Muddy Hollow Trail

Muddy Hollow Trail is a gentle, roughly 3-mile out-and-back from Muddy Hollow Trailhead to the south end of the drainage at Limantour Beach. The mapped path is about 1.5 miles each way, on packed dirt with a flat or mild grade. It follows the creek through red alder and willow before opening beside an arm of Estero de Limantour. Choose it for easy miles, wetland scenery and a chance to watch birds; this is a creek-and-marsh walk, not a climb to a headland view.

The route is only a few feet wide in places, and several narrow footbridges cross the drainage. The lower sections move from riparian growth into open grass and marsh. A pond along the route is a good place to look for birds; wildflowers appear seasonally, and tule elk are possible but never guaranteed. The trail is easy-grade, but wet-season mud and spring or early-summer grass crowding the tread can slow the walk.

The small dirt lot at Muddy Hollow Trailhead holds roughly 15 vehicles and is about 0.2 mile off Limantour Road. The larger gravel lot at Limantour Beach is a second access from the south; vault toilets are available at the picnic area there. Allow 80 minutes to two hours for the named trail. Pets and bicycles are not allowed on this route.

The beach edge is about 0.2 mile beyond the south picnic area; go there and retrace if you want to reach Drakes Bay. Some route descriptions list 4 miles for the complete beach outing. The 3-mile figure here covers the mapped trail return; the beach walk is a separate extra leg, making the full outing roughly 3.4 miles by those measurements.