Best time to go
Six tables are spread along the eastern stretch of trail, so it helps to stay flexible about which one you use and to bring a blanket as a backup. Do not leave food unattended or feed wildlife. Groups of 25 or more need a permit.
Overview
About Five Brooks Picnic Area
Why stop
- Pondside tables in a sheltered woodland setting
- Useful meal stop near several trail connections
Heads up
- Farthest tables are a few hundred meters from parking
- No water and a rough final access road
This is a quiet, practical picnic stop rather than a scenic overlook. Six tables are scattered along the eastern end of Stewart Trail, with some set near an abandoned mill pond just past the Five Brooks Trailhead. Tables are free and first come, first served, which makes this a workable spot to eat before or after a hike on Stewart, Olema Valley, or Rift Zone trails.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop hereMap
Where it is
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Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
Best time to go
Getting there and the walk in
4 active Point Reyes alerts
- ClosureOld Tocaloma/Platform Bridge closed to vehiclesDo not drive across the Old Tocaloma/Platform Bridge; it is closed to all vehicular traffic until further notice.Official details
- ClosurePalomarin Beach Trail closedPalomarin Beach Trail is closed to all visitors, employees, and residents until further notice; do not use the trail. - The trail is closed because unstable and failing sections have made it unsafe.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Point Reyes Tour Guide
Your drive to Five Brooks Picnic Area, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Point Reyes National Seashore. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Five Brooks Picnic Area0:00 / 0:25
“Five Brooks is coming up, a quiet picnic stop among woods and trails. Six free, first-come tables sit along Stewart Trail, some beside a mill pond built for a sawmill in nineteen fifty-six.”
Plays as you drive up to Five Brooks Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Point Reyes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Pond Made by a Fault
- The Mill Behind Five Brooks Pond
- The Butter Brand Worth Copying
- A Fence Shows the 1906 Shift
- 61 audio storiesacross Point Reyes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Northern Elephant Seal, Grey Whale, Humpback Whale, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 65 trails, 41 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Five Brooks Picnic Area
The settingExpect still water, grass, and mixed woodland rather than coast views.
Expect still water, grass, and mixed woodland rather than coast views. The tables nearest the pond sit in small clearings framed by trees, while others are set back along the trail, and the surrounding forest keeps wind exposure minimal. Some sites get partial shade; others are open, so pick your table based on sun and temperature that day.
Facilities, and what they are notParking, a vault/composting toilet, an information kiosk, and trash and recycling receptacles…
Parking, a vault/composting toilet, an information kiosk, and trash and recycling receptacles are at the trailhead, not beside every table. There is no verified drinking water, and no grills are provided. Plan on using the restroom and dropping trash at the trailhead rather than at your table.
What to bringAll your water. The mill pond is not a drinking water source.
- All your water. The mill pond is not a drinking water source.
- Food you can carry a few hundred meters.
- A blanket or spare seating in case the table you want is already in use.
- Layers for shade and cool air under the trees.
- Your own small portable gas campstove or charcoal barbecue grill if you want to cook. Wood fires are prohibited, charcoal briquettes only in grills, and heat-producing equipment must be attended until cool. Pack out all ash and briquettes.
Honest drawbacksThe rough final stretch of road, the walk from the car, and the lack of verified water make…
The rough final stretch of road, the walk from the car, and the lack of verified water make this a low-key stop rather than a destination. If you want tables right beside your vehicle and services within steps, this is not the place. If you want a shaded, sheltered table near water at the start of several trails, it works well.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Point Reyes
2,552 sightingsNorthern Elephant SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
127 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting map
109 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
29 sightingsSteller Sea LionMost seen around noonSighting map
203 sightingsCalifornia Sea LionMost seen around noonSighting map
352 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Point Reyes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
