Drakes Head
Riding the Estero Trail along the remote Point Reyes coastline to the north
Pacific Storms bring rain throughout April before skies dry for the summer.
Between fronts muddy trails briefly set, and there's no assurance such optimal days will fall on
the weekend.
With the daylight savings adjustment,
it now becomes possible to head out for a quick ride after work.
The Estero Trail follows Drakes Estero-- a series of small bays reaching between the rolling hills
on the northern coast of Point Reyes, Pacific side, after Inverness Ridge has dwindled to grasslands.
It's basically the longest legal singletrack in Point Reyes, and gets technical in spots,
so is one of the more re-ridable trails of the area.
With the sunny, balmy day we were having, I decided to return here for a different perspective compared to
the dry, foggy conditions when I was out there before.
Photos
Click to expand
Heading out from the parking lot, you'll first ride through a dense, abrupt, and well-circumscribed forest.
All the trees seem to be about the same age, and are suspiciously evenly spaced.
I heard this was once a Christmas Tree farm, now abandoned and left to grow wild.
Beyond the grove, the trail descends to Home Bay where a causeway and little bridge cross the mudflats.
This is climbing the first of three sharp hills riding along the Estero Trail. A maze of water channels passes through
the mud flats.
Not much farther, the mudflats become Home Bay, that leads out to Drakes Estero in the distance.
Further along the Estero Trail. The trail is minimally (if at all) maintained
and seemed rougher than when I rode it last a few months ago during the late summer when it was dry.
Just before the Sunset Beach junction the trail is practically a swamp.
While there's plenty of deep bike tracks here, it's more because of bad trail design where
water flows straight down the trail rather than draining off to the side. Then people end up riding and walking around
the side of the trail causing it to widen, which broadens the area of muddy runoff. Bad times.
It's an embarassment of riches! Unfortunately there are other places where the trail disappears altogether.
A cattle run leads to the coral that marks the turnoff to the trail to Drakes Head.
That's practically ALL that
marks it. I recall there is a sign but I had troubles finding it.
Note that the cattle run is actually the trail here,
so full suspension set to plush makes things far less painful on your butt.
This is about as good as the trail gets. Drakes Head is the mound in the middle of the picture, in front of the sand spit.
This section of the trail is almost flat and goes pretty fast. Good thing too, because some where around here I
heard a group of howling coyotes in the near distance, and there hadn't been another soul on the trail except for one other
biker I passed near the bridge. I didn't know they howled.
Kinda spooky at first, me and the coyotes. They don't eat people, do they?
Views from Drakes Head, looking to the north, and then toward the south.
There's a dangerous drop-off just on the other side of Drakes Head-- of about 100 feet into shallow, rocky Pacific Ocean.
It sneaks up without much warning. After enjoying this remote lookout,
the nice thing about going back is that it's the same way you
came so you know what to expect. The bad part is that it's the same way you came, so that series of steep little
hills has to be crossed again.
The trail disappears shortly
after the coral, and I'm two for two getting lost just past the watering hole.
Oh that's just fine, getting lost with a band of hungry coyotes that I heard right around there.
So as you pass through the
fence at the corner, don't follow either fence leading away, but go diagonally in between the two
and the trail will start to show up 50-100 feet later.
It's hard to explain unless you see it.
(b. April 7, 2003)
Back to Point Reyes.
Back to Gatetrails.com.
Heading out from the parking lot, you'll first ride through a dense, abrupt, and well-circumscribed forest.
All the trees seem to be about the same age, and are suspiciously evenly spaced.
I heard this was once a Christmas Tree farm, now abandoned and left to grow wild.
Beyond the grove, the trail descends to Home Bay where a causeway and little bridge cross the mudflats.
This is climbing the first of three sharp hills riding along the Estero Trail. A maze of water channels passes through
the mud flats.
Not much farther, the mudflats become Home Bay, that leads out to Drakes Estero in the distance.
Further along the Estero Trail. The trail is minimally (if at all) maintained
and seemed rougher than when I rode it last a few months ago during the late summer when it was dry.
Just before the Sunset Beach junction the trail is practically a swamp.
While there's plenty of deep bike tracks here, it's more because of bad trail design where
water flows straight down the trail rather than draining off to the side. Then people end up riding and walking around
the side of the trail causing it to widen, which broadens the area of muddy runoff. Bad times.
It's an embarassment of riches! Unfortunately there are other places where the trail disappears altogether.
A cattle run leads to the coral that marks the turnoff to the trail to Drakes Head.
That's practically ALL that
marks it. I recall there is a sign but I had troubles finding it.
Note that the cattle run is actually the trail here,
so full suspension set to plush makes things far less painful on your butt.
This is about as good as the trail gets. Drakes Head is the mound in the middle of the picture, in front of the sand spit.
This section of the trail is almost flat and goes pretty fast. Good thing too, because some where around here I
heard a group of howling coyotes in the near distance, and there hadn't been another soul on the trail except for one other
biker I passed near the bridge. I didn't know they howled.
Kinda spooky at first, me and the coyotes. They don't eat people, do they?
Views from Drakes Head, looking to the north, and then toward the south.