Mt Tamalpais … finally! It's been in my list of hikes to do for a long time and after making plans quite a few times, finally got to do it with family this time around. It's a bit of a drive from South Bay and the road was quite windy from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach. We ran into an unexpected situation where we ran out of gas as we neared Stinson beach and we were taken aback in knowing there are no gas stations in Stinson Beach. Thankfully the friendly firefighters at the local fire station helped us by filling it up enough for us to get back to Mill Valley. So something to keep in mind if you plan to start the hike at Stinson beach!

We parked at a local park and started at the Dip-Sea trailhead. Along the way ran into a group of our friends who started the hike from Mill Valley. There are so many trails in and around this mountain that I heard we could hike for a month everyday and not redo the same trail more than once. The weather was extremely pleasant and the trails were very well maintained. After about a mile, we reached Steep Ravine trail which was so thickly wooded with tall trees, waterfalls and creeks all along and not to mention the steps and ladders that helped with the elevation. This part of the trail was so scenic and is undoubtedly one of the best I had ever hiked. Soon we reached Pantoll Ranger Station where we took restroom breaks.

From Pantoll, it was a gentle climb for the next couple of miles with sweeping views of San Francisco Bay which seemed to be quite popular with mountain bikers until we reached West Point Inn. We were hoping it would be open to have pancake breakfast but was disappointed to find it closed. Enjoying more views, climbed for another two miles to reach the East Point Summit where we had our packed lunch taking in more views of the bay and surrounding areas. The tower and the summit were just about 0.5 miles from here and it was finally so good to be at the summit at close to 2500ft elevation. So elevation wise it is not the steepest but definitely one of the longest and having good company definitely helps.

After spending some time at the rocky summit, followed the same way down back to Pantoll and from there took yet another beautiful Matt Davis trail along the rim filled with expansive views of the Pacific ocean and wildflowers in full bloom. This trail is a little longer than Steep Ravine but still took about the same time in getting back to Stinson Beach.

After a wonderful hike which I would call as a moderate one, icy cold waters in Stinson Beach provided the extra comfort where we got to soak our tired feet to naturally get rid of inflammation. We ended the day with the promise to go back soon to try yet another trail the next time!