Woodward Valley Loop

Woodward Valley Loop is a 13-mile circuit from Bear Valley Trailhead: it climbs Inverness Ridge, drops through Woodward Valley to the Coast Trail, then returns through Bear Valley’s creekside forest. Allow six to seven hours; this is a strenuous day hike. Choose it when you want a demanding route that changes character as it goes, from shaded fir woods to open coastal grassland and broad Pacific views. The wide, mostly gentle Bear Valley path gives way to narrower dirt trails on the ridge and descent. The distance is for the complete loop, not a shorter coastal walk or a beach detour.

Follow Bear Valley Trail south for about 0.2 mile, then turn onto Mount Wittenberg Trail. The sustained climb gains about 1,130 feet in 1.8 miles. Douglas-fir canopy survives along much of this slope, so the early ascent is mostly wooded and offers few far-reaching views. At the Z Ranch junction, stay on Mount Wittenberg as it heads west along the ridge; the Pacific may appear when the air is clear. A separate 0.3-mile Mount Wittenberg Summit spur reaches a higher top, but the once-open view there is now largely screened by firs. The loop joins Sky Trail at about 2.4 miles from the start. The official Meadow Trail offers a slightly easier ascent to that same junction, starting farther along Bear Valley Trail; it is an alternative, not part of this mapped line.

Turn south on Sky Trail for about 0.8 mile, then west onto Woodward Valley Trail. This two-mile descent loses roughly 800 feet. The 2020 Woodward Fire cleared shrubs and many low branches from a corridor that had been notably lush, leaving a more open understory beneath much of the surviving forest. Narrow sections are mostly compacted dirt, with ruts, exposed roots, and rocks in places. The last half-mile opens through coastal grassland and scrub, where the first sustained ocean views make a natural photo stop. Keep some of the grass-covered slope in the foreground with the headlands beyond; it shows the shift from wooded ridge to coast.

Turn south on Coast Trail and continue to its junction with Bear Valley Trail, then follow Bear Valley four miles east and north to the trailhead. The coast section keeps the ocean in view through grassland and coastal scrub; the return starts gently beside Coast Creek, passes Divide Meadow, then follows Bear Valley Creek through buckeye, oak, and Douglas-fir woodland for its final 1.6 miles. The Bear Valley Trailhead has restrooms and potable water. Divide Meadow has vault toilets but no potable water, so carry enough for the full circuit. There is no food service on the route, so pack what you need. Pets are prohibited on all trails in this route.