Breathtaking views and a decent climb.
Days/Nights - Day Hike
Miles - 6.3
Elevation Gain - 1,106
Starting Elevation - 610
Ending Elevation - 7
Highest Elevation - 1,479
Trail Type - Loop/Single Track/Dirt
AllTrails here
So I had to cheat a little on this one due to time constraints, reducing the hike by about a mile and 450 feet of elevation gain. Nonetheless, it was fantastic. Starting out on a short fire road a mile outside Stinson Beach, I took the Steep Ravine Trail up to the summit. This trail moves through some densely wooded area and follows a seasonal stream, that still had water in several places. The trail can be narrow with steep drop-offs on one side, and offers shade almost the entire way up the mountain. It is a 1.7 mile climb from where I started with roughly a 1,000 gain in elevation. Not "difficult", but certainly enough to break a sweat. At the top you reach Pantoll Station and begin looping back to join the Dipsea Trail. It is wooded for about half a mile, before you reach Cardiac Hill and its expansive views of the Marin Headlands and San Francisco's Ocean Beach, with glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge and the skyscrapers of downtown San Francisco. It is a hike along the mountainside of about a mile or two with glorious ocean views, before reaching the shade of the forest. Before reaching the shade you are entirely exposed, so bring water and sunscreen and a hat (which might blow off on windier days!). You then descend through the forest for a mile or so, with one particularly steep set of steps, so watch your step. Once you meet the fire road (my starting point) it opens up again with views of Stinson Beach, the Bolinas Ridge, and the lagoon. I have done this hike several times, but this was the first time I had done it on a weekend, and a weekend with rain in the forecast. It was PACKED! I passed hikers every couple of minutes and at the well known "ladder" on the Steep Ravine trail, there was a line of people waiting to ascend. The trailhead has a small parking area for maybe 12 cars or so, so I imagine on hot days when the city folk descend on Stinson Beach that parking might be a challenge. There is also some road noise on the ascent. So, for me, this is not really a "solitude" type of hike, especially on a weekend, but the views and scenery make up for it. If you want a quiet hike, I would strongly recommend doing this on a weekday.
