Fodor's Northern California 2015 by Fodor's

Author:Fodor's
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fodor's Travel Publications
Published: 2014-11-02T16:00:00+00:00

Exploring

FAMILY | Bear Valley Visitor Center.

A life-size orca model hovers over the center’s engaging exhibits about the wildlife and history of the Point Reyes National Seashore. The rangers at the barnlike facility are fonts of information about beaches, whale-watching, hiking trails, and camping. Winter hours may be shorter; call or check the website for details. | Bear Valley Visitor Center Access Rd., west of Hwy. 1 | 415/464–5100 | www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit | Weekdays 9–5; weekends 8–5.

FAMILY | Duxbury Reef.

Excellent tide pooling can be had along mile-long Duxbury Reef, the largest shale intertidal reef in North America. Look for sea stars, barnacles, sea anemones, purple urchins, limpets, sea mussels, and the occasional abalone. But check a tide table (www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/marine.php) or the local papers if you plan to explore the reef—it’s accessible only at low tide. The reef is a 30-minute drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Take Highway 1 south from the center, turn right at Olema-Bolinas Road (keep an eye peeled; the road is easy to miss), left on Horsehoe Hill Road, right on Mesa Road, left on Overlook Drive, and then right on Elm Road, which dead-ends at the Agate Beach County Park parking lot.

FAMILY | Point Blue Conservation Science.

Birders adore Point Blue (formerly the Point Reyes Bird Observatory), which lies in the southernmost part of Point Reyes National Seashore and is accessed through Bolinas. (Those not interested in birds might find it ho-hum.) The unstaffed Palomarin Field Station, open daily from sunrise to sunset, has excellent interpretive exhibits, including a comparative display of real birds’ talons. The surrounding woods harbor more than 200 bird species. As you hike the quiet trails through forest and along ocean cliffs, you’re likely to see biologists banding birds to aid in the study of their life cycles. TIP Visit Point Blue’s website to find out when banding will occur; it’s a fun time to come here. | Mesa Rd. | Bolinas | 415/868–0655 | www.pointblue.org | Free | Daily sunrise–sunset.

FAMILY | Fodor’s Choice | Point Reyes Lighthouse.

In operation since December 1, 1870, this lighthouse is one of the premier attractions of the Point Reyes National Seashore. It occupies the tip of Point Reyes, 22 miles from the Bear Valley Visitor Center, a scenic 45-minute drive over hills scattered with longtime dairy farms. The lighthouse originally cast a rotating beam lighted by four wicks that burned lard oil. Keeping the wicks lighted and the 6,000-pound Fresnel lens soot-free in Point Reyes’s perpetually foggy climate was a constant struggle that reputedly drove the early attendants to alcoholism and insanity. TIP The lighthouse is one of the best spots on the coast for watching gray whales: on both legs of their annual migration, the magnificent animals pass close enough to see with the naked eye. Southern migration peaks in mid-January, and the whales head back north in March; see the slower mothers and calves in late April and early May.

On busy whale-watching weekends (from late December through mid-April), buses shuttle visitors from the Drakes Beach

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