Marin County Open Space District,
Marin County
1 mile loop on a grassy ridge with million dollar views of the bay and San Francisco.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1 mile loop hike is easy, with about 75 feet in elevation change.
Exposure:
Totally exposed.
Trail traffic:
Moderate.
Trail surfaces:
Dirt fire roads and trails.
Hiking time:
Less than 1 hour.
Season:
Good anytime
Getting there:
From US 101 in Marin County, exit Tiburon Boulevard. Drive east about 3.5 miles, and turn left on Lyford Drive. Drive about 0.8 mile uphill, and bear left on Sugarloaf (Lyford ends to the right, and another access gate to the preserve is visible). Drive 0.1 mile more, and turn right onto Heathcliff. Continue a short distance to the end of the road.
Get driving or public transit directions from Transit and Trails:
http://www.transitandtrails.org/trailheads/373
GPS coordinates* for trailhead:
Latitude
Longitude
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phone, stores, and restaurants a few miles east or west on Tiburon Boulevard. No camping.
Trailhead details:
Side of the road parking in a residential neighborhood. No parking or entrance fees. No maps, or toilet facilities. No designated handicapped parking, and trails are not wheelchair accessible. There is no direct public transportation to the preserve, but Golden Gate Transit's #10 bus runs on Tiburon Boulevard, and you could walk uphill to the preserve from there.
Rules:
Trails are multi-use. Dogs are permitted on leash on trails; off leash under voice command on fire roads. Dog owners must have a leash for each dog.
The Official Story:
MCOSD's Old St. Hilary's page
MCOSD field office 415-499-6405
Map Choices/More Info:
• Use AAA's Mill Valley and Vicinity map to get there.
• Download the pdf map from the MCOSD website.
• Barry Spitz's Open Spaces has a simple map and preserve descriptions (order this book from Amazon.com).
• Don and Kay Martin's Hiking Marin has a useful map of the preserve and the surrounding area (order this book from Amazon.com).
• View 28 photos from this hike.
The
million dollar views enjoyed by residents of the Tiburon 
peninsula
can be yours too, during the time you spend at Old St. Hilary's Open Space
Preserve. Expansive vistas of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel
Island, and the Marin Headlands make Old St. Hilary's a must for folks
searching for the perfect picnic spot with a view. This small parcel of
ridgetop grassland, just 117 acres, is an enclave for spring wildflowers
(common and rare), and the trails provide great exercise for locals and
their dogs.
Old St. Hilary's hosts two official trails,
although some unofficial paths are well-worn. Vistazo Fire Road crosses
through grassland further down the hill, and can be accessed by either
end of Vistazo Street. Vistazo Fire Road is a little over a quarter mile
long, and does not connect to the preserve's main, ridgetop trail, Heathcliff
Fire Road. You may want to combine a visit to Old St. Hilary's Open Space
Preserve with a stop at Old St. Hilary's Church 
and
the surrounding botanical gardens, both in the preserve's southern corner.
The pathway to the church is off Vistazo West (for more information and
a map, visit the Belvedere-Tiburon Landmarks Society webpage, above).
Start at the open space gate at the end
of Heathcliff. Heathcliff Fire Road, open to hikers, cyclists, and
equestrians, skirts a small rocky outcrop, then sweeps through grassland
and begins a brief climb. Right away you'll have great views of the Golden
Gate Bridge and the Marin Headlands. When I visited in March, weeks away
from spring, the grass was dotted with Fremont's camas, suncups, checker-blooms,
and johnny-jump-ups. Coyote brush shrubs punctuate the hillsides. Ignore
a side 
path
that heads right, and continue south on Heathcliff Fire Road. The
wide dirt trail descends briefly, then regains altitude and climbs a bit
more to a crest. From here you'll have perhaps the bay area's premier
view of Angel Island, as well as San Francisco and the east bay.
Heathcliff Fire Road drops sharply to the preserve's border, at
0.43 mile. From here, a trail continues onto private land (luxury houses
may be built on this land, but a battle rages and the outcome is
uncertain), on the other side of a fence. Walk past the open space
sign, and turn right onto a small unsigned path before you reach the
fence (or, if you like, retrace your steps to the trailhead on Heathcliff
Fire Road).
Irises and bluedicks may be seen flowering
together in late winter off the side of the path. The unnamed path descends
and ascends gently, 
then
drops down to a creek crossing. A plum tree flowers near a clump of poison
oak and coyote brush. Boards help you cross the creek during wet months,
and the path continues across the hillside. In spring, look for blossoms
on lupine as well as false lupine on the sides of the path. As houses
come closer into view, stay to the right as the path splits at
0.77 mile; the left leg ends at the Lyford Drive Trailhead.
The path heads back to the ridge line,
climbing easily through coyote brush and grassland. At the crest, the
path joins Heathcliff Fire Road at a previously encountered junction,
at 0.89 mile. Turn left and retrace your steps to the trailhead,
savoring the views north.
Total distance: 1 mile
Last hiked: Tuesday, March 6, 2001
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