Most visitors to Point Reyes know that Limantour Road leads to the hostel and is a quick route to the beach. A number of the seashore's lesser-known and most primitive trailheads are reached from Limantour as well. Lonely Muddy Hollow is the starting point for a number of loop hikes. You can trek up Bucklin Trail through the area devastated by the 1995 Mount Vision fire, and return via Drakes View Trail, a 7 mile loop. For a 9-mile loop, string together Bayview, Laguna, and Coast Trail, finishing up on the gravel road past the hostel and down to Muddy Hollow. Or extend the featured hike by remaining on Muddy Hollow Road at the junction with Glenbrook. Turn left on White Gate Road, left on Estero, and then turn right at the junction with Glenbrook and continue the featured hike.
     The area around Muddy Hollow is not famous for wildflowers, but there is good wildlife viewing. You may see tule elk; some of the herd from Tomales Point have been relocated to this part of the seashore. Hawks are common and rabbits (and rabbit fur) may be glimpsed throughout the coastal scrub. Fox, coyote, bobcat, and even mountain lion also roam these lands. From Estero Trail in spring you can hear and see (with binoculars) harbor seals beached on Limantour Spit (these sea mammals are easily disturbed so never approach them). Berry enthusiasts hiking in late spring and early summer may find themselves in purple-stained finger heaven. Blackberry brambles sprawl across hillsides, thimbleberries hide in the shade on Estero Trail, and salmonberries, rare in the bay area, line Muddy Hollow Trail.
     From the parking area at the trailhead, start in front of the trail markers at the junction of Muddy Hollow Road and Muddy Hollow Trail. Walk north on Muddy Hollow Road, open to equestrians and hikers only. After a few steps on the wide trail you'll cross a creek. At 0.11 mile, Bayview Trail heads uphill to the right at a signed junction. Continue straight on Muddy Hollow Road.
      A few cypress, bush lupine, ceanothus, and bishop pine grow near the junction. Coyote brush is the dominant trailside plant. Muddy Hollow Road climbs gently, passing skeletal remains of bishop pines burned in the Mount Vision fire. Three connecting ponds are barely visible on the left side of the trail. Look to the right for a rocky outcrop on the side of the hill. At 0.93 mile, Muddy Hollow Road meets Bucklin Trail at a signed junction. Continue straight on Muddy Hollow Road.
      The trail begins to descend. A few shrubby alders seem out of place. Muddy Hollow Road crosses over Glenbrook Creek, then regains the lost elevation, crests, and meets Glenbrook Trail at a signed junction at 1.50 miles. Turn left on Glenbrook.
     The trail, closed to cyclists, climbs easily through coyote brush. Park staff no longer maintain this stretch of Estero, so it is likely to be overgrown in late spring and summer. You might see pussy ears, clover, iris, California buttercup, and blue-eyed grass in spring. As Glenbrook levels out and heads south toward the ocean, on a clear day look north for views of Mount Vision, and east to recap the hike so far. Glenbrook is straight and the trail surface is grassy, but watch out for stray roots from coyote brush shrubs. Hawks swoop overhead, searching for cottontails. I'd say from the amount of rabbit fur along the trail, they are frequently successful. At 2.16 miles, Glenbrook Trail ends at a signed junction with Estero Trail. Remain straight on Estero Trail.
     From here it's a lonely 3.1 miles to the next trail junction. Estero continues at Glenbrook's level pace. Limantour Estero is visible to the right. You might hear sea lions or harbor seals beached on Limantour Spit. Ignore any side paths as Estero turns left, away from the ocean, and heads back to the north. I saw 4 tule elk along the trail here on my April hike. Estero Trail descends gently, passes a few eucalyptus, then turns and crosses Glenbrook Creek's watershed on a bridge. Estero Trail meanders through an enchanting little pocket of alders, thimbleberry, nettle, and salmonberry. In spring, huge cow parsnips tower over 5 feet, while miner's lettuce and candyflower nestle close to the damp ground. This short diversion is over too soon, and the trail, shrunken to a narrow path, steps back out into coastal scrub. Estero Trail climbs easily, sweeping up to a bluff's flat spine. Spring flowers include iris, blue-eyed grass, paintbrush, lupines, and checker-bloom. Spurs head south toward the ocean, but remain on the trail, which begins to descend toward a pond. Watch out for poison oak. With the pond on the left, and mudflats on the right, Estero Trail remains on the firm ground of a dam. At 5.27 miles, Estero Trail ends at a signed junction with Muddy Hollow Trail.
      Previously, hikers could return to the trailhead on Muddy Hollow Trail, to the left. Then the park staff permanently closed the route -- it's just too flood-prone to maintain. The fastest way back to the trailhead now is to continue to the right to the Limantour Beach trailhead, then walk back north along Limantour Road. You could also make your way south to Coast Trail and use that route as the return trail -- turn left at the Hostel and walk a short distance on the road back to the trailhead. Or, retrace your steps via Estero Trail and Muddy Hollow Road.

Total distance: 6.70 miles (if you walk back along Limantour Road -- other options are longer)
Last hiked: Friday, April 27, 2001


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