Point Reyes Weekend

You Mon Tsang November 3rd, 2011

After a big day of eating turkey and hanging out with the family, it’s time to flex your arms and legs and work off the second helping of stuffing! Head out to Point Reyes. Here are some great things to do:

• See if the fish are spawning; check for updates and tours at SPAWN (Salmon Protection And Watershed Network)
• Check out the terrific local artists at the semi-annnual Open Studios
• Maybe you can catch the very tail end of the Tule Elk Rut Season
• For bird watchers, it’s always worth a stroll to Abbotts Lagoon, where you may be able to find migrating birds.

• Art , Beach , Food
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You Mon Tsang August 29th, 2010

Want to be inspired by other people’s sand sculptures and sand castles?  Better yet, want to give it a try yourself?

Every year on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the National Park Service hosts at Drake Beach a Sand Sculpture Contest.  It is really fun.  If you want to give it a go, I would advise that you bring tools to (1) move sand, (2) move water and (3) finely tune sand.

Facts for 2010:

• Event occurs on Sunday, Sept 5, 2010.
• Anyone can enter.
• Prizes awarded in each of several age and group catagories.
• Free to participants and spectators.
• Registration begins at 9:00 am at the Ken Patrick Visitor Center.
• Judging begins at 12:00 pm.
• Prizes awarded at 3:30 pm.

Categories include: Children (14 and under), Families, Adult Individuals, and Adult Groups. Three prizes will be awarded in each of those categories, along with prizes for the sculpture with the most recycled plastic included.

Photos of past winners at the National Park Service web site:

• Beach , Kids , Summer
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You Mon Tsang March 29th, 2009

Many outdoor adventures friends of mine slow down a bit when they have kids. And they don’t get to places like Point Reyes as often. But they’re missing out. There’s a lot to do here with kids; I’ve taken my child all around the peninsula. Yes, long hikes and mountain biking don’t work so well, but beaches and kayaks do. Every kid is different so you’ll have to make your own choices, but here are some adventures for your family to consider:

Bear Valley Visitor’s Center

• Charming indoor exhibit (with movie) that could distract children for 30-60 minutes. Gift shop warning…
• By the visitor’s center is the Earthquake Trail, which is flat and less than a mile but is very cool for learning about the 1906 earthquake
• The Kule Loklo trail (~1 mile) that takes you to a replica Coast Miwok Native American village.

Beaches

• Drake’s Beach has a small visitor’s center with an tiny exhibit as well as a cafe you can hang out if you need a break or a bite. The beach is also pretty fun to walk down.
• My favorite ocean beach for kids is Limantour, where the waves are less intense and the sand very soft.
• If you want a warmer and less intense Tomales Bay beach, try Hearts Desire Beach, which is cozy, gentle and charming
• For tide pooling, I go to Agate Beach in Bolinas.  I’ve had mixed luck, but when it’s good, it’s hours of fun. Check for low tides on our weather page.

Wildlife

• Elephants seals are a big favorite (winters at Chimey Rock)
• Whales require so much patience that I don’t take most adults, much less children
• The tule elk are pretty cool; you can often see them from the car and at Pierce Point, where they reside, there is a cool old ranch that kids can explore
• On warm spring and summer days, Audubon Canyon Ranch (near Bolinas) offers short hikes, cool overviews, bright white birds and a pond full of newts and tadpoles

Point Reyes Lighthouse

• The lighthouse is great and the 300+ steps are challenging for the kids but doable. My kid did it by himself at 6. I carried him when he was two. Wind and fog can make this trip a real adventure! Call the ranger station there ahead of time to ask about conditions: (415) 669-1534

Kayaking

• On calm days, Tomales Bay is an easy kayak trip. Pack water and a good picnic and head for a beach to stretch your legs. Check the lodging and resources page for links to local kayak rentals.

Food

I’ve had luck with kid food in Point Reyes here:

• Pine Cone Diner (diner)
• Cafe Reyes (pizza and Mexican)
• Tony’s Seafood (on way to Marshall)
• Station Cafe

I will update this post with any of your suggestions.  So please suggest away…

• Beach , Kids
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You Mon Tsang January 19th, 2009

This weekend (Jan 18), we went out to Drakes’ Beach and saw some elephant seals up close and personal. One camped himself right next to parking lot; the one in the picture was about 3/4 miles south.

To see elephant seals at Point Reyes, get yourself to Drake’s Beach. From there, you can take the shuttle to Chimney Rock where 200+ seals are sparring, pupping, hanging.  It’s a remarkable sight but you’re seeing it from a distance. At low tides (check Point Reyes tides) at Drakes’ Beach, you can probably see one of the loners hanging out as well.

Update: The National Park Service has produced a terrific video on the elephant seals. Check it out.

Photo by Michael Harrold

• Beach , Elephant Seals , Wildlife
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You Mon Tsang November 10th, 2007

UPDATE: Nov 13, 2007, 5pm:In a email newsletter, the Audobon Canyon Ranch, which is located right on the Bolinas Lagoon, notes: ”despite news reports and our worst fears, indications to-date are that very little oil has reached the Bolinas Lagoon, and the threat to the Lagoon is abating.” 

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UPDATE: Nov 12, 2007, 9pm: The MarinIJ reports that most of the Point Reyes Peninsula was spared oil as winds and tides start to blow the oil back south.  This means the beaches closer to the headlands may be resoiled.  I spent a few hours on at North Beach today and all was normal (and beautiful) there.

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UPDATE: Nov 11, 2007, 9pm: Reports that oiled bird have been spotted as far north as Drakes Beach.  RCA Beach and Palomarin Beach (both in the southern tip of the Point Reyes Peninsula) have been closed to the public as a precaution.

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UPDATE: Nov 11, 2007, 1am: An inspirational story in the San Francisco Chronicle: On their own: In Bolinas, residents struggle to keep fragile lagoon safe. A quick excerpt:

The residents of Stinson Beach and Bolinas banded together Saturday with volunteer firefighters, local fishermen and county workers in a last-ditch attempt to protect the lagoon from oil contamination. There were no experts on oil booms, contractors, state or federal disaster relief workers…. It was the third day in a row the locals were left to their own devices, even as oil washed ashore on Stinson Beach, leaving speckles of tar in the sand.

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UPDATE: Nov 10, 2007, 10am: The rangers at Point Reyes tell me that the spill have not reached the beaches yet, although they do expect it to happen. The booms to collect the oil are being put out at Drakes Bay to try to stop the oil before it reaches the shores.

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The oil spill from the Cosco Busan container ship has affected the southern part of West Marin (esp the Headlands), but there have been reports of oil as far north as Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon. The early focus has been cleanup and rescue of birds.  The advice from bird experts regarding lay people trying to rescue birds have been mixed.  The good folks at PRBO say: “Please do not collect oiled wildlife, the oil is toxic to handle.  Collecting live birds without training can cause more harm than help and compromise their condition. Oiled LIVE mammals should be reported to the Marine Mammal Center at 415.464-5170. Oiled dead mammals should be reported to the California Academy of Science at 415.289.7325.”Volunteers have been referred to International Bird Rescue Research Center, where they do have some instructions for helping birds.  Read up and use your best judgement if you encounter oiled birds in need.In the meantime, the Marin Independent Journal and the San Francisco Chronicle have good coverage of the spill.  The Chronicle has put together this helpful map of the spill area.
View Larger Map

These photos are from the MarinIJ.

• Beach , Wildlife
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You Mon Tsang October 2nd, 2007

The non-profit Heal the Bay’s 2007 California Summer Beach Report Card has been released, giving beachgoers water quality information at 494 monitoring locations, from Humboldt County to San Diego County.

Tough crowd Originally uploaded by Luiza

In California overall, 88% of the beaches received A grades.  This was the best water quality grade in recent memory, according to the report, which stated “record low rainfall this year, which limited polluted urban runoff in storm drain systems, played a major role in better water quality.“  [Editor's note: Love clean beaches, but I'd trade for more rain.]

In Marin, 91% of the of 23 beaches received A scores, while in West Marin, all the beaches got As and most got A+s.

So what are you waiting for?  Jump in!

Notes:
Report Overview
Marin Section of the Report

• Beach
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You Mon Tsang September 12th, 2007

From The California Coastal Commission Web Site:

California Coastal Cleanup Day is the premier volunteer event focused on the marine environment in the country. On this day, 50,000 volunteers turn out to over 700 cleanup sites statewide to conduct what has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as “the largest garbage collection” (1993). Since the program started in 1985, over 750,000 Californians have removed more than 12 million pounds of debris from our state’s shorelines and coast. When combined with the International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy and taking place on the same day, California Coastal Cleanup Day becomes part of one of the largest volunteer events of the year.

West Marin locations (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/publiced/ccd/counties/marin.html)

• Agate Beach (Meet at 8am in the Agate Beach parking lot)
• Brighton Beach (Meet 9am at the end of Brighton Avenue)
• Bear Valley Visitor Center – Pt. Reyes National Seashore (Meet 9:30am at the Bear Valley Visitor Center, Pt. Reyes National Seashore)
• Duxbury Reef (Meet 9am in the Common Wheel Retreat Center parking lot on Mesa Road)
• Kent Island (Meet 9am at the Rod and Boat Club on Wharf Road)
• Muir Beach (Meet 9am at the Muir Beach parking lot)
• Slide Ranch (Meet 9:45am at the office at Slide Ranch. Bring a bag lunch.)
• Stinson Beach (Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the lifeguard station )

FREE Thank You BBQ for all cleanup volunteers, sponsored by the Bay Model Association and the Sausalito Lions Club. There will be a special performance by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Water Safety Team. (http://www.spn.usace.army.mil)

Photo by blmurch

• Beach , Giving
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You Mon Tsang September 3rd, 2007

On a warm, crowded Labor Day weekend in the Point Reyes area, one highlight was the Sand Sculpture Contest at Drakes Bay.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, 60 contestants and 1,000 onlookers showed up for the fun, annual event. The Chronicle describes the winner of the adult group competition as a “cross between an igloo, an Egyptian pyramid and the loading dock of a Costco.” Wow.

Read the entire article and look at the photos…

• Beach , NPS
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You Mon Tsang July 5th, 2007

Have you spent 20, 30, 90 minutes driving to a Point Reyes beach only to be sand blasted by huge gusts of winds?  I have.  Many times.  That’s why I stick a kite in the car.  Flying a kite is at once peaceful and fun.  You can help but smile while flying a kite.  I suggest bringing a durable kite since the winds can be very strong. 

If you are actually go specifically to fly a kite, but it is not a particularly windy date, your best bet will probably be the oceanside beaches (North and South Beaches are the easiest to get to).

• Beach , Windy
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You Mon Tsang June 27th, 2007

I have not yet been to this, but I must must go.  Every July 4th, the towns of Stinson and Bolinas have a tug of war over the channel that separates the two towns.  Despite being yards away from each other, the towns have very different feels (to say the least).  That is what makes this event that much more fun.

harder! Pull!, originally uploaded by Luiza.

A good writeup of the 7/4 event at the Marin Independent Journal; some highlights:

At the beach, a reputed 200-pound weight requirement for Bolinas tuggers may have made the difference, but Stinson partisans complained that a celebrant was offering free food stamps, whale blubber steaks and intoxicants to energize the Bolinas tugging team. Race officials said it was a case of sour grapes. “It was a fair match,” said Mike Bagley, an official who monitored fruitless efforts by both the Stinson men and women teams.

Read the entire article…

And from the Point Reyes Light:

Every year the tug-of-war provides a chance for the two towns to symbolically spar. Bolinas has a reputation for tapping into its population of hardy, outdoorsy hippies, while Stinson is known for unabashedly using power and influence to recruit outside help.
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According to local lore, Stinson has imported brute pulling strength in the form of 500 pound Samoans, the Berekely rowing team and, one year, a jeep, which resulted in a broken arm and the suspension of the contest for several years. This year, seven members of the Golden Gate rugby team, collectively weighing in at more than two tons, tossed a rugby ball around on the sidelines, keeping warm while awaiting their chance to pull Stinson to glory.

Read the entire article…

Updated: The 2009 contest was captured by Bill and June at swerbo.com. It’s a great video.

And great photos by Luiza…

The rope comes in, originally uploaded by Luiza.

Stinson, originally uploaded by Luiza.

Go!, originally uploaded by Luiza.

• Beach , July , Local Scene , Summer
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