Point Reyes National Seashore, CA
A long shaded ridge walk that ends away from its start.
Overview
Most of the route stays under trees, so expect a long shaded walk rather than a string of overlooks. The name refers to Inverness Ridge. When summer growth is up, grass, brambles, stinging nettle and poison oak can crowd the path and slow you down. The mapped trail follows an old road, but vegetation can make the track feel narrower.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe forest is the payoffMap & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Point Reyes Tour Guide
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 area
After the Pelican's Splash“At a Point Reyes beach, a line of brown pelicans may skim just above the breakers. If one climbs and makes a headfirst dive, watch what happens after the splash.”
Plays on the road 0.1 mi from the trailhead in the Parkwolf Point Reyes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Ridge Trail is a 6.2-mile point-to-point hike from roadside access on Mesa Road to its junction with Stewart Trail. It links Teixeira and Bolema through oak, bay and fir forest on a broad dirt track. Plan about four hours on foot, then arrange a pickup or a return route; this is not a loop.
Use the Ridge Trail access on Mesa Road, not Palomarin Trailhead, which is a separate start about 0.6 miles away. The final 1.2 miles of Mesa Road are unpaved and often rough. Palomarin has a gravel lot and vault toilet, but those are not at the Ridge start. Pets aren't allowed, and the Stewart end is a trail junction, not a car park.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ModerateBass Lake via Coast Trail5.7 mi · 3 hr · 0.8 mi awayBluff-top surf views lead inland to a small lake.
ModerateWildcat Beach via Coast Trail11 mi · 5.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA long coastal hike to a wild beach and back.
ModerateCoast–Lake Ranch–Ridge Loop11.1 mi · 6 hr · 0.8 mi awayOcean cliffs, a forest pond and a quieter ridge in one day
ChallengingAlamere Falls via Palomarin and Wildcat Beach13.2 mi · 7.5 hr · 0.8 mi awayA long coastal hike ends at a waterfall spilling onto Wildcat Beach.
ChallengingCoast Trail: Palomarin to Laguna Road16 mi · 9 hr · 0.8 mi awayA full-day coastal traverse linking two hike-in camps.
EasyPalomarin Beach Trail1.2 mi · 45 min · 0.9 mi awayA short Coast Trail spur reaches a beach beneath eroding bluffs.
ChallengingPablo Point Trail5.4 mi · 4 hr · 1.8 mi awayA 5.4-mile out-and-back to an unmaintained meadow spur.
ChallengingMcCurdy Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · 1.8 mi awayClimb through pasture, redwoods and chaparral to Bolinas Ridge.
Sight · 3.2 mi awayAlamere FallsA 40-foot cascade spilling over coastal cliffs onto a wilderness beach
Beach · 4 mi awayWildcat BeachRemote 2.9-mile beach with Alamere Falls dropping onto the sand
Campground · 4.2 mi awayWildcat CampgroundHike-in bluff meadow above the surf, a mile from Alamere Falls
Picnic area · 4.9 mi awayFive Brooks Picnic AreaSix trailside tables, some beside an abandoned mill pond
Campground · 5.1 mi awayGlen CampgroundQuiet wooded valley camp, 4.6 miles in, no ocean view
Beach · 8 mi awaySecret Beach and Skylight CaveCollapsed sea cave and hidden beach reached only at negative tides
Beach · 8.2 mi awaySculptured BeachWave-carved rocks and low-tide pools, two miles down a wild shore
Picnic area · 8.5 mi awayBear Valley Picnic AreaTwenty-five shaded tables, charcoal grills, and room for big groupsParkwolf’s Point Reyes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
