Teixeira Trail
Trail length: 1.9 miles each way, out and back
Time: 2-3 hours
Terrain: oak, fir, bay forests
Restroom? No
Parking: a few spaces in a cutout along the road
Kid friendly? It’s a steady incline.
Dates visited: 8/13/18, 11/14/20
Favorite plants on this trail: Fairybells (Genus Prosartes)
Favorite spot: Walking through the misty fog and listening to the water dripping from trees.
Starting at the Olema Valley Trailhead on Shoreline Hwy 1 (across the road from the McCurdy Trailhead), you’ll walk half a mile on the Olema Valley Trail to the Teixeira trail. Early on, you’ll cross Pine Gulch Creek. There’s no bridge so you’ll have to cross on a fallen tree trunk or step across stones. On a typical morning, the Teixeira trail is a misty, dripping rainforest of bays and firs. It’s magical. The trail is a steady ascent with switchbacks until the trail meets Pablo Point, then it’s a more gradual or level climb.
Olema Valley to Teixeira to Pablo Point: 5.4 miles, out and back
Starting at the Olema Valley Trailhead (across from the McCurdy Trail), hike 0.5 miles to the Teixeira Trail. Hike 1.2 miles on the Teixeira Trail uphill until the Pablo Point Trail (marker is at a large tree. The trail is to the left). Provided the Pablo Point Trail is not covered in stinging nettles and poison oak, hike the 1.0 mile trail to the meadow. Turn around and reverse the route back.
Who is the trail named after?
The Teixeira Trail was named for Joseph and Mary Teixeira’s dairy ranch that operated on the land from 1920 to 1971. The Teixeiras immigrated to the United States from the Azores Islands, off the coast of Portugal. Originally the ranch was owned by Henry Strain who was born in Ireland in 1826. He came to Bolinas in 1853, acquired the land, lost it to the Shafters, and then repurchased the land from the Shafters. Strain built the two-story Victorian house overlooking the dairy in the 1880’s. Strain’s widow and daughter continued to live in the home even after leasing the ranch to the Teixeira family. After twenty years of tenancy on the ranch, the Teixeiras bought the property from Anna Strain on December 26, 1941 . Commercial electric power reached the ranch in 1941. In addition to dairy ranching, Teixeira grew crops on various parts of the ranch, including potatoes, ryegrass and oats. The dairy ceased operation in 1972 after the National Park Service purchased most of the property for Point Reyes National Seashore on December 8, 1971.
four perfect blackberries on the teixeira trail in august. i ate them.
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.