We started early on Sunday so parking at Stinson Beach was easy. We took the Matt Davis trail on the way up. There was good elevation and the trail was beautiful! There was good shade until we reached Pan Toll station. After that, the trail was pretty much exposed to the sun. We had to take fire roads for much of the way up. The end of the trail near the peak was a rocky stretch. The views from the peak was awesome. There was plenty of water source along the trail. We refilled at the peak.
We took the Steep Ravine trail on the way back. This trail was simply beautiful! Lush, green with a running creek, beautiful ladder, gentle elevation. We were glad to be faced with this trail on the way back as we were exhausted from the hike.
The trail was supposed to be about 14 miles round trip but our phones recorded close to 20 miles. The entire hike took us about 9 hours.
We stopped at Stinson Beach for coffee and cake to reward ourselves for ticking this off our list.
Responses
What a beautiful view! I appreciated your review, especially about the extra distance and the water sources. We’re doing Mt. Tam this weekend and I was planning to just pack the day’s worth of water. I’m glad to know a little more about what to expect!