Tomales Point — top Bay hike

Tomales Point Trail is an out‑and‑back route with official NPS distances of 2 miles round‑trip to Windy Gap, about 6 miles round‑trip to the Lower Pierce Ranch site, and roughly 9.5 miles round‑trip to the tip at Tomales Point. (nps.gov) Point Reyes National Seashore prohibits pets at Tomales Point and on most park trails, and allows dogs only on South Limantour Beach, North and South Point Reyes Beaches, and Kehoe Beach (pets must be leashed to 6 feet or shorter). (nps.gov, nps.gov) The Tomales Point tule elk herd was counted at a minimum of 315 animals in the park’s 2024 annual census, and the NPS’s Dec. 2, 2024 Tomales Point Area Plan calls for removal of roughly 2.2 miles of the elk enclosure fencing — a removal that was later subject to a federal court order temporarily halting further dismantling. (nps.gov, nps.gov, nationalparkstraveler.org) Parking and facilities at the Tomales Point/Pierce Point Ranch trailhead are limited — McClures Beach parking lot below the trailhead holds about 25 vehicles, restrooms there are open 6 a.m.–midnight, and the Pierce Point Ranch lot is described as a small paved lot adjacent to historic ranch buildings. (nps.gov, nps.gov) NPS notes the final 1.7 miles of the route to the point are unmaintained, often sandy and overgrown, and visitors are warned to stay off unstable cliff tops after a section of bluff collapsed in January 2017. (nps.gov) More than 85% of the Tomales Point planning area lies within the Phillip Burton Wilderness, horses and other pack animals (but not llamas) are permitted on the Tomales Point Trail, bicycles are prohibited, and cell phone reception is very limited in the area. (nps.gov, nps.gov, nps.gov)