Parking
Use the gravel Sky Trailhead lot on Limantour Road; NPS lists about 10 spaces and limited roadside overflow.
Overview
About Sky Trail to Sky Camp
Why go
- The climb ends with a clear-day view of Point Reyes, Drakes Bay and the Pacific.
Heads up
- It is a steady uphill walk, and the return follows the same route.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Point Reyes map
Full mapElevation683–1,046 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Sky Trail to Sky Camp, 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 area
Sky Trailhead and Mount Wittenberg0:00 / 0:20
“You're approaching Sky Trailhead, the gentler start for a five-mile loop over Mount Wittenberg, the peninsula's highest point.”
Plays near this trailhead in the Parkwolf Point Reyes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Cone with a Mouse Tail
- When the Tide Returned
- The Winter Salmon Run
- Laguna Trailhead and Coast Loop
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Sky Trail to Sky Camp
A short climb to campSky Trail to Sky Camp is a 2.8-mile out-and-back, with 1.
Sky Trail to Sky Camp is a 2.8-mile out-and-back, with 1.4 miles each way on an old gravel road through Douglas-fir woods to the backcountry campground on Mount Wittenberg’s west side. The Park Service calls the climb moderate; allow about two hours round trip. The route is a good choice when camp and its view are the goal. It stops there; the full Sky Trail continues farther toward Bear Valley.
What the walk feels likeThe broad road climbs steadily through forest, with no verified viewpoint on this short stretch…
The broad road climbs steadily through forest, with no verified viewpoint on this short stretch before camp. At Sky Camp, the trees open toward Point Reyes, Drakes Bay and the Pacific on clear days. For a photo, look for the grassy path toward the campsites, with the ocean opening on the left. You return on the same road, so the walk back is downhill.
Access and facilitiesStart at Sky Trailhead on Limantour Road.
Start at Sky Trailhead on Limantour Road. Its gravel lot holds about 10 vehicles, with limited roadside overflow. Dogs are prohibited on Sky Trail. Sky Camp has year-round vault toilets and potable water, but they are at the destination; no food or water service was found at the trailhead. Overnight camping requires a permit obtained before the trip.
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.
