Muir Beach Ovelook & Pelican Inn

On Muir Woods tours I frequently take my guests to the Muir Beach Overlook. This old army lookout is located just north of the village of Muir Beach off of Hwy. 1. A short walk out to the point overlooking the Pacific will reward you with panoramic views of the ocean from San Francisco to Point Reyes. Here is one of the best spots to witness the dramatic meeting of cliffs and ocean that is the northern California coastline. On really clear days you can see the Farallon Islands, which are about 25 miles offshore. Be forewarned that the Muir Beach Overlook is often fogged in during the summer. The sun can be shining at Muir Woods while the Overlook, which is about five miles away, is shrouded in fog.

You can combine a visit to the Overlook with lunch at the Pelican Inn in Muir Beach. This quaint bed and breakfast serves classic British food along with some American favorites. The pub has some great beers on tap, including cellar-temperature Guinness Stout. The Pelican Inn's restaurant is open for lunch daily. On Sundays freshly carved roast beef, ham, and turkey are served. The pub serves snacks and light food throughout the day.

If you would like to take a private tour that includes a visit to the Muir Beach Overlook and/or lunch at the Pelican Inn, please call me at (866) 326-4237 or e-mail me by clicking here. (The big scheduled tour operators do not include the Overlook on their tours.)

Summer in Muir Woods

Summer brings the crowds to Muir Woods, home to the coastal redwoods -- the tallest trees in the world. Parking can be difficult, especially on weekends when visitors may need to park a half-mile away from the entrance. Here are three tips for avoiding the crowds and making your visit more enjoyable:

1. Visit early or late. In the summer, Muir Woods is open from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. If you arrive before 9:00 a.m. or after 6:00 p.m., not only will you avoid the crowds but you will not have to pay an entry fee. I recommend arriving before 9:30 a.m. or after 4:00 p.m. if you want to have a more peaceful experience.

2. Take a tour to the park. The scheduled tour operators all arrive around the same time, so you won't avoid the crowds. However, you will not have the hassle of finding a parking space. If you take a private tour, such as with Blue Heron Custom Tours and Travel, you can time your arrival so you are not there when the big tour buses are at the park.

3. Take public transit to the park. Golden Gate Transit runs shuttle buses to Muir Woods from Sausalito, Marin City, and the Manzanita parking lot at the Route 1 exit of US 101 on weekends and holidays through September 30. Buses that stop in Sausalito meet Golden Gate Transit's ferries to and from San Francisco.

Blue Heron provides private, custom tours that include Muir Woods. You also can visit Muir Woods as part of a tour of San Francisco or a tour of Wine Country. For more information, please call me at (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mail me by clicking here.

Point Reyes Lighthouse

I recently took some guests to Point Reyes National Seashore, one of my favorite spots in the Bay Area. We drove all the way out to the Point where we visited the Point Reyes Lighthouse. Opened in 1870, this lighthouse is home to a first order Fresnel lens.

The lighthouse is open Thursday through Monday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. To get to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, visitors must walk a quarter of a mile from the parking lot and then down (and back up) 308 steps. So the walk is not for the faint hearted. There are benches along the way if you want to rest while climbing back up the steps. Also, be warned that this is perhaps the windiest spot in California. Winds in excess of 40 mph are not uncommon.

If you do visit the lighthouse, you will be rewarded with a spectacular view of the Pacific and exhibits on Pacific maritime history. During the late fall and late winter/early spring, you may sea gray whales on the way between Alaska and Baja California. During whale watching season, you will need to take a shuttle bus to the Point on weekends and holidays.

To learn more about Point Reyes and West Marin County, visit the Blue Heron website and read "Rick's Tips" Numbers 11 and 12.

If you want to take a private tour to Point Reyes National seashore, please call me at (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mail me by clicking here.

Escape to Elk Update

Two years ago, "Rick's Tips," Blue Heron's free, quarterly newsletter of fun things to do in the Bay Area, focused on Elk, California. Elk is located about three hours north of San Francisco and overlooks a spectacular cove on the California Coast.

Recently we returned to Elk and found many things unchanged, along with a few changes. The spot is still lovely -- we had sunny skies and 70 degree weather. There is still little to do in town other than walk on the beach and sit on a chair overlooking the cove and watch the waves crash. Ledford House in Albion still breaks the rule that the better the view, the worse the view. Lisa Geer's food is still delicious. Service is friendly. Watching the sun slowly set while nursing a glass of wine is an experience that can't be beat.

Sandpiper House Inn appears to have gone out of business, at least temporarily house. Griffin House Inn has remodeled its cottages.

Mendocino, the coastside village about 30 minutes north of Elk, still has some interesting shops and galleries. There were a few newcomers, but many of the shops have been there for as long as we can remember.

The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, 2 miles north of Mendocino, has been restored and is open to the public daily from 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. A bed and breakfast will open any day in one of the restored lightkeeper houses.

If you are interested in a custom-designed vacation along the spectacular Sonoma and Mendocino coasts, call (866) 326-4237 (toll free). I would be pleased to work with you to plan a vacation that you are sure to enjoy.

Lunch and Art in Bodega Bay

We were heading up the coast the other day and decided to stop for lunch in the coastal village of Bodega Bay. This small town is a good place to embark on a whale watching trip during the late fall or late winter. You also have a pretty good chance of seeing whales from Bodega Head, the nearby spit of land that creates the harbor. If you are a fan of the movie director Alfred Hitchcock, you probably have seen scenes from Bodega Bay and the nearby village of Bodega in "The Birds."

We had visited Bodega Bay quite a few times but had never found a restaurant of any quality. Recently I read about a couple of good places to eat, so we lunched at the Seaweed Cafe. We were not disappointed.

Their Sunday brunch menu contains old favorites like French toast and a Hay ham and cheese sandwich with egg. Both looked terrific. I had an open-faced sandwich of freshly grilled sandwich while my wife enjoyed a special salad with grilled prawns. The dinner menu looks equally interesting with items such as baked butter beans, duck sausage and clams, and duck breast with lentils and dates. The appetizer list includes such Japanese influenced items as uni sake shooter, hijik, burdock & sashimi, and oysters in green jackets.

There is a small, but interesting, wine list featuring Sonoma County wines. The restaurant features brunch on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner is served from Thursday through Sunday. You may make a dinner reservation at the Seaweed by calling (707) 875-2700. The restaurant is located at 1580 Eastshore Road. To find the Seaweed, head north through Bodega Bay on Route 1. After passing through the center of town, the road will turn right and then left. After the left turn, look for Eastshore Road on your left.

When you are done eating, take a look in the gallery next door, Local Color Artist Gallery features Sonoma County artists.

While Bodega is a little far for a day trip from San Francisco, if you want to experience the Northern California coast, let us take you on our Oceanside Vistas or Point Reyes Ramblings Tour. You may book a tour by calling (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mailing by clicking here.

Hiking Among the Elk

The rains seem to have ended for the season and the days are bright and sunny. Now is the perfect time to visit Point Reyes National Seashore; one to two hours north of San Francisco, depending on the part of the park you wish to explore. (For more information, read "Rick's Tips, No. 12."

This past Sunday we left a sunny San Francisco hoping to find an equal amount of sunshine at Point Reyes, where we planed to hike to Tomales Point, one of our favorite trails in the Bay Area. We were not disappointed when we arrived. The sky was bright blue with a few wispy and puffy clouds. The temperature was in the sixties with a fair amount of wind. Nearly perfect hiking weather.

The Tomales Point Trail starts at the historic Pierce Ranch, an old dairy farm, and ends 4.7 miles later at the northern most spot in the park - Tomales Point. The trail travels over rolling hills with breathtaking views of Tomales Bay on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other. After our heavy rains this winter, there were an abundance of wild flowers in bloom -- California Poppies, Queen Ann's Lace, iris, thistle, lupine, and others. Plus dozens of tule elk were easily visible from the trail.

As you start the hike, the Pacific Ocean, North and South Beaches, Point Reyes, and McClure's Beach are clearly visible to your left. Further down the trail the panorama moves to your left, where you can see Tomales Bay, the villages of Marshall and Dillon Beach, and Mt. St. Helena in the distance. As you climb what appears to be the last hill, you soon discover that you have not yet reached the end of your journey. There are two more false ends before you finally reach Tomales Point. Here your view includes most of the aforementioned sights, plus Bodega Head straight in front of you.

Prepare for the hike by dressing in layers as the weather at Point Reyes is usually colder and windier than anywhere else in the Bay Area. While it is windy on Tomales Point, you can sit in areas protected from the winds so a picnic lunch is a perfect reward for reaching the point. You can pick up supplies in nearby Point Reyes Station and Inverness. Lastly, there are no restrooms on the trail, but they are available at Abbott's Lagoon and McClure's Beach, which are near the trailhead at Pierce Ranch.

If you want to take a private custom tour that includes a visit to Point Reyes, try our Point Reyes Ramblings Tour. You may book a tour by calling (866) 326-4237 (toll free) or e-mailing me by clicking here.