In
brief:
2.1 mile out and back hike climbs along Cataract Falls in a wooded canyon.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 2.1 mile out and back hike is short but moderate. Trailhead
elevation is about 680 feet. The trail climbs to about 1100 feet in 0.5
mile, then continues to a high point of about 1400 feet in another 0.8 mile. Total elevation change is 1310 feet.
Some sections, mostly sets of steps, are very steep, and both trails and
stairs can be slippery when wet. A trekking pole is a good accessory any
time of the year, particularly if you've got troublesome hips or knees.
Exposure:
Almost totally shaded.
Trail traffic:
Moderate.
Trail surfaces:
Dirt trail with lots of steps.
Hiking time:
2 hours.
Season:
Best in late winter for waterfall.
Getting there:
• From US 101 in Marin County, exit San Anselmo/Sir Francis Drake.
Drive about 5 miles west on Sir Francis Drake to the town of Fairfax. Turn
left on Pastori, right on Broadway, and left onto Bolinas Road. Drive about
8 miles (on the way the road becomes Fairfax-Bolinas Road), to a series of small roadside
parking areas (a short distance past Alpine Dam). Mind the no parking signs --
there is no street-side parking past the sharp hairpin curve to the right.
The nearest mileage marker for the actual trailhead is 8.13.
• From US 101 in Marin County, exit Mill Valley/Stinson Beach. Drive
on Shoreline Highway to the junction with Almonte, about 1 mile (a bit less
if you've exited southbound). Turn left and drive about 2.5 miles to the
junction with Panoramic Highway. Turn right onto Panoramic and drive about
1 mile to the junction with Muir Woods Road; continue straight (right lane)
to stay on Panoramic. Drive about 4 miles to the junction with Pantoll Road,
then turn right onto Pantoll and drive 1.5 miles to the junction of East
and West Ridgecrest. Turn left and continue about 3.7 miles on West Ridgecrest
to the junction with Fairfax-Bolinas Road. Turn right and drive downhill
on Fairfaix-Bolinas Road about 2.2 miles, to a series of small roadside parking areas
between a sharp hairpin curve to the left and Alpine Dam. The nearest mileage
marker for the actual trailhead is 8.13.
GPS coordinates* for trailhead:
Latitude
37°56'12.26"N
Longitude 122°38'16.53"W
(* based on Google Earth
data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, pay phone, restaurants, and stores in Fairfax. No camping in the immediate
area.
Trailhead details:
A few side-of-road parking spots. No entrance or parking fees. No maps,
toilet facilities, or drinking water. No designated handicapped parking
spots, and the trails are not wheelchair-accessible. There is no direct
public transportation to this trailhead. Note: A fellow hiker tipped
me off that Marin County enforces the "facing-the-wrong-way" parking law
here -- so park accordingly or risk a ticket.
Rules:
Trails are open from sunrise to sunset. Most district trails are multi-use.
Some trails, including Cataract Trail, are open to hiking only. Dogs are
permitted on the hike described below: they are allowed on leash only on
MMWD trails, but are not permitted on trails in the adjacent state park.
The Official Story:
Sky Oaks Ranger Station: 415-945-1180.
MMWD
recreation page
Map Choices:
• Trail map from MMWD (pdf)
A variation of this hike is described and mapped in 60 Hikes within 60 Miles: San Francisco, by Jane Huber (yup, that's me, the creator of this website). Order this book from Amazon.com.
• A Rambler's Guide to the Trails of Mt. Tamalpais and the Marin Headlands,
map from Pease Press (order from Pease Press) is useful.
this map from Amazon.com).
• Trail map from Redwood Hikes shows all Tam trails -- highly recommended.
• Mount Tam Trail Map, published by Tom Harrison Maps (order from Tom Harrison Maps). Comparable to the Olmsted map.
• Tamalpais Trails, by Barry Spitz (order this book from Amazon.com), has a simple map and good descriptions
of Cataract Trail.
• Don and Kay Martin's Hiking Marin has a useful map and descriptions
of this trail (order
this book from Amazon.com).
Cataract
Falls in a nutshell -- a printable, text-only guide to the featured
hike.
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page