Estero Trail

Trail length:  9.2 miles
Time: depends on how far you go
Terrain: Grasses, coastal scrub, creek, marsh, estuary
Restroom? Yes, at Estero Trailhead
Parking: small parking lot at Muddy Hollow Trailhead; medium parking lot at Estero Trailhead
Kid friendly? Yes, but it's long. Hiking a couple of miles out and back, either starting at the Estero Trailhead or the Muddy Hollow Trail are good hikes for kids. A very simple hike is starting at the Estero Trailhead and hiking to the first bridge across Drakes Estero. It's a great place for kids to hunt for crabs along the banks.
Dates visited: 8/16/16, 9/9/16, 11/11/16, 4/28/18, 6/30/18, 7/22/18, 11/4/18, 4/28/19, 8/18/19, 9/20/20, 9/25/20, 10/23/20, 12/29/20
Favorite plants on this trail: Paintbrushes (Genus Castilleja)
Estero trail plant list and Point Reyes marsh plants visual guide from the Marin chapter of the California Native Plant Society
Favorite spots:

1. Walking through the dense bishop pines connecting Muddy Hollow Trail with Glenbrook

2. Overlooking the ocean at Drakes Head

3. Tule elk in the hills, especially when they are whistling and bugling during the rut

There are several Estero trail segments that connect to make one long trail traversing 9.2 miles from the Estero Trailhead to the Muddy Hollow Trail.

Estero Trailhead

Starting at the Estero Trailhead, you walk through the remains of a Christmas tree farm into a small forest. The trees are teeming with birds. You cross the Estero along a raised path with a bridge. Along the marshy banks are small crabs climbing among the rocks. The trail ascends gradually following the Estero. In this first part of the trail, many plants border the trail including lupines, ceanothus, Coast Tarweed (Madia sativa), Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis), Wight's Paint Brush (Castilleja wightii), Oregon Gumplant (Grindelia stricta), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), Pacific Wax Myrtle (Morella californica), hedgenettles. California Quail families skitter along the trail and Columbian Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus ssp.columbianus) graze in the brush. You will pass through several cow gates and encounter cattle wading and grazing in ponds. At 2.5 miles, you'll come to a split with the Sunset Beach trail straight ahead and the Drakes Head and White Gate/Glenbrook trails to the left. 

Drakes Head Trail

The trail from the Estero Trailhead to Drakes Head and back is 9.6 miles roundtrip. From the split that leads to Drakes Head, the path is marked by blue arrow signs. This is necessary since the trail is faintly marked across the pasture. You are following the edge of the Limantour Estero on your left so it's unlikely you will get completely lost. This trail concludes on a wide hillside cliff overlooking the meeting place of Limantour Estero, Drakes Estero and Drakes Bay. You may see leopard sharks or rays swimming in the shallow water below. A good time to visit is the fall when leopard sharks enter Limantour Estero to breed. It's a beautiful and expansive view spanning Drakes Beach to Chimney Rock on the west and along Limantour Beach on the east. A US Coast and Geodetic Survey marker from 1930 sits atop the hill.

To White Gate and Glenbrook

This segment of the Estero trail covers pastural land and coastal scrub with some nice views of the estero. 

Sunset Beach Trail

The trail from the Estero Trailhead to Sunset Beach and back is 7.8 miles roundtrip. Walking at a very leisurely pace, it will take 2 to 2.5 hours each way. The trail turns from gravel to dirt at the Sunset Beach Trail marker. After passing the Sunset Beach Trail marker, you’ll hike for about 20 minutes with views of the Estero to the right, until your first peek of the Pacific ocean in the distance. Another 10 minutes will put you at the marsh pond right before the mouth of the Estero. Keep walking through the marsh to the lovely wooden bench in memory of Ralph Tierney. Follow the trail to the small sliver of beach. I spotted river otter and mule deer tracks in the sand. In low tide, you can walk to the very end along the rocks. The rocks are full of personality — smooth rocks with intricate patterns of lacy holes on top and huge round rocks. Expect to spend some time examining these amazing geologic formations. At the end, where the rocks meet the water, you’ll find tide pools. You can see the protruding arm of Drakes Head overlooking the Limantour Estero to the left and the tip of Drakes Beach and Chimney Rock in the far distance to the right.

From Muddy Hollow Trail to Glenbrook

At the Muddy Hollow trailhead off Limantour Road, a 4-mile segment of the Estero trail starts a short way along the Muddy Hollow trail. The trail begins by crossing a wooden bridge surrounded by red alders, willows, and brambles. It meanders through tight groves of bishop pines and overgrown grasses. It's typically cool and misty, especially in the morning. It's a long trail but even if you turn around before you hike the four miles to Glenbrook or 5.2 miles to White Gate, you will be satisfied with the scenery and experience. There are many scenic spots along the way -- Drakes Beach in the distance, and often Tule elk in the hills. If you do hike the full trail, It's shorter by about a mile to make a loop via Glenbrook and Muddy Hollow Road, than to go out and back on the Estero Trail. Some of my favorite experiences on this trail are listening and watching Tule elk during the rut. They are farther away, up on the hillsides, than the elk on Tomales Point Trail which you can easily see from the trail without binoculars. The last time I hiked this trail, a flyer alerting that a mountain lion had been seen in the area was posted at the trailhead. I encountered a large mound of fresh scat that I fantasized was from a mountain lion. This is a good trail for flowering plants including Paintbrushes, Orange Bush Monkeyflower (Mimulus aurantiacus), Pearly Everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea), and I spotted one lovely Elegant Rein Orchid (Piperia elegans) in September, and many Pussy-Ears (Calochortus tolmiei) peeking out along the edges of the trail in late April. It's rich in California Mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana), Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus), California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica), Coffeeberry (Frangula californica), and Lupines.

Volunteer Opportunity: Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore offers many volunteer opportunities, including:

• Coho and Steelhead monitoring

• Harbor Seal monitoring

• Snowy Plover docent

• Winter wildlife docent

• Morgan Horse Ranch

• Trail Patrol

• Visitor Services