Point Reyes Coast Camps
Point Reyes National Seashore · near Point Reyes Station / Bolinas · SF Bay Area
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- easy
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 12 miles
- Elevation gain
- 1,200 ft
- Time needed
- overnight · multi-day
- Best season
- Year-round (driest and clearest April–October)
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Point Reyes backcountry camping reservation via Recreation.gov, up to 3 months ahead. Four hike-in camps: Coast, Wildcat, Glen, and Sky. Wildcat and Coast are the coastal favorites. No bear canister needed; use the provided food lockers.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Backpack to the Pacific · Alamere Falls (tidefall) · Tule elk & whale watching · Bay Area's best intro overnight
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 1–2
- Resupply
- None needed. Food storage lockers provided at camps — no bear canister required (no bears), but secure food from raccoons.
- Intl tip
- Alamere Falls is often approached as a long day hike, but camping at Wildcat lets you see it at low tide with the crowds gone. Check a tide table — the falls and the beach approach are best at lower water. The Palomarin trailhead access is notorious for car break-ins; leave nothing visible.
The guide
Point Reyes offers something rare: a genuine backpacking trip to a wild Pacific shore, less than an hour and a half from San Fr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Point Reyes Coast Camps — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.03, -122.8