Wildcat Beach via Coast Trail

Wildcat Beach via the Coast Trail is an 11-mile out-and-back from Palomarin Trailhead, about 5.5 miles each way to Wildcat Camp and the short path down to the shore. The park calls it moderate and suggests 4 to 6.5 hours round trip; save extra time if you want to linger on the sand. Go when you want the walk as much as the destination. This is a long, rolling approach with exposed roots, rocks and ruts, but it ends at a 2.9-mile beach tucked below coastal bluffs. This route turns around at Wildcat Beach; the Alamere Falls hike is a separate continuation farther down the beach.

The first mile follows an ocean-cliff top. Then the trail drops into a small valley, climbs the other side on switchbacks, crosses a pass and threads by small ponds. Bass Lake arrives about 2.8 miles from the trailhead; roughly 0.6 mile beyond it, the route looks over Pelican Lake. The Coast Trail then heads inland through coastal scrub and forest before dropping to Wildcat Camp.

At about 4.2 miles, the Ocean Lake Loop branches left. Stay right to keep to the Coast Trail. The loop passes Ocean Lake and climbs steeply to a bluff top with views up and down the shore before reconnecting with the main trail. It is a different leg of the same outing, worth choosing if you want the steeper bluff walk.

The Palomarin approach follows an old ranch road that has narrowed and degraded. Roots, rocks and ruts slow the pace, and the rolling climbs add up over 11 miles. The official rating is moderate, but the distance makes this a full outing; plan around the slower end if you want a break at Bass Lake and time on the beach.

Wildcat Camp opens onto a meadow on a bluff above the ocean. From camp, a short well-worn path on its south side reaches the beach; this is the safe way down. Wildcat Beach stretches 2.9 miles through the Phillip Burton Wilderness, so it is a destination in its own right even if you do not walk the whole shoreline. For a photo, use the wet-sand curve to keep the bluff and surf in the same frame and show how the beach sits below the coast.

Do not expect the falls on this outing. Alamere Falls is about 1.1 miles south along the beach from camp; that separate walk depends on low tide and safe surf, and is outside this route. If 11 miles is more than you want, turn around at Bass Lake for about a 5.6-mile round trip and skip the beach.

Follow Mesa Road to its end at Palomarin Trailhead. The final 1.2 miles are unpaved and often potholed and washboarded; the gravel lot has space for roughly 75 vehicles. It fills early on weekends throughout the year and on many summer weekdays, and the park may close the area to incoming cars when the lot is full. An early start or a midweek hike is the practical plan.

There are vault toilets and an information kiosk at Palomarin, but no potable water there; Wildcat Camp has a vault toilet and potable water. No food service is available at or beyond the trailhead. Dogs are not allowed. Day hiking does not require a permit, but an overnight at Wildcat Camp requires a backcountry permit. Summer fog often hides the shoreline, especially from July through September; the park describes the clearest coastal days as late September through early November. Winter rain can leave the narrow trail muddy, so check advisories before you go.