride your bike up a moderate incline along this multi-use trail through Douglas fir forest to Sky Campground, where you can enjoy a break with oceans views.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Laguna-Coast Loop2-3 Hours
This moderate hike through coastal scrub and grasslands offers some breath-taking ocean views and a couple locations to descend to a beach. Allow 15 minutes driving time from Bear Valley to the Laguna Trailhead.
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Tomales Point Trail to Windy Gap40-90 Minutes
Take a short walk along the ridge crest of Tomales Point to a location from which tule elk are frequently seen. Allow 35 minutes driving time from Bear Valley to the Tomales Point Trailhead, located at the north end of Pierce Point Road.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Webcams
Camera images load live from the National Park Service and partner agencies
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
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Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for California's national parks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthBrown Pelican 40× · Coyote 24× · North American River Otter 23× · Great Horned Owl 17× · Northern Elephant Seal 11× · Common Loon 7× · Belted Kingfisher 6× · Fox Sparrow 6×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 363 birds, 76 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barn Owl · Broad-winged Hawk · Burrowing Owl · Cooper's Hawk · Ferruginous Hawk · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Long-eared Owl · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Northern Pygmy-Owl · Northern Saw-whet Owl · Northern Spotted Owl · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Prairie Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Short-eared Owl · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · Western Screech-Owl · White-tailed Kite
Waterfowl & wadersAleutian Canada Goose · American Bittern · American Coot · American White Pelican · American Wigeon · Arctic Loon · Barrow's Goldeneye · Black Rail · Black-crowned Night-Heron · Blue-winged Teal · Brandt's Cormorant · Brown Pelican · Bufflehead · Canada Goose · Cattle Egret · Cinnamon Teal · Clapper Rail · Clark's Grebe · Common Goldeneye · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Double-crested Cormorant · Eared Grebe · Emperor Goose · Eurasian Wigeon · Great Blue Heron · Great egret · Greater Scaup · Greater White-fronted Goose · Green Heron · Green-winged Teal · Harlequin Duck · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Least Bittern · Lesser Scaup · Little blue heron · Long-tailed duck · Northern Pintail · Pelagic Cormorant · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Red-necked Grebe · Red-throated Loon · Ring-necked Duck · Ross' Goose · Ruddy Duck · Sandhill Crane · Snow Goose · Snowy Egret · Tufted Duck · Tundra Swan · Virginia Rail · Western Grebe · White Ibis · Wood Duck · Yellow Rail · Yellow-billed Loon
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Avocet · American Black Oystercatcher · Ashy Storm-Petrel · Baird's Sandpiper · Bar-tailed Godwit · Black Skimmer · Black Tern · Black Turnstone · Black-bellied Plover · Black-footed Albatross · Bonaparte's Gull · Bristle-thighed Curlew · Brown Booby · Buller's Shearwater · California Gull · California Least Tern · Caspian Tern · Cassin's Auklet · Common Black-headed Gull · Common Murre · Common Snipe · Common Tern · Crested Auklet · Curlew Sandpiper · Dunlin · Elegant Tern · Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel · Forster's Tern · Franklin's Gull · Glaucous Gull · Glaucous-winged Gull · Greater Yellowlegs · Heermann's Gull · Herring Gull · Horned Puffin · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Leach's Storm-Petrel · Least Sandpiper · Lesser Golden-plover · Lesser Yellowlegs · Little Gull · Long-billed Curlew · Long-billed Dowitcher · Magnificent Frigatebird · Marbled Godwit · Mew Gull · Mottled Petrel · Pacific golden plover · Parasitic Jaeger · Pectoral Sandpiper · Pink-footed Shearwater · Pomarine Jaeger · Red Phalarope · Red-footed Booby · Red-necked Phalarope · Rhinoceros Auklet · Ring-billed Gull · Ruddy Turnstone · Sanderling · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Sharp-tailed Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Short-tailed Shearwater · Sooty Shearwater · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Thayer's Gull · Tufted Puffin · Western Gull · Western Sandpiper · Western snowy plover · White-rumped Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Phalarope
Gamebirds & dovesBand-tailed Pigeon · California Quail · Mourning Dove · Pigeon Guillemot · Rock Dove · White-winged Dove · Wild Turkey
WoodpeckersAcorn Woodpecker · Downy Woodpecker · Hairy Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Nuttall's Woodpecker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-breasted Sapsucker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAllen's Hummingbird · Anna's Hummingbird · Black Swift · Black-chinned Hummingbird · Calliope Hummingbird · Costa's Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · Vaux's Swift · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Cliff Swallow · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Pipit · American Redstart · American Robin · American Tree Sparrow · American brant · Ancient Murrelet · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Belted Kingfisher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black Scoter · Black-and-white Warbler · Black-chinned Sparrow · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-legged Kittiwake · Black-necked Stilt · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Blackbird · Brown Creeper · Brown Thrasher · Brown Towhee · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Bushtit · Canada Warbler · Canvasback · Cape May Warbler · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-backed Chickadee · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping Sparrow · Clay-colored Sparrow · Common Moorhen · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut Warbler · Dark-eyed Junco · Dusky Flycatcher · Dusky Warbler · Eurasian Skylark · European Starling · Evening Grosbeak · Fox Sparrow · Gadwall · Golden-crowned Kinglet · Golden-crowned Sparrow · Golden-winged Warbler · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray Flycatcher · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Hammond's Flycatcher · Hermit Thrush · Hermit Warbler · Hooded Oriole · Hooded Warbler · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Hutton's Vireo · Indigo Bunting · King Eider · Lark Bunting · Lark Sparrow · Lazuli Bunting · Least Flycatcher · Lesser Goldfinch · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Macgillivray's Warbler · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Marbled Murrelet · Marsh Wren · Mountain Bluebird · Mourning Warbler · Nashville Warbler · Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow · Northern Fulmar · Northern Goshawk · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Northern Shoveler · Northern Shrike · Northern Waterthrush · Oak Titmouse · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Pacific Diver · Pacific-slope Flycatcher · Painted Bunting · Palm Warbler · Phainopepla · Pine Siskin · Prairie Warbler · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Finch · Purple Martin · Pygmy Nuthatch · Red Crossbill · Red Knot · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Redhead · Rock Wren · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Ruff · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Sage Sparrow · Sage Thrasher · Savannah Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scarlet Tanager · Scissor-tailed Flycatcher · Song Sparrow · Sora · Spotted towhee · Steller's Jay · Summer Tanager · Surf Scoter · Surfbird · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Townsend's Warbler · Tree Swallow · Tricolored Blackbird · Tropical Kingbird · Varied Thrush · Vesper Sparrow · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Wandering Tattler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · Western scrub jay · Whimbrel · White-crowned Sparrow · White-throated Sparrow · White-winged Scoter · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Winter Wren · Wood Thrush · Wood Warbler · Worm-eating Warbler · Wrentit · Xantus' Murrelet · Yellow Warbler · Yellow throated vireo · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo · Yellow-throated Warbler · bobolink
Small mammalsAmargosa Vole · American Shrew Mole · Black (roof) rat · Black-tailed Jack Rabbit · Botta's Pocket Gopher · Broad-footed Mole · Brown Rat · Brush Rabbit · Common Muskrat · Deer Mouse · Dusky-footed Woodrat · Fog Shrew · House Mouse · Point Reyes jumping mouse · Sonoma Chipmunk · Trowbridge's Shrew · Vagrant Shrew · Western Gray Squirrel · Western Harvest Mouse
Marine mammalsBlue Whale · Bottlenose Dolphin · California sea lion · Common Minke Whale · Cuvier's Beaked Whale · Dall's Porpoise · Fin Whale · Gray Whale · Guadalupe Fur Seal · Humpback Whale · Killer Whale · Northern Elephant Seal · Northern Fur Seal · Northern Right Whale Dolphin · Northern Sea Lion · Pacific White-sided Dolphin · Pacific harbor seal · Pygmy Sperm Whale · Sei Whale · Southern Sea Otter · Striped Dolphin · common dolphin · common porpoise · long-beaked common dolphin
PredatorsAmerican Badger · American Black Bear · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Coyote · Cross Fox · Ermine · Long-tailed Weasel · Ringtail · River Otter · Striped Skunk · Western spotted skunk · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsColumbian black-tailed deer · Common Fallow Deer · axis deer · valley elk
BatsBig Brown Bat · Black Bat · Brazilian Free-tailed Bat · California Myotis · Fringed Myotis · Hoary Bat · Little Brown Bat · Long-eared Myotis · Pallid Bat · Red Bat · Yuma Myotis · mule-eared bat
Also on the checklistCatamount · Feral cat · Virginia Opossum · grampus
Activities
Activity guides for this park Camping in the national parks · Canoeing and kayaking in the national parks · Fishing in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Horseback riding in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
All 17 activitiesHide
Weather & climate
The moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean creates a climate with no great extremes of heat or cold. Any season can bring interesting weather during your visit to Point Reyes National Seashore. Come prepared!
Questions people ask
Does Point Reyes charge an entrance fee?
No. Point Reyes is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
What are the hours at Point Reyes?
Standard hours are Opens at 6:00AM, every day.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Point Reyes?
Yes. The Park Service lists 5 campgrounds in Point Reyes: Glen, Sky, Wildcat, Coast, and Tomales Bay Boat-in Camping. 5 take reservations through Recreation.gov.
Do any Point Reyes campgrounds have hookups or showers?
No. None of the 5 listed campgrounds report showers, electric hookups, or a dump station.
Source: Campgrounds
How busy is Point Reyes?
2,429,601 recreation visits in 2025, number 39 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Point Reyes?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 4G LTE. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Point Reyes established?
1962.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Point Reyes?
The moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean creates a climate with no great extremes of heat or cold. Any season can bring interesting weather during your visit to Point Reyes National Seashore.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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