Pt. Reyes is a hike I'd been wanting to do for some time. It's 17 miles one-way, leading all along the coastline, past rocky cliffs, panoramic views, green meadows, sandy beaches, waterfalls, coastal forests, pretty streams and peaceful lakes. Highlights include Alamere Falls, a 50 ft waterfall that drops off a cliff right onto the beach, Arch rock, a sea arch where the ocean crashes through a rock gateway onto the beach right in front of you.

Depending on your fitness level and how much sunlight you have, the hike can be done in 1, 2, or 3 days. To do the full 17 miles one-way, you'll need 2 cars, one to drop off at the Limantour parking lot at the end, and another to take everyone to the start of the hike at the Palomarin parking lot. We chose to do the hike in 2 days, carrying our gear in and camping halfway at Glen Camp.

From Palomarin, the trail extends high over the Pacific ocean, winding along sunny cliffs before turning inland around a couple of small lakes. Bass Lake is swimmable, and we spotted a rope hung from a tree, but decided against detouring here. It's a pretty little lake, surrounded by pines, but not anything special.

The first big detour is Alamere Falls. We dropped our packs and headed down half a mile to the coast. From above, you can spot the a little river shimmying down over the cliff to the beach. There are several tiers of cascades that you scramble past to get to the main falls: a 50 ft sheer drop over the cliff onto the beach. There's a steep scramble down to the beach that gets you right down under the waterfall -- the clear white water pounding onto the sand on one side, the ocean waves lapping up on the other.

Back on the main trail, at about 5.5 miles in, you hit Wildcat Camp, set in a green meadow on a cliff right over the ocean. Despite being a hike-in only campsite (as are all the sites along this trail), it's very popular and you need to book way in advance to get a spot on the weekend.

Since the site was full, we booked into Glen camp, which is further up in elevation, in a little evergreen forest on the side of the mountain. The trail winds upward for a good 2 miles, but its not incredibly steep. We saw several cute white-tailed deer along the way.

The sun was coming down quick over the ocean, and we made it just in time. Chris brought his campstove, so we were able to have warm water and coffee when we got there. The campsite was nice, in a pretty field surrounded by trees, underneath the stars. The one issue was that it was wretchedly cold. I blame this in part on my cheap-ass Big 5 mummy sleeping bag, though, which is so big for me, it really defeats the purpose of being shaped like a mummy.

We were all pretty sore and tired when we woke up at Glen Camp, but we still had over 8 miles to go. We packed up all our stuff and headed out of the forest and back toward the Coast trail. After a mile or so, we came out of the forest and into green meadows high over the ocean. The trail descended steeply from there, winding past beautiful overlooks, all the way down to the ocean's edge.

After a couple of miles, we reached Arch Rock, the highlight of the trip for me. From above, the rock just looks like a kinda cool outcrop over the ocean. But down below, it's actually an arch, where the ocean pounds up against the beach. Sarah and I scrambled down the side of the cliff to a stream that flows down through the arch. The water was crisp and cold and felt amazing in the hot sun.

By clinging to the side of the cliff, you can actually wind your way around and sit right in front of the arch, with the beach below and the crashing waves coming right up to you. It's really awesome. There's a small beach area, too, the the left of the arch, where you can just chill and enjoy the ocean.

After Arch Rock, the Coast trail winds further north, through open meadows and over streams and bridges. About 3 miles past Arch Rock is the split off to Sculptured Beach, a desolate stretch of sand underneath high sandstone cliffs. The sand isn't great here, but the attraction is in the weird shale and limestone outcrops that pockmark the beach like a moonscape. There's a small sign pointing out the split-off trail, which winds down a pretty, shaded path lined by purple irises.

We had a choice at Sculptured Beach -- head back up the hill to the trail, or attempt to follow the beach and catch up with the trail later. We figured it might be a bit shorter, so we just hiked along the beach for a while. The sand stretched onward for a while -- at least to our tired legs sinking in the sand -- but before long we came upon people just hanging out on the beach -- civilization!

 We were just below Coast Camp, in a little feild right over the beach. We followed a small, unmarked trail up, and from there, we followed the Coast Trail for another 1.5 miles. There, the Coast trail curves off and heads into the hills toward the Youth Hostel. We spit off and headed to the beach again, walking through the now fine-grained sand all the way back to Limantour parking lot.

I went with my boyfriend Adam to visit Point Reyes, my first time in a few years, his first time ever. We planned on finding a place to camp out on our own or check out the youth hostel off Limantour Road, but it was all booked and campers were prohibited from camping without a license. Nonetheless, it was late and we were too tired to drive, so we grabbed our sleeping bags and some food and set up camp on the beach after a 10-minute. There were a few other campfires on the beach, and we planned to get up early and leave around dawn. It turned out someone vandalized my car during the night, broke all the windows but didn't steal anything, and I ended up having to pay $250 for the damages, but it was only a light damper on what was otherwise an awesome trip. It was very beautiful, with the fog making the whole atmosphere seem magical, and coastal trees jutting out of the sand and soil. There were a lot of very nice bed and breakfasts on the way. We went to see the lighthouse, and learned about its history, as well as got a workout going up the stairs and hiking around. We wandered around the little town on the way (forgot its name) and got a Tibetan singing bowl and ate at a Mexican restaurant. The man who owned the jewelry store where we got the singing bowl was very kind and helpful.

I rented a car for the weekend with Christina coming into town. On Saturday, we decided we would either go to Napa or Point Reyes. We elected to goto Point Reyes, the reasoning being that to truly experience Napa, you need to drink wine and this left us with the rationale that only one person would be enjoying it while the other drove around.

We set off from Emeryville, and drove though the city, driving on the Golden Gate bridge which is always fun and then proceeding on the 1. Driving on the 1 is quite entertaining. Not only is the road small being 2 lanes, there are also cyclists that will ride up and down this stretch. These cyclists have to be part thrill-seekers, not only is the terrain ever-changing with its sharp turns and hills, you have little room for error. If you take a turn wrong, you could end up facing oncoming traffic. Not a prospect I envy.

After driving on the 1 for a bit, we ended up at Point Reyes Station, population 350 or so the sign said. It really is a small town here and Christina and I took a break here to look around. We spotted a Cowgirl Creamery store and went inside. Christina loves goat cheese and they had it in abundance. Inside it was busy and outside it appeared all the cyclists were taking their lunch on the grass. After browsing around we left with our pockets lighter and arms heavier, Christina bought a couple goat cheeses and I bought a Cowgirl Cheese Sample bag with 3 different kinds.

We ate lunch at the Station House Cafe. The service wasn't stellar, our waitress stopped at the table next to us 4 times before coming to ours and finally filling our glasses with water and taking our order. The food was OK, there aren't many options in Point Reyes so I commend them for not getting away with being mediocre.

Finally we set off on the 1 again and drove to the lighthouse at Point Reyes, the main attraction. Once we got there we were a bit disappointed seeing a sign that said the steps were closed due to high wind. Once we got out of the car the wind hit us. Really it did. If you want to experience wind "hitting" you, go to Point Reyes. So we walked in a huddle towards the old weather station. From there we could see the lighthouse, the beaches along the coast and of course the Pacific. This point is a popular spot for whale spotting. I swear I saw one and pointed it out but Christina couldn't see it. They have a visitor center there, which is basically this shack built into the rocky bluff, it provides not only protection from the wind but some great history about the point too. They have a timeline of the history and the park ranger there will answer any questions you have. Overall it was very enjoyable and I'm glad we went. My only advice is that its very windy so I would bring at least a jacket, and maybe a wind breaker if you have one.

Stopped by on the way to Drake's Beach because the sign advertised "World's Best Oysters". It was my first time trying them, and I thought they were pretty good, but my boyfriend's the expert and he said they were some of the best he's had. So, best in the world...I dunno, but pretty darn good. :) We also split an excellent Greek Salad and a 1/2 combination 1/2 Mediterranean pizza (or something like that) that was also very tasty. We ate out of the patio since it was a nice day, right under a beautiful Japanese maple tree, and just across the street from the ocean. The place next door also seemed interesting, but it was mainly meat dishes and was rather pricey...it's called Cafe Vladimir's. There's also a Thai place across the way but was also pricier, although it looked out directly on the water. Overall, I'm glad we stopped there, it was a very pleasant meal. Great to incorporate into a day at the beach.

Point Reyes, just north of San Francisco, is a simply gorgeous place to get away to for a day trip. It has a beautiful beach and rolling hills and if you're lucky (and it's mid-January), you can see the whales migrating past the Lighthouse. Only downside, great white sharks. So try not to go swimming too far out. =)