Base: Point Reyes Station or Inverness, both nights. Drive north from San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge, about 1½ hours. Point Reyes National Seashore has no entrance fee; the visitor center, trails and beaches are free. Pace: easy: a morning drive, a short loop walk and a long, flat beach walk at the end of the day, with a rest at the inn in between.
The drive up and coffee in Point Reyes Station
Leave San Francisco early and cross the Golden Gate Bridge. The fastest way is Highway 101 to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard through the inland valleys; the slower, curvier way is Highway 1 along the coast past Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon. Either way you reach Point Reyes Station, a small village of old wooden storefronts, in about an hour and a half.
Where to eat: start at Toby’s Coffee Bar, inside Toby’s Feed Barn in the middle of the village, for coffee and a pastry. It is a good place to fill a thermos for the day and get your bearings.
Fill the tank in the village and download offline maps before you head into the park. Cell service is patchy on the peninsula.
The Bear Valley Visitor Center and the Earthquake Trail
Drive a few minutes south to the Bear Valley Visitor Center near Olema, the park’s main visitor center, with exhibits on the coast, its wildlife and its history, maps and ranger advice. Ask about the winter road and shuttle rules to the lighthouse and Chimney Rock for Day 3, and the day’s tide times for the beaches.
Then walk the Earthquake Trail, a short paved loop from the visitor center along the San Andreas Fault. Signs show where the ground moved in the 1906 earthquake, and a fence that was split and shifted by the quake marks the offset.
Expert tip: ask the rangers at Bear Valley where the elk and seals were seen that week. They hear from staff and visitors every day, and their tips decide where to spend your time on Day 2 and Day 3.
Lunch in the village and an afternoon rest
Where to eat: drive back to Point Reyes Station for lunch at Station House Cafe on Main Street, a long-running village restaurant with local oysters, fish and farm plates. A seat at the counter suits one person.
Check in at your inn, and give yourself an hour off before the beach. The village is small enough to walk end to end in ten minutes: the bookstore, the old general store and the feed barn are all on the main street.
Sunset on Limantour Beach and dinner
In the late afternoon, drive out Limantour Road over Inverness Ridge to Limantour Beach, about 30 minutes from the village. The beach runs for miles along Drakes Bay, with dunes behind and the white cliffs of Drakes Beach in the distance. Walk west along the sand as the sun drops toward the water, and watch for shorebirds at the edge of the surf.
Turn back before dark: the road over the ridge is narrow and winding, with no lights.
Where to eat: dinner at Café Reyes in Point Reyes Station, with wood-fired pizza and a big patio, an easy, relaxed dinner on your own after the beach.
Where to eat and stop
- Breakfast · Toby’s Coffee Bar — Coffee and a pastry in the feed barn. Why here: In Point Reyes Station, coffee to go before heading into the seashore.
- Lunch · Station House Cafe — Local oysters, fish or a farm plate at the counter. Why here: On the main street of Point Reyes Station, an easy lunch table for one between drives. Generally well reviewed.
- Dinner · Café Reyes — Wood-fired pizza after the beach. Why here: In Point Reyes Station, a casual, no-fuss dinner that suits a solo traveler. Well reviewed by visitors.
- Quick stop (other): Bear Valley Visitor Center (Point Reyes National Seashore) — Maps, ranger advice and restrooms before the trails. Why here: At the main trailheads near Olema, the place for maps, ranger tips and restrooms before you set out.
San Francisco → Point Reyes Station by car: about 1½ hours. Point Reyes Station → the Bear Valley Visitor Center: about 5 minutes. Bear Valley → Station House Cafe: about 5 minutes. Point Reyes Station → Limantour Beach: about 30 minutes by car.
Where to stay
- An inn in Point Reyes Station — a small inn or room on or near Main Street, walkable to the restaurants.
- A cottage in Inverness — or a cottage on the shore road in Inverness, closer to Tomales Point.
Dinner: at Café Reyes in Point Reyes Station.
Tomorrow: Tomales Point, about 40 minutes by car.
Bad-weather plan
In rain, keep the Bear Valley Visitor Center and the Earthquake Trail, take a long lunch at Station House Cafe and swap the beach for an evening walk around Point Reyes Station.
Stay: Point Reyes Station base · Anchor: Limantour Beach at sunset · download offline maps
Good to know: Coastal fog can roll in at any time of year; carry a warm, windproof layer even on a sunny morning.
