Inverness Ridge Loop
Trail length: 4.9 miles, loop
Terrain: dense bishop pine forest, slope, riparian, oak, bay, fir
Restroom? No
Parking: parking lot at Bayview Trailhead
Kid-friendly? yes for older kids; some uphill climbing that could get tiring for young kids
Dates visited: 8/14/18, 11/6/20, 1/9/21
Favorite plants on this trail: Bishop Pine (Pinus muricate)
Loop: Inverness Ridge, Drakes View, Bayview
For a 5-mile loop hike, start at the Bayview Trailhead parking lot.
Follow the Inverness Ridge Trail to the paved road. Continue up the road a few minutes watching carefully for the dirt path on the left that continues the trail into the woods. (1.3 miles). Get details about how to stay on the path (despite the poor placement of the trail marker).
Turn left on the Drakes View Trail and hike 2.0 miles to the Bayview Trail.
Turn left on the Bayview Trail and hike uphill (1.6 miles) back to the trailhead.
This is the best direction for the loop. It puts you going downhill for the steep Drakes View trail.
Starting on the Inverness Ridge Trail, it’s an easy hike on a wide path with views of Drakes Beach and Chimney Rock in the distance. The trail pauses at a paved residential road and then picks up again as a dirt trail on the left, 370 feet later. It’s easy to miss the trail marker which is placed about 20 feet from the paved road. Plants along the trail include Marin Manzanita (Arctostaphylos virgata), Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum), Golden Chinquapin (Chrysolepis chrysophylla), California Aster (Corethrogyne filaginifolia) and Orange Bush Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus).
The Drakes View trail descends steeply for 2 miles. It’s a soft trail to hike — most of the trail is padded with pine needles. As you get closer to the Bayview Trail, you emerge from the pine forest and travel through sections of drier coastal scrub with Coffeeberry (Frangula californica) and Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus), and wetter riparian terrain with alders and other water-loving plants.
From the creek area, hike uphill on the Bayview trail through bishop pines similar to the Drakes View trail but with more open views toward the ridge and ocean. Watch for Dusky-footed Woodrat nests which are profuse in the area, often only a few feet from the trail. Read about these industrious and rather adorable rodents. The fall, when foliage is sparse, is a great time to spot woodrat nests.
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.