Limantour Spit Trail

Limantour Spit Trail is an easy 2-mile out-and-back from Limantour Beach Trailhead, usually about an hour. The two-mile figure is the total round trip; the mapped named path runs just under a mile west along the spit, and you return by the same corridor. It follows the low dune edge beside Limantour Estero, with the open beach nearby. This is the short named route, not the farther beach walk to the spit’s western tip and the mouth of Drakes Estero. The tip is about two miles one way from the access, so that makes a separate, roughly four-mile beach outing before extra wandering. Choose this short route for an easy coastal walk with time to stop at the mudflats; keep going only if you want the longer beach walk.

The tread is sandy rather than paved, with coastal grass and scrub beside the path. The route stays low with little elevation change; it feels more like a stroll through dunes than a hike to a viewpoint. The mudflats and adjacent sandy beach are the payoff: birds forage along the estero, and harbor seals may surface beyond the breakers. Those are possibilities, not promised sightings. Expect loose sand underfoot, and the path can be muddy in the rainy season. There is no climb or loop to extend the short mapped walk.

Start at Limantour Beach Trailhead at the west end of Limantour Road. The large dirt lot holds about 200 vehicles; picnic tables and a vault or composting toilet are there too. Food and drinking water are not listed at the trailhead or along this route, so arrange those elsewhere. Dogs are not allowed on this trail. The pet-permitted section at Limantour Beach is a separate stretch southeast from the parking lot toward Coast Camp. The published easy rating fits the low grade; loose sand and wet-season mud are the main frictions.