Bayview Trail
Trail length: 2.1 miles, connector between Muddy Hollow Road Trail and Inverness Ridge Trail; also connects with Drakes View Trail
Terrain: grasses, oak, fir, bay forests
Restroom? No
Parking: large parking lot
Kid friendly? Yes
Dates visited: 8/15/17, 8/14/18, 11/6/20, 1/9/21
Favorite plants on this trail: California Buckeye (Aesculus californica), Wild Gooseberry (Ribes divaricatum)
The Bayview Trailhead begins near the Inverness Ridge Trail and ends at the Muddy Hollow Road Trail. The Bayview Trailhead is accessed from Limantour Road and has a large parking lot. The terrain is similar to the nearby Drakes View Trail but the Bayview offers better views of Inverness Ridge. Toward the Muddy Hollow end of the trail is a stand of grand old California Buckeye trees, and at the intersection of Bayview and Muddy Hollow is a striking group of ghostly white dead trees. This is one of the trails in Point Reyes National Seashore with a motion detector camera. I wonder what wildlife has been spotted?
Loop: Inverness Ridge, Drakes View, Bayview
For a 5-mile loop hike, start at the Bayview Trailhead parking lot. Take the Inverness Ridge Trail to the Drakes View Trail and return on the Bayview Trail to the trailhead. This is the best direction for the loop. It puts you going downhill for the steep Drakes View trail.
Dusky-footed Woodrat
The Bayview Trail has more Dusky-footed Woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) nests than I’ve seen on any trail in Point Reyes. Several of the nests are easily accessed from the trail for a closer inspection. I observed seven nests. Some were very close together and may have belonged to the same woodrat. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen an actual woodrat. The beautiful photo below was taken in Morgan Hill, California by Edward Rooks. Edward described how the woodrat stayed absolutely still while he and his wife looked at it and photographed it. The moment they turned, it disappeared.
The dusky-footed woodrat is the favorite prey of the Northern Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Woodrats look similar to the common rat, but with larger ears and eyes, softer coats, and furred tails. Their nests have many chambers for resting, storing food, protection and sometimes even a latrine. Other animals such as mice may live in the same den, so the woodrat nest is a valuable resource in the neighborhood. Woodrats are herbivores and eat cuttings from branches, leaves, fruits and nuts — oak is their favorite. The Dusky-footed woodrats of California have been found to selectively place California bay leaves (Umbellularia) around the edges of their nest within their stickhouses to control levels of ectoparasites such as fleas. (source: Wikipedia)
Jules Evens, a local naturalist writes eloquently about the Bayview Trail and dusky-footed woodrats in his article in Bay Nature from his year-long walkabout in 2012.
Volunteer Opportunity: PRNSA Field Institute
The Point Reyes National Seashore Association needs assistants for their Field Institute classes. You will spend a day training with PRNSA staff, then a couple of times a year you'll select the classes you'd like to help with. Shortly afterwards, you'll receive a confirmation of which ones you've been assigned. As a facilitator, you get to take the class for free. Normally, two facilitators help with every class. Duties include signing in class participants, making coffee (for indoor classes), talking briefly about PRNSA, and generally helping out as needed. I've been volunteering for about a year. It's a great experience to work with other facilitators and get to know the amazing field institute instructors.