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Mount Vision in Point Reyes National Seashore

Sight · Point Reyes National Seashore

Mount Vision

Drive-up peak with panoramic views over esteros, headlands and ocean

Photo: National Park Service
Type
Sight
Nearest trail
0.4 mi
Audio stories
8 nearby
  • Parking
  • Scenic viewpoint
  • #14 of 30 sights
DirectionsMap

Hear the audio tour

Mount Vision Overlook

Overview

About Mount Vision

Why stop

  • Panoramic coastal and estero views from an easy final walk
  • Compact, quiet viewpoint

Heads up

  • Views depend heavily on clear weather
  • Winding approach and small parking area
This is a viewpoint you can reach by car, with a short, easy walk from the parking area. At 1,282 feet, it sits high enough to take in the shape of the peninsula in one look.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop

Map

Where it is

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Full map
SightMount Vision38.08881, -122.87416
Keep this map with you offline in the Parkwolf app

Plan your stop

Before you go

Getting there

The drive itself has few views, so do not judge it before you reach the top.

  • From Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, turn onto Mount Vision Road
  • Climb roughly ten minutes up a winding road through Bishop pine forest
  • The overlook is a small parking area on the right, the west side, with a bench
  • Vehicles longer than 24 feet are not permitted on this road

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
See all 4 alerts
A park ranger sits on a dash-mounted phone, talking, as Parkwolf’s Tour Guide plays “Army Cutworm Moths: A Grizzly Bear Buffet” on Grand Loop Road below Dunraven Pass in Yellowstone
Parkwolf Tour GuideThe highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.

Point Reyes Tour Guide

Your drive to Mount Vision, 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

Mount Vision Overlook
0:00 / 0:29
“You're approaching Mount Vision, a viewpoint high on Inverness Ridge. A short walk from the pullout opens onto Drakes Estero, the headlands, Great Beach, and, in clear air, the Farallon Islands.”

Plays as you drive up to Mount Vision in the Parkwolf Point Reyes Tour Guide.

More stories near here in the app

  • The Beaver Without a Pond
  • The Forest's Slow Recycler
  • Point Reyes Shipwreck
  • The Ray Wasn't the Oyster Thief
  • 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!!!!”
JMJamesApp Store review
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4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

Guide

More about Mount Vision

What the view is likeOn a clear day you get a broad elevated sweep of:

On a clear day you get a broad elevated sweep of:

That makes it a good orientation stop early in a trip.

  • The Point Reyes Headlands
  • Drakes Estero
  • Great Beach and the open ocean
  • The Farallon Islands when the air is clear
What to expectCompact and quiet. This is a viewpoint, not a hike, and it often feels solitary.

Compact and quiet. This is a viewpoint, not a hike, and it often feels solitary. You can linger on the bench and take the view in.

Practical adviceCheck the sky before committing. Clear days are worth the drive; low fog is not
  • Check the sky before committing. Clear days are worth the drive; low fog is not
  • Signage is limited, so watch for the small pullout rather than a big sign
  • Arrive with a plan B in case the parking area is full
Honest drawbacksThe view is entirely weather dependent. Fog can obscure or erase it completely
  • The view is entirely weather dependent. Fog can obscure or erase it completely
  • The parking area is small, so a couple of cars can fill it
  • The approach road is steep and twisty, which is unpleasant if anyone in the car is prone to motion sickness
  • There is nothing to do here besides look, so it is a stop rather than a destination
viewpointscenicdrakesbaycoastlineoverlookmountainfogbishopine

Wildlife

Wildlife in Point Reyes

All Point Reyes wildlife maps
Northern Elephant Seal2,552 sightingsNorthern Elephant SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting mapGrey Whale127 sightingsGrey WhaleMost seen around noonSighting mapHumpback Whale109 sightingsHumpback WhaleMost seen around 10 AMSighting mapSteller Sea Lion29 sightingsSteller Sea LionMost seen around noonSighting mapCalifornia Sea Lion203 sightingsCalifornia Sea LionMost seen around noonSighting mapHarbor Seal352 sightingsHarbor SealMost seen around 7 AMSighting map

Sighting maps show where each species has been reported across Point Reyes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.

Keep exploring

Near Mount Vision

See it all on the map

Trails nearby

ChallengingBucklin–Muddy Hollow Road–Drakes View–Inverness Ridge Loop7.7 mi · 5 hr · 0.4 mi awayA strenuous ridge loop with wide Drakes Bay views.ChallengingBucklin–Muddy Hollow Road–Bayview–Inverness Ridge Loop8.6 mi · 5 hr · 0.4 mi awayAn 8.6-mile strenuous loop from ridge views into pine forest.EasyPoint Reyes Hill Trail1 mi · 30 min · 0.4 mi awayA short ridge walk ends at a bench above Drakes Bay.ModerateInverness Ridge Trail3.2 mi · 1.8 hr · 0.4 mi awayA quiet ridge crossing opens toward Drakes Estero and the Pacific.ModerateBucklin Trail5.4 mi · 3.5 hr · 0.4 mi awayA ridge connector with ocean views from Limantour to Chimney Rock.EasyEstero Trail to Home Bay2.4 mi · 1.3 hr · 2.2 mi awayA short grassland walk ends at a footbridge over Home Bay.ModerateDrakes Head via Estero Trail8.8 mi · 5 hr · 2.2 mi awayLong pasture miles end at a bluff above Drakes Estero.ModerateSunset Beach via Estero Trail7.8 mi · 4 hr · 2.2 mi awayEstuary views and working pasture lead to a rocky wetland shore.

More stops nearby

Sight · 1.4 mi awayPoint Reyes ShipwreckCollapsing wooden fishing boat settled into Tomales Bay mudflatsSight · 3.1 mi awayHistoric Life-Saving Service CemeteryFour surfmen's graves behind a white picket fence in eucalyptusLodging · 3.2 mi awayLimantour LodgePark's only roofed lodging, tucked in a valley near Limantour BeachSight · 3.2 mi awayDrakes Estero Kayak LaunchPaddle into a hushed marine wilderness of seals, rays and birdsSight · 3.9 mi awayCypress Tree TunnelQuarter mile of 1930s Monterey cypress arched into a green tunnelFood · 3.9 mi awayBovine BakeryMorning buns, almond croissants, and strong drip coffeeSight · 4 mi awayHistoric KPH Maritime Radio Receiving StationRestored Morse code station at the end of a cypress tunnelCampground · 4.2 mi awaySky CampgroundHike-in ridgetop tent sites with sweeping Drakes Bay and ocean views

Parkwolf’s Point Reyes ranking

Top sights in Point Reyes

All 41 places
  1. 1Point Reyes LighthouseSight
  2. 2Chimney RockSight
  3. 3Drakes BeachBeach
  4. 4Cypress Tree TunnelSight
  5. 5Alamere FallsSight
  6. 6Pierce Point RanchSight

Take Parkwolf to Point Reyes.

The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.

4.7 from 8,600+ ratings

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