Marin County Hikes

Leo T. Cronin fish viewing area offers parking for three trails in the immediate area.  This is one of my go-to places for hikes. The reason is that there are three hikes here offering three significantly different levels of dificulty, all in the same location. It is not too far out in West Marin, and the location is typically cooler than most of the rest of Marin on hot summer days. In the winter you will find the picturesque dew-ridden redwood forest! :) 

The Shafter fire road on the west side of Lagunitas Creek will take you to the Shafter Grade Trail which leads to Bolinas Ridge and is 1.7 miles of steep grade. This is the most difficult of the three hikes. Once you hit the ridge you can head west along Bolinas Ridge to to Olema; this stretch is 5.2 miles and much easier. I typically hike to the picnic bench on the ridge trail which is a mile and half or so along the route to Olema and trun around there. My roundtrip time is 2 hours and 20 minutes or so. 

Bolinas Ridge Road photo. 

Option two is to cross Lagunitas Creek to the east side onto Peters Dam Road and head up the trail to San Geronimo Ridge Road. The loop back to the Leo T. Cronin fish viewing area is approximately 3 miles. The initial stretch is approximately 1 mile up a good incline. Then you can turn right on Grassy Slope to stay on a more strenuous track or drop down to the left and continue on along Kent Lake on a more relaxed route. The loop takes me around an hour and forty minutes to complete, regardless of the trail option at the crest of the ridge. If short on time, I often simply do the initial 1 mile leg which is all incline, completing it in 50 minutes. 

Grassy Slope Trail photo-

Option three is to cross over Sir Francis Drake Boulevard taking the bridge (adjacent the Ink Wells) to the old train track known as Cross Marin Trail, that will take you west further into Samuel P. Taylor Park and beyond to Platform Bridge Road. This is a level walk that courses through Redwoods and parallels Lagunitas Creek. It is 5.3 miles long. I like this particular trail when I am looking for something more relaxed, offering more of a meditative experience if you will. You do get road noise from SFD. There are a couple more difficult trails off this one along its route, if you get bored! 

I love Marin! The outdoor experiences here abound!