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The park is open daily (with overnight camping available by permit only) from sunrise to sunset throughout the year.

Bear Valley Visitor Center is open all year except Christmas. The hours are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and weekends and holidays 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. The Bear Valley Visitor Center is located 0.5 mile (0.8 kilometer) west of Olema, CA along Bear Valley Road. The park’s primary Visitor Center provides an orientation of the park’s roads, trails, and human and natural history. It was designed to blend in with the historically significant ranching culture of this area and is located in the heart of the Olema Valley. The interior exhibit space provides a glimpse of the diverse ecosystems and cultural heritage of the park and includes a seismograph, touch table, auditorium, and book sales area. Audio-visual programs, shown in the auditorium, are available upon request. Natural history books, cards and posters are for sale in the bookstore. Reservations and permits for backcountry camping, as well as beach fire permits, may be obtained here. Allow at least 45 minutes to view exhibits and to watch an audio-visual program. Restrooms are available in the Visitor Center or in the trailhead parking lot 24 hours a day. A picnic area with barbecue grills is located across the driveway. Many trailheads are located near the Bear Valley Visitor Center. It is handicap accessible.

Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center is open year round, weekends and holidays, except December 25, from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. It is closed Monday through Friday. Located at beautiful Drakes Beach off of Sir Frances Drake Blvd, the Visitor Center contains exhibits that focus on 16th century maritime exploration, marine fossils and marine environments. A minke whale skeleton is suspended from the ceiling. Natural history books, cards and posters are for sale in the bookstore. Allow 20-30 minutes to view exhibits. It is handicap accessible. Restrooms and an outdoor shower are available 24 hours a day. A pay phone is available outside the Visitor Center. There are picnic tables and barbecue grills nearby. Drakes Beach Cafe is located next to Visitor Center.

The Lighthouse Visitor Center and the Point Reyes Historic Lighthouse is open year round, Thursday through Monday from 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. It is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays and December 25. The stairs to the lighthouse are closed when winds exceed 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). The Lighthouse Visitor Center is located 45 minutes west of Bear Valley on the Point Reyes Headlands, at the end of Sir Francis Drake Blvd. There is a 0.4 mile (650 meter) walk (mostly uphill) from the parking lot to the Lighthouse Visitor Center. Allow at least 2 hours round trip for travel to and from the Lighthouse from the Bear Valley area and another hour to tour the Visitor Center and Lighthouse. The Lighthouse Visitor Center offers exhibits on the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse, as well as on whales, seals and sea lions, wildflowers, birds and maritime history.

The Point Reyes Lighthouse itself is another 0.1 mile (150 meters) beyond the Visitor Center at the base of some 300 steps – the equivalent of 30 stories. The lens room, which houses the original clockworks and first-order Fresnel lens that were manufactured in 1867 and installed in 1870, is open from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays as staffing and weather conditions permit. The lower chamber of the historic lighthouse has exhibit panels on the history of the light and the keepers. The equipment building next to the lighthouse exhibits the two 1947 super Typhon foghorns, the air compressors, and a backup power generator that were used at Point Reyes. Evening programs illuminating the historic light occur on the first and third Saturday of the month, April through December. There is no fee, but reservations are required. Please call (415) 669-1534 10:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. on the day of the program to reserve a spot. Restrooms are available 24 hours a day. A pay phone is available outside the Visitor Center.

Within the lands of Point Reyes are innumerable archaeological sites which contain clues to the prehistory and history of human use of this place. The cultural history of Point Reyes reaches back some 5,000 years. Before the Europeans came to California, the Coast Miwok people were the inhabitants of what we now call Marin and southern Sonoma Counties. Over 120 known village sites exist within the park. They knew and blended with this bountiful land for thousands of years, developing a rich economy based on gathering, fishing and hunting. Village communities of 75 to several hundred people developed in sheltered places near fresh water and plentiful food.

Coast Miwok life was intricately woven into the changing seasons. In the late spring, fresh new greens of Indian lettuce, young nettle leaves and clover were gathered. Fire-hardened digging sticks were used by the women to reach deep-set roots and bulbs. The ocean provided kelp in large amounts, some to be eaten fresh, the rest dried and stored for the winter. Tule was gathered in the fall for skirts and tule baskets. The summer sun ripened grasses and flower seeds, gathered by hitting the ripened seed with a beater basket and letting them fall directly into a collecting basket.

Fall was the season for collecting a variety of nuts: acorns (stored in a granary for year-round consumption), buckeye, hazel and bay. Tule was cut and dried for kotcas (houses), boats and mats. Gray willow for baskets and traps was abundant. Winter and early spring were times of shortage when stored acorns, seeds and kelp became important food sources.

The ocean provided food year-round. Crab, clams, mussels, abalone, limpets and oysters were some of the seafood gathered by the women in the tidal zones. Cleaned of meat, the shells were also fully utilized. Abalone shells were made into beautiful ornaments. The Washington clam was one of the most important shells; these were ground into circular, flat disk beads with a hole drilled in the middle. Strings of these beads were the main trade item (money) and were used extensively through Northern California.

The men adopted many different techniques for fishing. Dip nets (bags of netting attached to wooden frames on a handle) were used to scoop up fish, and woven surf nets were used along the open beaches. Cone-shaped traps of woven gray willow were set up in creeks and mouths of rivers. With hook and bait one could successfully catch halibut and rockfish year-round.

Hunting by use of traps and bow and arrow supplied the Coast Miwok with meat, fur and tools. Traps were used to capture such game as quail, acorn woodpeckers and rabbits, which were highly valued for their fur and meat. Deer were usually hunted with bow and arrow, and provided many necessary items. Antler tips were used for shaping arrowheads, sinew (muscle tendon) was used to fasten points to arrow shafts and leg bones were made into awls (needles used in basket making) and hair pins. In this way, the Coast Miwok wasted little of the animals they hunted.

According to many experts, Sir Francis Drake landed here in 1579, the first European explorer to do so. Sir Francis Drake probably first sighted and mapped the fog-shrouded headlands in 1579, at which time he is thought to have camped along the beach which today bears his name. Drake’s quest for new lands and riches had taken him around South America to the Spanish trade routes of the Pacific Ocean. His ship, the Golden Hinde, was full of gold and luxuries such as porcelain, taken from Spanish galleons traveling from the Philippines to Acapulco.

During the summer of 1579, Drake came ashore somewhere in California to careen his ship to repair the hull. The ship’s chaplain complained in his log of “the stinking fogges”. The nearly omnipresent fog at the Point Reyes headlands throughout the summer, along with the chaplain’s descriptions of the inhabitants, the landscape and the wildlife, indicate that Drake’s Estero may be the location of Drake’s camp. Drake claimed the land for Queen Elizabeth before setting sail southwest to complete his circumnavigation of the globe before returning to England in 1580.

During the late 1500′s, Spanish galleons were making numerous voyages between Mexico and the Philippines. To sail across the north Pacific, ships from Manila would sail north before catching the prevailing easterly winds, arriving along the North American coast north of Point Reyes. It is likely that numerous Spanish crews saw Point Reyes as they sailed south along the California coast toward Acapulco and other Mexican ports where Asian luxury goods such as porcelains and spices were then shipped to Europe. We do know that in 1595, Sebastian Cermeno anchored in the calm waters of what is now called Drakes Bay. As his crew was ashore seeking fresh water, their Manila galleon stuffed with silks and spices, was wrecked in a sudden storm. The crew managed to return home by rowing their long boat to Mexico.

The Spanish had been sending ships along the Pacific Coast and overland explorations throughout North America for many years. In an age of empire building, the Spanish expanded their domain up the California coast from Mexico. Point Reyes officially entered Spanish maps on January 6, 1603 when Sebastian Vizcaino sighted the headlands on the Roman Catholic feast day of the three wise men. Following Spanish tradition, the headlands were named after these religious figures: “la Punta de los Reyes” or the Point of the Kings. Spanish expeditions along the north coast continued. Later, sailors eventually found and entered Tomales Bay, where they would have seen the Miwok village at Segogolue or Toms Point. Amongst the kotças (sleeping shelters), the Spanish traded goods made of metal for finely woven Miwok baskets.

Point Reyes is the windiest place on the Pacific Coast and the second foggiest place on the North American continent. Weeks of fog, especially during the summer months, frequently reduce visibility to hundreds of feet. The Point Reyes Headlands, which jut 10 miles out to sea, pose a threat to each ship entering or leaving San Francisco Bay. In response to the many shipwrecks in the treacherous coastal waters, key lighthouse and lifesaving stations were established by the United States Government in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The historic Point Reyes Lighthouse warned mariners of danger for more than a hundred years.

The Point Reyes Lighthouse was completed in 1870, 16 years after Congress initially appropriated funds for its construction. It still stands in its original location, having weathered over 135 years at what is considered to be the windiest, foggiest location on the US west coast. The Point Reyes Lighthouse lens and mechanism were constructed in France in 1867. The clockwork mechanism, glass prisms and housing for the lighthouse were shipped on a steamer around the tip of South America to San Francisco. The parts from France and the parts for the cast iron tower were transferred to a second ship, which then sailed to a landing on Drakes Bay. The parts were loaded onto ox-drawn carts and hauled three miles over the headlands to near the tip of Point Reyes, 600 feet above sea level.

Meanwhile, 300 feet below the top of the cliff, an area had been blasted with dynamite to clear a level spot for the lighthouse. To be effective, the lighthouse had to be situated below the characteristic high fog. It took six weeks to lower the materials from the top of the cliff to the lighthouse platform and construct the lighthouse. Finally, after many years of tedious political pressure, transport of materials and difficult construction, the Point Reyes Light first shone on December 1, 1870.

Lighthouses provide mariners some safety by warning them of rocky shores and reefs. They also help mariners navigate by indicating their location as ships travel along the coast. Mariners recognize lighthouses by their unique flash pattern. On days when it is too foggy to see the lighthouse, a fog signal is essential. Fog signals sound an identifying pattern to signal the location to the passing ships. Unfortunately, the combination of lighthouses and fog signals does not eliminate the tragedy of shipwrecks.

Because of this ongoing problem, a lifesaving station was established on the Great Beach north of the lighthouse in 1890. Men walked the beaches in four-hour shifts, watching for shipwrecks and the people who would need rescue from frigid waters and powerful currents. A new lifesaving station was opened in 1927 on Drakes Bay near Chimney Rock and was active until 1968. Today, it is a National Historic Landmark and can be viewed from the Chimney Rock Trail.

The lens in the Point Reyes Lighthouse is a “first order” Fresnel (fray-nel) lens, the largest size of Fresnel lens. Augustin Jean Fresnel of France revolutionized optics theories with his new lens design in 1823. Before Fresnel developed this lens, lighthouses used mirrors to reflect light out to sea. The most effective lighthouses could only be seen eight to twelve miles away. After his invention, the brightest lighthouses could be seen all the way to the horizon, about twenty-four miles.

The historic Point Reyes Lighthouse served mariners for 105 years before it was replaced. It endured many hardships, including the April 18, 1906 earthquake, during which the Point Reyes Peninsula and the lighthouse moved north 18 feet in less than one minute! The only damage to the lighthouse was that the lens slipped off its tracks. The lighthouse keepers quickly effected repairs and by the evening of the eighteenth, the lighthouse was once again in working order. The earthquake occurred at 5:12 a.m. and the lighthouse was scheduled to be shut down for regular daytime maintenance at 5:25 a.m. Although the earthquake caused much devastation and disruption elsewhere, the Point Reyes Lighthouse was essentially only off-line for thirteen minutes!

The lighthouse was retired from service in 1975 when the U.S. Coast Guard installed an automated light. They then transferred ownership of the lighthouse to the National Park Service, which has taken on the job of preserving this fine specimen of our heritage. All lighthouses in the United States are now automated because it is cheaper to let electronics do the work. Many decommissioned lighthouses were transformed into restaurants, inns or museums. The lighthouse at Point Reyes National Seashore is now a museum piece, where the era of the lightkeepers’ lives, the craftsmanship and the beauty of the lighthouse are actively preserved.

The National Park Service is now responsible for the maintenance of the lighthouse. Park rangers now clean, polish and grease it, just as lighthouse keepers did in days gone by. With this care, the light can be preserved for future generations – to teach visitors of maritime history and of the people who worked the light, day in and day out, rain or shine, for so many years.

Before the establishment of Life Saving and Lifeboat Stations, the remains of vessels littered the beaches and the rocks along the United States coastline. Horrified spectators witnessed the drowning of passengers and crew, helpless to do anything. In the same waves that smashed hulls and took lives of the unsuspecting, some heard a call to action.

Though lifesaving’s role in maritime history begins in the 1780’s, it was not until 1871 that a coordinated government agency was established to aid distressed mariners. The United States Life-Saving Service (USLSS) provided hope for those whose fate was once sealed by pounding ocean waves and foreboding coastlines of the United States. The USLSS was a model agency and its surfmen would earn a place in the hearts of Americans for their feats of bravery.

In 1890, alone on the long stretch of empty beach, the Point Reyes Life-Saving Station opened with a crew of eight and a seasoned keeper on a lonely stretch of Great Beach known for its notorious pounding surf and bad weather. Their positions were poorly paid, difficult and full of danger. The surfmen patrolled the beaches of Point Reyes with an ever-vigilant eye, looking for shipwrecks and their desperate crews. They walked the beaches day and night, with the fog chilling them to the bone and the wind blasting sand at the unprotected skin of their faces.

When a wreck was found, the surfmen did what they did best, they saved lives. A shipwrecked mariner you could be assured that the surfmen’s presence gave you close to a 99% chance of survival. Equipped with a surf boat and breeches buoys, a keeper would determine the best way to aid those in distress. Using a surfboat with the eight surfmen rowing and the keeper steering, the crew of the lifesaving station would take the imperiled mariners back to shore. But there were times when the boat could not safely reach a wreck. In those instances the breeches buoy and Lyle gun were used. Using a small cannon called a Lyle gun; a line would be shot to the wreck. The breeches buoy which was a life preserver ring with an oversize pair of canvas legs would then be sent to the wreck to remove crew and passengers one at a time.

As the century turned, The United States Lifesaving Service was combined with the US Revenue Cutter Service to form the Coast Guard. This newly formed agency was now charged with aiding those in distress. Very little changed in the first years under Coast Guard management, but, in 1927, operations moved from Great Beach to the protected waters of Chimney Rock. At Chimney Rock, a new station was built as longer, heavier, motorized lifeboats replaced the old, human-powered, surfboats.

The move to Chimney Rock in 1927 relieved many who faced the dangers of the Great Beach surf but lives risked and lost in the pursuit of saving others were not a thing of the past. After only two months at the new site, the men of the station responded to their first rescue saving the crew from a burning vessel. As the years passed and the Coast Guardsmen left their marks in the Station’s logbooks, hints of their bravery can often be found. Life saving crews risked their lives in rough seas, near the rocky headlands and among towering waves saving the lives of many. In the process they lost two of their own. In 1960, on Thanksgiving Eve two Coast Guardsmen were lost in an ordinary call for assistance. After securing a disabled vessel in Bodega Bay, the two-man crew radioed their arrival time to the Life Boat Station. That was the last that was heard from the crew. In the morning, their boat was found grounded on Great Beach with the propellers still turning. What happened to the crew? The answer was lost with them, leaving a mystery in its place.

Whatever the answer, there is no question of the surfman’s bravery. Even with all these tragedies, the lives and vessel saved far outnumbered those lost by the duty bound. In the 80 years of life saving at Point Reyes, countless vessels, their crews and passengers and millions of dollars worth of ships and cargo were saved. Ships continue to wreck on Point Reyes. Even with modern satellite technology, nearly every year some small vessel, a pleasure craft or fishing boat, is lost to these shores.

Eventually modern technologies eclipsed the need for the Lifeboat Station at Point Reyes. The quick response of larger faster coast Guard Cutters and helicopters have meant the need for fewer lifesaving sites and less staff. In 1969 the Point Reyes Lifeboat Station was closed. Much of this history and these lives lived in service to others are now gone. All that remains in its place is a building. Silent and decommissioned, it embodies all the perils endured, and all the lives saved that would have otherwise been lost forever. The Historic Lifeboat Station at Chimney Rock stands as a monument to their stories of service and sacrifice.

The 1849 California Gold Rush brought an influx of capitalists, merchants, professional practitioners, laborers, and agriculturists, amongst others seeking alternative wealth along the shores of San Francisco Bay. Some of those who vainly sought mineral gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills came further west, finding gold of another kind at Point Reyes. With their dairying skills honed in their previous homes, they could envision production of golden wheels of cheese and casks of butter to provision the growing population of nearby San Francisco. The treeless coastal plain beckoned with opportunity.

The early American settlers of the 1850s were impressed with the cool, moist climate of Point Reyes, providing near-ideal conditions for raising dairy cows. Abundant grass and forbs, a long growing season, and sufficient fresh water supplies promised productivity well in excess of domestic need. Unknown to the early ranchers, the expansive coastal prairie was most likely the byproduct of burning, weeding, pruning and harvesting for at least two millennia by Coast Miwok and their antecedents.

The Franciscan missionaries set the stage for the explosion of dairy in west Marin with the introduction of feral cattle in 1817. They established the San Rafael Asistencia, near San Francisco Bay, as an annex to Mission Dolores in San Francisco, serving as a recuperative center for ailing Coast Miwok and Ohlone natives. Secularization of the missions following Mexican independence from Spain led to land grant subdivision and the expansion of cattle ranching on the peninsula.

The advancing front of Americano ranchers brought to light poor record keeping, and the behavior of several Mexicano land grantees coveting and utilizing a neighbor’s adjacent parcel. As land was sold to the new immigrants, the title to the land usually became ensnared in litigation. During a five-year period ending in 1857, the San Francisco law firm of Shafter, Shafter, Park, and Heydenfeldt obtained title to over 50,000 acres on the peninsula, encompassing the coastal plain and most of Inverness Ridge. Unlike the small dairy operations pre-existing on the peninsula, these Vermont-native lawyer / businessmen saw the opportunity to market large quantities of superior quality butter and some cheese under a Point Reyes brand to San Francisco. The remote location of Point Reyes would be overcome with the expeditious delivery of finished products and livestock to the foot of Market Street by way of small schooners, and eventually by rail and ferry.

Initially, the Shafters signed new leases with the existing dairy ranches. The singular exception was the sale of Tomales Point to an old friend from Vermont, Solomon Pierce. The Pierce family built a small town to support their isolated twin dairy ranches with the commanding views of the Pacific and Tomales Bay. In time, the Pierce Point Ranches out-competed the Shafter dairy collective in production and quality of finished product.

Oscar Shafter’s son-in-law C. W. Howard and the Shafter brothers proceeded to divide the remainder of their real estate into a tenant dairy enterprise in 1866. The land was subdivided into 33 ranches. Three years later, the business partners partitioned the dairies into six tracts, leaving each to own and manage a collection of coastal plain and ridgeline ranches. Oscar Shafter and Howard utilized the letters of the alphabet to name their individual ranches. “A” Ranch was located closest to the headlands; “Z” Ranch was located at the summit of Mt. Wittenberg, while several letters were left unneeded. James Shafter bequeathed more poetic names like Drakes Head, Muddy Hollow, Oporto and Sunnyside.

The Shafters and Howard employed family members, local residents, or recruited European dairymen as superintendents to construct new dairies, refurbish existing ranches, recruit immigrant ranch hands, and aid selection of the tenant ranchers. The tenant ranches were rented by Irish, Swedish, Italian-speaking Swiss, and Azore Islands-Portuguese families. Surviving Coast Miwok families displaced by the Spanish missions also found work on the dairies situated above their Tomales Bay homes. The Shafters envisioned creating a more civil society for the nineteenth century Bay Area, refining bachelor ranch hands and educating ranch family children. Chinese, Canadian, Filipino, Mexican and German immigrants all found their chance to get started in America through dairying at Point Reyes.

The ultimate success of the Shafter / Howard dairy enterprise rested on their ability to market and negotiate contracts with high-end hoteliers and fine food purveyors. The Point Reyes brand of butter conveyed a high level of quality, attested in articles in local contemporary newspapers. “The grass growing in the fields on Monday is butter on the city tables the following Sunday,” as the 1880 History of Marin County reported. The brand with letters “PR” inside a star was stamped into cheesecloth-wrapped rolls or casks of butter. This familiar symbol was actually forged by other dairy farmers of the time.

Record yields of butter and cheese came from the dairy farms at Point Reyes throughout the late 19th century. Herds of Devons, Jerseys, Guernseys, and later on Holsteins, numbering from 100 to 250 cows per ranch, catapulted the Point Reyes enterprise as perhaps the largest operation in the early years of the state. In 1867, Marin County produced 932,429 pounds of butter, the largest yield of butter in California. These huge amounts of butter were produced in an era when the finest restaurants served every good steak with a melting slab of butter on top.

The distance to San Francisco and east Marin communities precluded the ability to ship milk for domestic consumption. In the absence of refrigeration, the raw milk was briefly useable by the ranch families and employees. Collected by milkers either outdoors or inside large milking barns, raw milk sat in pans inside dairy houses to allow for cream separation. The surplus skim milk was dumped into a drain leading to an open trench, finding its way to penned, thirsty hogs. It was not unusual to see swine and casks of butter shipped off together on the decks of schooners headed for the city.

The estates of the three Shafter / Howard families declined shortly after the turn of the century. Following the 1906 earthquake, several dairies located on Inverness Ridge shuttered their doors. Although building damage contributed to their demise, these ranches failed due to the absence of Coast Miwok burning and the rapid expansion of native coyotebrush and poison oak thickets, leading to dramatic reductions in grazeable pastures for cows. By 1933, all ridgeline dairies were gone.

The demand for Shafter / Howard ranch produce waned, particularly as transportation throughout the Bay Area improved. Other regional dairies were improving their quality, quantity and distribution of produce, while the cumulative impacts of overgrazing on Point Reyes had caused a significant decline in pasture quality. The accumulation of massive debt, the 1929 stock market crash, and the close of the Depression ultimately brought an end to the three estates, and the “butter rancho”. Land speculators picked up the pieces, and in most instances resold the ranches to the contemporary tenants.

The Shafter / Howard enterprise “corresponded to the feudal system of England”, according to the San Rafael Independent in 1939. The new owners had chafed at the terms of their leases and the increasing inability of their landlords to make capital improvements to their dairy infrastructure. The timing of the demise of the Shafter family estates coincided with Federal and state regulation of milk production for consumer health. Butter production shifted from the individual ranches to cooperative creameries located on “F” Ranch and railroad town of Point Reyes Station. The most important improvements, in the form of more profitable Grade A dairy operations, began to appear in 1935, though most were constructed after the conclusion of World War II. Ranch homes and bunkhouses built in the 1870s were found to be too small and difficult to maintain, and began to be replaced with stucco-covered, single story residences.

During the Depression, ranchers struggled to make ends meet. It was not uncommon for ranchers to augment their incomes with expanded livestock production, such as beef cattle, chickens, and eggs. Several ranches invited Japanese immigrants to raise peas, and Italian immigrants to cultivate artichokes on more remote parcels. These ventures were usually successful. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, and the subsequent internment of the Japanese-Americans and relocation of Italian-Americans, the fields went fallow for lack of labor, and mounting soil erosion problems. During Prohibition, whiskey and rum smuggling at Home Ranch on Limantour Estero replaced dairy operations as their sole source of income.

Others changes were coming. The Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, expediting movement of produce from the North Bay region into San Francisco. During World War II, the ranches became connected to the regional electric power grid, replacing gas-powered generators to run milking and refrigeration equipment. The cooperative creameries closed, allowing for ranchers to sell raw milk as commodity to regional creameries. After the war, some dairies ceased operation, converting to far less labor-intensive beef cattle operations. Probably most important, fresh war veterans who had transited through San Francisco enroute to the Pacific theatre decided to relocate their families to the Bay Area, swelling the tide of suburbanization into Marin County.

Marin County had embraced a favorable growth plan in the 1950s and 60s to benefit real estate developers and speculators, with assistance from the state department of transportation. With the influx of new residents, many of them affluent, property taxes for the county as a whole dramatically increased. At the same time, dairy operators nationally saw prices for the products drop considerably. Dairies regionally had been closing or consolidating for sometime, but the combination of economics, competition, labor costs, taxes, environmental regulation, and land values accelerated the pace. Point Reyes dairies feared the loss of the quality of life as much as declining profitability. If more dairies closed their doors, the fear rose that the supporting dairy industry infrastructure might collapse. Most important, the ranchers valued the pastoral landscape that their parents and grandparents had set roots in, often back to the nineteenth century.

In order to secure their place at Point Reyes, the dairy and cattle ranchers formed an uneasy alliance with the Sierra Club in hopes of preserving their ranches and west Marin open space. The National Park Service had actively sought to establish a literal beachhead on the California coast, and Point Reyes in particular, as early as 1936. Washington was approached to help solve the pressing needs of many local and national constituencies. The compromise hammered out by Congress and signed by President Kennedy in 1962 explicitly provided for the retention of the ranches in a designated pastoral zone, with ranchers signing 25-30 year reservations of use and occupancy leases, and special use permits for cattle grazing. Over the ensuing ten years, NPS acquired the 17 remaining operating ranches and the property of the abandoned ranches.

In 2002, six historic Shafter / Howard era dairies were operating in the park. An additional nine occupied historic ranches and former ranch sites run beef cattle. The Pierce Point Ranch on Tomales Point ceased operations in 1973. Three years later, Congress authorized creation of the wilderness area incorporating that ranch as habitat for the reintroduction of tule elk. Beginning in 1980, NPS invested in the rehabilitation of the ranch core, citing it as the best example of a nineteenth century west Marin dairy ranch. Pierce Point Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, and was subsequently opened to the public as an interpretive site.

The former “W” or Bear Valley Ranch was early on designated as the new National Seashore’s headquarters. Visitors to the Bear Valley Visitor Center pass through the former ranch core, adaptively reused for park administration and support services. The visitor center itself is a new addition, designed to echo the surrounding agricultural landscape and local history. Plans call for seventeen ranches on Point Reyes to be included on the National Register as a historic landscape district.

Guglielmo Marconi sited and commissioned the building of wireless telegraphy transmitting station in Bolinas and receiving station in Marshall, on Tomales Bay, in 1913-14. They formed the foundation for the most successful and powerful ship to shore and land station, known as “KPH”, on the Pacific Rim. The Marshall station was replaced in 1929 by a new Art Deco-designed facility at Point Reyes Beach on the “G” Ranch. Few of the succeeding generations of antennas, arranged in “farms”, remain at the two sites. However, the radio equipment, some of it dating to the World War II-era, remains intact, functional, and used for ceremonial occasions by former RCA key operators. The Monterey cypress “tree tunnel” at the Point Reyes station is a signature landscape feature that evokes some of the prestige that RCA placed in this profitable, historic operation. Studies are underway to ultimately list both National Seashore sites and the Marshall facility, now a California State Parks conference center, together as a multiple property National Historic Landmark.

In 2000, Park staff and dedicated volunteers worked to preserve the structures, artifacts and records of the historic RCA/Marconi radio facilities, including the Bolinas transmitting station and the Point Reyes receiving station. The facilities date from 1913, the earliest days of wireless communication, and research indicates that together with the Marshall Marconi receiving station, the sites comprise what appear to be the last intact Marconi-era coast station in North America.

Night of Nights is an annual event held on the 12th of July by the MRHS to commemorate the history of maritime radio and the closing of commercial Morse operations in the USA. These on-the-air events are intended to honor the men and women who followed the radiotelegraph trade on ships and at coast stations around the world and made it one of honor and skill.

The scenic Wilkins Ranch, at the head of Bolinas Lagoon, witnessed three waves of mining fever on the upper slopes of Bolinas Ridge. Three copper mining companies organized in 1863, following the clear-cutting of redwoods from the slopes of Olema Valley. Only one, in Union Gulch, produced any substantial ore, but failed due to low copper prices and high transportation costs for smelting. The Chetco Mining Company, more successful than its predecessors, closed its doors in 1918 as the last operation to work the vein. The mine’s adit and shaft, having long since been secured, are accompanied by the mining road, concrete foundations and cabin site, a rusty boiler and cable, and other large debris.

Point Reyes National Seashore encompasses approximately 71,000 acres of grassland, forest, wilderness lakes, dunes, and sandy and rocky beaches and shoreline along the Pacific coast north of San Francisco. The coastal dunes rise above the reach of the highest tides. The north side of Inverness Ridge is covered by granitic soil. The south side of Inverness Ridge has shale and sandstone mix.

Point Reyes National Seashore is blanketed with subtle natural features nestled over a variety of ecosystems. The overriding natural feature is the presence of the eastern San Andreas Fault that bisects the geologic peninsula from the rest of the California mainland. The remaining sides of the peninsula are intermittently edged by beaches, sea cliffs, and intertidal zones cascading into the Pacific Ocean. Encircled by this rich assemblage is a mosaic of ecosystems arranged by factors such as geologic foundation, climate, and exposure. While there are dozens of ways to classify and name the exact type of ecosystem, the broadest and closest category places Point Reyes National Seashore into a Mediterranean Ecosystem.

The Point Reyes Peninsula has long baffled geologists. Why should the rocks of this craggy coast match Tehachapi Mountains rocks more than 310 miles to the south? The answer lies in plate tectonics and the continual motion of the Earth’s crust. Geologically, Point Reyes is a land in motion.

The Peninsula rides high on the eastern edge of the Pacific plate, which creeps northwestward about two inches a year. The slower moving North American plate travels westward. In Olema Valley, near Bear Valley Visitor Center, the North American and Pacific plates grind together along the San Andreas Fault Zone. This fault zone contains many large and small faults running parallel and at odd angles to one another. Because neither plate can move freely, tremendous pressures build up. From time to time this pressure becomes too great, and the surface actually moves. This is what happened in the earthquake of 1906 when the Peninsula leaped 20 feet northwestward. The most accessible location within Point Reyes National Seashore to view the San Andreas Fault Zone is from the Earthquake Trail, located off of the parking lot at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

The sea is the soul of Point Reyes. The shores of Point Reyes are full of rocky cliffs. Close to the vigorous port of San Francisco, Point Reyes has always been a major feature along the shipping routes. It thrusts ten miles out into the ocean. The Point Reyes peninsula is surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean which dramatically affects the daily and seasonal climates, and numerous resident and migratory marine species. The most significant oceanic impact on the peninsula is the seasonal upwelling phenomena. Upwelling occurs when nutrient-rich colder waters rise from deeper levels to replace the relatively warm surface waters, and as a result creates summer coastal fog. Tormented by chill, coursing currents, the sheer granite cliffs are thrashed by howling winds and concealed by impenetrable fogs – the worst the Pacific has to offer, according to a survey carried out by the United States Lighthouse Service in the 1800s.

The intertidal area is where the land merges under the ocean and the tidal zones begin. This complex marine ecosystem is found along coastlines worldwide with general similarities expressed by local diversity. At Point Reyes National Seashore, the intertidal zone is characterized by four zones delineated mostly by the amounts of moisture, exposure to the sun, water movement, temperature, and salinity.

The different zones of the park provide the opportunity to experience windswept Bishop pines, Douglas firs, estuaries, forests, wetlands, chaparral, and coastal scrub. The pastoral areas have native coastal grasslands. The broad range of plant communities supports over 900 species of vascular plants. This number represents about 15% of the California flora. Sixty-one species found in Marin County are known only from Point Reyes.

Bishop pine forests are unique to granitic quartz-diorite soils. Fragments of bishop pine forests exist along the coast of California where the climate, soil and fire regime are just right for their growth. Here at Point Reyes, these forests are not hard to find. They grow primarily all along the northern end of Inverness Ridge. Post-fire, you can find young pines of the same age crowded together such as along the Drakes View Trail. Dense pine patches alternate with dense stands of blue blossom and the very rare Marin manzanita. Over time, young forests self-thin, giving way to mature forests mixed with bay laurel, madrone, coast live oak, tanoak, huckleberry, salal and swordfern. The bishop pine forest bounces back quickly from a fire. Over one third of the pine forest you see today was ash in 1995 after a fire raged through the Mt. Vision area.

A piece of the Pacific Northwest grows on the east side of Inverness Ridge. Here enough rain falls in the winter to quench the thirst of this fast-growing tree and the trees, shrubs and herbs that sprout underneath. They are buoyed in the summer by fog moisture. The plants thrive in soil derived from marine sediments. They are a diverse mix. Looking up you see the Douglas-fir trees soaring straight up to form a canopy, then you’ll see California bays, tanoaks, and coast live oaks bending upwards, and right at your eye level you can see coffeeberry, huckleberry, poison oak, hazelnuts, elderberries, honeysuckles, bouquets of ferns and small woodland herbs. This vegetation type describes over 30,000 acres of the Seashore. Sudden Oak Death is a recent phenomenon to this community; expect to see dead and dying tanoaks and true oaks in the forest canopy as Sudden Oak Death continues to spread throughout this community.

One of the most common plant communities at the Seashore, coastal scrub stretches over much of the gentle hills above the ocean. These plants tolerate abrasive conditions – high winds, little rain, blowing salt spray and poor soils – but still they persist. They make do with the resources they have, keeping short and shrubby, putting extra support into stiff leaves, and growing a long taproot for stability and to reach deep water. Vast tracts of coyote bush indicate that you are in the coastal scrub. The scrub is made up of other shrubs like yellow bush lupine, poison oak, and blackberry and lone stunted conifers. In the southern parts of the park, California sagebrush and California buckwheat replace coyote bush. Springtime finds this community alive with color. A common flower is the sticky monkey-flower, whose flower is orange and resembles a monkey’s face. Bright red Indian paintbrush steals nutrients and water from other plants’ roots. California poppies and Douglas irises also grow in the coastal scrub.

Point Reyes is host to 13 species of ferns from six different fern families. Ferns are by far the largest group of living seedless vascular plants. Vascular plants have stems, roots, leaves, and vascular systems that transport water, minerals, and food. Other seedless vascular plants include horsetails and club mosses. Keep your eye out for ferns along creek banks and in moist places; you’ll be rewarded with views of the delicate five-finger fern, California maiden-hair, wood fern, Leathery Grapefern, bracken, and more.

For wildflower enthusiasts, a trip to Point Reyes in the spring and summer is a must. Wildflowers bloom at the Seashore February through August, depending on many factors including the amount and frequency of rains. Peak flower blooms occur April-May. Colors range throughout the spectrum and across many sizes. They can be viewed in many habitats including woodlands, scrublands, grasslands, coastal bluffs, beach, dunes, disturbed areas, salt marsh edges. Abbotts Lagoon, Chimney Rock and Tomales Point are just a few of the locations where the flowers bloom early in the season. In late winter and early spring, the Seashore offers ranger-led Wildflower Walks.

A wide variety of other plants can be seen at the park. Small-leaved Iceplant, Hottentot Fig, New Zealand Spinach, Coastal Angelica, Poison Hemlock, Rattlesnake Weed, Coyote Thistle, Lovage, Hairy-petal Hog Fennel, Gairdner’s Yampah, Kellogg’s Yampah, Footsteps-of-Spring, Common Calla, Yarrow, Seaside Dandelion, Pearly Everlasting, Beach Sagebrush, Common Aster, Pineapple Weed, Green Buttons, Cape-ivy, Lobed-leaf Australian Fireweed, Seaside Daisy, Woolly Sunflower, Weedy Cudweed, Cotton-batting Plant, Coastal Western Evax, Hairy Cat’s-ear, Giant Goldfields, Tidy-tips, Bristly Ox-tongue, Milk Thistle, Soliva, Narrow-leaf Mule-ears, Common Fiddleneck, Seaside Fiddleneck, Grassland Popcorn Flower, Field Mustard, Sea Rocket, Meadow Milkmaids, Wart-cress, Coastal Wallflower, Shining Peppergrass, Snowberry, Annual Mouse-ear Chickweed, Coastal Catchfly, Chickweed, Coastal Goosefoot, Coastal Morning-glory, Pigmy-weed, Sea Lettuce, Manroot, Tall Basket-Sedge, Western Brackenfern, Common Swordfern, Narrow-leaf Bird’sfoot Trefoil, Yellow Bush Lupine, Coastal-Prairie Lupine, Bearded Clover, Twin-head Clover, American Vetch, Giant Coastal Vetch, Blue Gentian, Red-stem Filaree, California Perennial Phacelia, Douglas Iris, Salt-sand Rush, Hairy Coyote Mint, Pussy-ears Star Tulip, Australian Tea-tree and Coast Godetia are just a few.

Grasses and short plants grow in the salt marsh. They tend to have stout stems, small leaves and the ability to rid their tissues of excess salt. Most of the plants you see are saltgrass, cordgrass and pickleweed. Saltgrass has special pores on its leaves where salt crystals can push out. Pickleweed also concentrates salt in its leaves. The leaves turn red as the salt concentration gets higher and eventually the plant simply drops its leaves.

Less than one percent of California’s native grassland is still intact today. The northern coastal prairie, which extends into Oregon, is the most diverse type of grassland in North America. Pristine patches of this vegetation still grow at Point Reyes on either side of the San Andreas Fault. Deschampsia coastal prairie is found on the Point Reyes peninsula and Danthonia coastal prairie is found on Bolinas Ridge. Coastal prairie is dominated by long lived perennial bunchgrasses, such as Purple needle grass, California fescue and California oatgrass, all of which can stay green year round with the moisture provided in the fog belt.

Purple needle grass (Nasella pulchra) is the most widespread native perennial bunchgrass found in California. It was an important food source to Native Americans, and is valuable to wildlife and livestock. Purple needle grass is used in many restoration projects at Point Reyes. Its life span can last for hundreds of years; and its deep root systems can support the survival of young oak trees through root fungal associations.

California fescue (Festuca californica) is a native perennial bunchgrass that lives in both shaded and open areas. It is found in coastal forests, chaparral and grasslands. At Point Reyes, it is found at the D-ranch, as well as in the wilderness, growing on west to southwest facing slopes.

California oatgrass (Danthonia californica) is a densely tufted perennial grass. It is found in moist soils, and is moderately drought-tolerant. It is dominant in the coastal prairie along Bolinas ridge where it grows with purple needle grass. Danthonia has adapted to grazing pressure by producing fertile seed enclosed within the stem.

Grass-like sedges and rushes may also be found at Point Reyes. “Sedges have edges and rushes are round,” is an often used phrase to help people know what they are looking at. Like grasses, sedges and rushes have linear plant forms, and inconspicuous flowers which lack color. However, these are three distinct plant families. Sedges and rushes are wetland plants with fewer species than the highly diverse grass family.

There are many activities in which visitors may participate during their trip to Point Reyes. Visitors interested in learning more about the human and natural history of the Point Reyes area can participate in free ranger-led programs. Leisurely drives wind their way over Inverness Ridge and through the pastoral lands to beaches, to the historic lighthouse, and to wildlife viewing areas, such as the tule elk range on Tomales Point or the Elephant Seal Overlook near Chimney Rock. Birdwatching is exceptional throughout the seashore, especially during fall and spring migrations. The Point Reyes headlands and park beaches are excellent places to view the annual gray whale migration, which is best from January through April. Many visitors enjoy picnicking at beaches or at some beautiful vista along the park’s trails. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) of trails beckon hikers, mountain bikers, and horse riders to explore the backcountry. Recreational use of Tomales Bay has grown in recent years especially for camping, boating, and wildlife watching.

The National Seashore has great hiking trails to explore. Trail maps for the north district trails and south district trails are available at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. There are many ways to customize your hike to accommodate your physical and time limitations. Stop by the Bear Valley Visitor Center for current trail information and suggested hikes.

The Earthquake Trail is a short (0.6 mi. /1 km) paved loop that explores the San Andreas Fault Zone. Interpretive signs describe the geology of the area. This trail begins at the southeast corner of the Bear Valley Picnic Area, just across the street from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. The Kule Loklo Trail is a short path that leads up to a replica of a Coast Miwok Indian village. Interpretive signs briefly describe Coast Miwok culture and history and the structures in the village. From Kule Loklo, return on the same trail, or continue around the horse pasture to return via the Morgan Horse Ranch. This trail begins at the north end of the Bear Valley Parking Lot, about 100 yards (100 meters) from the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

The Chimmney Rock Trail is a spectacular hike (1.6 mi. /2.5 km) with views of Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean and renowned for great spring wildflowers. Rocky cliffs drop off steeply to the water, so there is no beach access. From January through May, look for migrating whales from the point. Fog and wind can make this hike challenging. Start this hike at the Chimney Rock Trailhead, near the Lighthouse, a 45-minute drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Mt. Wittenberg Loop is approximately 5 mi / 8 km long and is a steep 1300 feet (400 meter) climb to the highest point in the park (426 m / 1407 ft), with views of the Seashore and Olema Valley. The loop passes through a mixed Douglas fir and oak forest and several open meadows. Start at the Bear Valley Trailhead and follow the Bear Valley Trail south for 0.2 mi. (0.3 km). Turn right on to the Mt. Wittenberg Trail and climb all the way to the top. Continue to the junction with the Meadow and Sky trails, and then return to Bear Valley Trail via Meadow Trail.

The Bolinas Ridge Trail is 2 to 22 mi. / 3 to 35 km long. It is the best trail in the area for walking a dog, with views of Olema Valley. On a sunny day or a moonlit night, enjoy the expansive feeling of this open space. If you choose to continue beyond the first few miles, you will enter the redwood forest and eventually the chaparral. Turn around and retrace your steps whenever you are ready. You may hike with your dog on this trail. Dogs must be leashed at all times. The Bolinas Ridge Trailhead is east of Olema on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, about 5 minutes driving time from the Bear Valley Visitor Center. There are many other trails both long and short to choose from.

Several hikes along the beaches are great activities. A 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometer) walk through coastal scrub, across a bridge over a stream between two lagoons, and over sand dunes brings you to Abbotts Lagoon Beach. The lagoons attract large numbers of migrating shorebirds in the fall, followed by the wintering ducks. Occasionally peregrine falcons are seen selecting their meals amongst these tasty morsels. The sand dunes backing the beach are home to the endangered snowy plover. The eggs and young of this ground-nesting bird are easily destroyed. Be especially careful in this area during their nesting season, June 1 – September 15.

A wide stretch of beach backed by dramatic white sandstone cliffs makes Drakes Beach a very popular place. Drive-up access, a small café and a visitor center add to its appeal. The sands of the Drakes Bay cliffs were deposited in a shallow sea many years ago, compacted, then uplifted. Erosion has revealed the striations of this story in the cliff faces.

Heart’s Desire Beach is part of Tomales Bay State Park. It is a nice sheltered cove on Tomales Bay that is excellent for families with small children. The ocean water tends to be a little warmer at this beach.

A half-mile walk alongside a marsh and over a sand dune takes you to the northern end of the Great Beach, called Kehoe Beach. Once at the beach, turn left to explore a stream meandering its way into the Pacific Ocean. To the right, giant dunes make explorations fun. Follow the beach further north to see the dramatic juxtaposition of rocks. The first cliffs you see are the smooth Laird sandstone, which change abruptly to granite. A reverse fault displaced the sandstone against the granite upon which it was deposited, creating a continuous cliff made of very different rock types. Dogs are allowed on a 6-foot (1.8-meter) leash on this beach to the north of the trail. Dogs are not permitted south of the trailhead as this area is protected habitat for the endangered snow plover.

A 4.8-mile (7.7-kilometer) trek from the Bear Valley trailhead brings hikers to an overlook above this quiet, secluded beach called Kelham Beach north of Arch Rock. The trail from Coast Trail to Kelham Beach is currently closed due to erosion of the cliff. The cliff is unstable and it is advised that visitors not hike down to the beach from this point.

A long, narrow spit of sand, bound between Drakes Bay and an estuary, is a bountiful wildlife area called Limantour Beach. Scores of shorebirds feed in the wetlands and along the beaches during the fall. Ducks abound in winter at old, freshwater stock ponds created during the peninsula’s ranching era. Harbor seals are often seen bobbing offshore in the gentle waves or basking in the sun’s warmth. Mother gray whales guide their calves along the shoreline during the spring. Dogs are allowed on a 6-foot (1.8-meter) leash on the southeast end of this beach. Dogs are not permitted to the northwest as this area is protected habitat for harbor seals and the endangered snowy plover.

Marshall Beach is on the Tomales Bay side of Point Reyes National Seashore, south of Tomales Point. The parking area is a 2-mile (3-kilometer) drive on a dirt road. It is then a 1.2-mile (1.9-kilometer) hike from the parking area to the beach.

A short, steep, downhill hike leads visitors to McClures Beach, a small but exciting cove with intense surf. The rocks at either end of the beach add to the drama and danger. It is tempting to venture around the southern corner to explore the adjacent beach, but use caution! This area can only be safely accessed during the outgoing low tide.

Palomarin Beach is at the south end of Point Reyes, between Bolinas Point and Wildcat Beach. This trail is a strenuous walk down the cliff. The beach is good for tidepooling at minus tides.

Sculptured Beach is located two miles south of Limantour Beach. Winter rains feed two creeks which stream across the sand into the ocean creating a wet barrier for beach walkers wishing to keep their feet dry. Once at Sculptured Beach, look for its namesake rocks lying on the shoreline. The sculptured rocks are exposed at low tide, along with the organisms that cling to them, creating an exciting area to go tidepooling.

The Great Beach – also known as Point Reyes Beach – is an incredible expanse of over 10 miles (15 kilometers) of undeveloped ocean beach visitors are welcome to explore. If you are looking for the drama of heavy surf this is the place to be. Drive-up access is located at the North Beach or South Beach parking lots. Dogs are allowed on a 6-foot (1.8-meter) leash on this beach. Dogs are not permitted north of the North Beach entrance as this area is protected habitat for the endangered snowy plover. And during the winter when elephant seals are present, dogs are not permitted south of the South Beach access. Please be very cautious near the water as “sneaker waves” have been known to drag unwitting victims out to sea.

Wildcat Beach is a 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) long beach in the southern end of the National Seashore. To access Wildcat Beach at Wildcat Campground, visitors will need to hike at least 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers). The shortest route to Wildcat Campground is along the Coast Trail from the Palomarin trailhead in the southern part of Point Reyes. Visitors may also ride their bicycles 6.7 miles (10.7 kilometers) from Five Brooks along the Stewart Trail to get to Wildcat Campground. A mile south of Wildcat Campground is Alamere Falls.

For those who enjoy wildlife viewing there is plenty of marine life to see in the different seasons. The Gray Whale migration is January – April. Elephant Seal breeding occurs December-March. The bird migration happens March-May and August-December. You will be able to see a varied amount of bird life. Harbor Seal pupping occurs in March-June, although they are present year round. Every spring, approximately 7,000 harbor seals, or 20% of the mainland California breeding population, haul out on the beaches of Point Reyes. Look for them in the esteros and in Tomales Bay and Bolinas Lagoon. The Tule Elk rut happens in July-October. Look for wildlife at Abbotts Lagoon, Drakes Estero, Elephant Seal Overlook, Five Brooks Pond, Lighthouse, Olema Marsh, Sea Lion Overlook and Tule Elk Preserve.

The key to experiencing the wildlife and the wilderness at Point Reyes is to take your time and to find a quiet space to do it. And above all, be aware of your surroundings. But finding wildlife isn’t very difficult, if you aren’t too particular. Just by stepping out the door of the Bear Valley Visitor Center you are likely to see gophers or gopher snakes, turkey vultures or great blue herons. You might notice black-tailed deer, jackrabbits, or even a coyote or bobcat. However, the best wildlife watching requires patience and the willingness to venture out on the trails, just to enjoy the surroundings. It also requires a sense of ethics. Everything we do may affect wildlife and wild lands.

Jutting 10 miles (16 kilometers) into the Pacific Ocean, the headlands of the Point Reyes Peninsula offer one of the finest spots to view the gray whale. The Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary provides a 20-mile (32-kilometer) wide “highway” along which the whales cruise; sometimes they travel in the close lane (nearer to shore), and sometimes they travel in the far lane (farther out to sea). The areas around Chimney Rock and the Lighthouse offer some of the best whale watching spots in the park. Late April and early May afford the opportunity to see mothers and calves close to shore.

The most popular area for kayaking at Point Reyes National Seashore is on Tomales Bay. Tomales Bay is a 15-mile (24-kilometer) long, 6,780-acre (2,645-hectare) tidal water body located in rural west Marin County, California. It is the largest unspoiled coastal embayment on the coast of California. The bay is bounded largely on the west by the Point Reyes National Seashore. Adjacent communities include Pt. Reyes Station, Inverness, Tomales, Marshall, and Dillon Beach in the north where Tomales Bay meets Bodega Bay. Kayaking is also permitted on Drakes Estero and Limantour Estero from July 1 through February 28.

There are four areas for launching on Tomales Bay. Miller County Park (415) 499-6387, also known as Nick’s Cove, is located on the east side of Tomales Bay off Highway 1, north of the town of Marshall. Tomales Bay State Park (415) 669-1140, provides two access areas to Tomales Bay, Millerton Point and Hearts Desire Beach. Millerton Point is on the east side of Tomales Bay, 3 miles (five kilometers) north of Point Reyes Station. Hearts Desire Beach is on the west side of Tomales Bay off Pierce Point Road. Golden Hinde Inn and Marina are located on the west side of the bay. It is off Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 3 miles (five kilometers) north of Inverness. Lawson’s Landing is a campground and boat launch located in Dillon Beach with direct access to Tomales Bay.

Point Reyes provides a variety of off-road biking opportunities traversing diverse habitats and terrains. You can explore trails through evergreen forests, coastal scrub, or along estuaries and beach bluffs. Visitor Centers offer a free map of the park’s trails, indicating which trails are designated for bike travel. Point Reyes permits biking only outside of wilderness areas along emergency access/dirt fire roads, paved roads and a few single-track trails. Bicycles may be rented in Point Reyes Station.

Horses and other pack animals are permitted on most established trails and beaches at the Seashore. They may not travel off trail because conditions are not maintained for their safety, and their presence can negatively impact the environment. Stop by one of the park’s Visitor Centers to pick up a trail map and obtain more information to find out which trails are designated for horse travel. There is a park concessionaire that runs a full service horse stable and offers guided trail rides.

Some popular horse trails in the park are Arch Rock which is the most direct and level route to the ocean, Mt. Wittenberg, Inverness Ridge, Coastal Ride, San Andreas Fault, Wildcat Beach and the Lakes Tour. Check with the Visitor Centers for more information about these trails.

Visit the historic, 135 year-old Point Reyes Lighthouse. Travel time to the Lighthouse parking lot from the Bear Valley Visitor Center is approximately 45 minutes. From the parking lot there is a 10-15 minute walk to the Lighthouse Visitor Center. The Lighthouse itself can be seen from the observation deck located near the Lighthouse Visitor Center. To reach the Lighthouse you must descend 308 stairs from the observation deck to the facility. Note: The Lighthouse Visitor Center and the steps leading down to the Lighthouse are only open Thursdays through Mondays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Here, you can see historic photographs of shipwrecks and lighthouse-keepers, and handle items on the touch table, including whale baleen. A display of local birds will introduce you to the birds you might see just off the cliffs. A small bookstore offers books, maps and other educational products. There are two Ranger guided programs to learn more about the lighthouse.

A 35-40 minute drive from the Bear Valley Visitor Center can get you to the Pierce Point Ranch and Tule Elk Reserve. Here you can learn about the history of dairy ranching in the park though interpretive signs and historical structures. A short hike from the Pierce Point Ranch will take you into the 2,600 acre (1,050 hectare) preserve where nearly 400 tule elk roam free. They can be seen any time of the year – and often can be seen from the ranch parking lot. The most exciting time to see the tule elk is during the fall rut, late July through November.

The Seashore also offers many ways for visitors to learn more about the park. Ranger-guided programs give visitors the opportunity to explore the wonders of Point Reyes with a Park Ranger. Programs are offered each weekend on both Saturdays and Sundays. On Shaky Ground is at 2 PM on Saturdays where you can dare to tread the San Andreas Fault where the earth’s crust shifted and moved 16 feet (5 meters) in 1906! The Kule Loklo Walk is every Sunday at 2 PM where this leisurely 0.8 mile (1.3 kilometer) tour introduces visitors to the Coast Miwok and their history and culture. Weekdays Memorial Day through Labor Day come and join a Park Ranger to learn more about Point Reyes’ natural and cultural history. Topics may cover earthquakes and plate tectonics, the Coast Miwok, the U.S. Lifesaving Service, or area flora and fauna.

Point Reyes offers lots of fun opportunities for kids. While at Point Reyes, children can discover the wonders of wildlife-watching, hike along a variety of trails, build sand castles, watch for whales, seals and sea lions, discover the lighthouse, check out the visitor centers with interactive displays, or become a Junior Ranger! The park has two self-guided Junior Ranger programs. One explores the history of the Coast Miwok people, while the other is a study at the lighthouse. Stop at the Bear Valley Visitor Center or the Lighthouse Visitor Center, respectively, for more information on becoming a Junior Ranger. There is even a summer camp run by the Point Reyes National Seashore Association.

Sensitive resources such as birds and plants are affected by elephant seals. The western snowy plover, a federally threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, breeds on few California beaches. Loss of habitat to beachfront development and human recreation has forced elephant seals and plovers to compete for limited protected space. Also, rare plants native to coastal dunes are potentially at risk. Elephant seals and their curious human visitors may physically crush plants that are struggling to remain alive.

The park’s task is to balance the expansion of the elephant seal colony while providing for the health of other species. To manage this balance, the park will continue its docent program, which provides visitors with on-site information and safety messages at the overlooks. To anticipate where the elephant seals might expand to next, researchers will attempt to discover why seals prefer to breed on some beaches and not others. This information will allow the park to make responsible choices about appropriate beach use by people, pets, and wildlife.

Since 1995, Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS) and Point Reyes Bird Observatory Conservation Science (PRBO) have been implementing a recovery project for the breeding western snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) population within the Seashore. The snowy plover is a small shorebird that was listed as a federally threatened species in 1993. Current estimates project that there are roughly 1,800 western snowy plovers along the Pacific Coast from Washington to Baja (USFWS unpublished data). Their diminishing numbers are largely due to habitat loss and degradation from the introduction of nonnative plants.

While habitat loss and degradation are the biggest factor contributing to plover declines, our seemingly benign beach activities can also pose significant threats to plovers here at Point Reyes. Beaches provide open spaces for us to relax and play but some things we love to do at the beach spell disaster for the snowy plover. The peak of human activities on Point Reyes beaches usually coincides with the ‘snowies’ breeding season March through September. Walking dogs or riding horses near nests flushes protective parents, leaving eggs and chicks exposed to wind, sand, cold, and predators. Food scraps left on beaches attract predators that would not have otherwise found the odorless, camouflaged plover eggs.

Gulls, ravens, foxes, coyotes, dogs, feral cats, skunks, and raccoons are famous for developing feeding habits based on reckless human disturbance and often congregate where people recreate. Even simply standing a stick in the sand as a flagpole can draw predators: the stick provides a perch for raptors that otherwise have no vantage points on barren beaches.

PRBO in collaboration with PRNS have been monitoring snowy plovers at Point Reyes intensively for 16 years including 1977, 1986 to 1989, and 1995 to the present. Over the years, PRBO and PRNS have experimented with a variety of management measures that would help the plovers reproduce successfully, including erecting enclosures around nests, creating seasonal closures around nesting habitat and removing invasive plants. The enclosures, similar to those used for the piping plover on the east coast, were made of 10-foot by 10-foot square, 4-5 foot tall fencing that allows entrance and departure of plovers while keeping out predators.

To reduce human disturbance of plovers, the park used educational signs and brochures to teach the public about the vulnerability of nesting snowy plovers and to alert visitors to seasonal closures and pet restrictions in plover habitat. On weekends, when recreation was most intense, park employees and several volunteer docents were present on beaches and at trail heads to educate visitors.

In conjunction with this recovery program, coastal dune restoration efforts at Abbotts Lagoon were initiated to expand the range of endangered plants and increase nesting habitat for snowy plovers. From 2001 to 2005, 50 acres of non-native European beachgrass (Ammophila arenaria) and iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis) have been removed from critical dune habitat.

Since March 2004, plovers have begun to nest in the dune area restored with heavy equipment. This is the first time plovers have used these back dunes since research began in 1972. Normally, plover nesting activity has been restricted to a narrow strip of sand between the beachgrass formed sea wall and the high tide line. Plovers are using the area for chick rearing as well. Male plovers have been seen moving chicks to this area from as far as a mile and a half away. The restored area is open enough for plovers to see approaching predators and provides areas of protection (chicks are much harder to find in open sand fields) and native food sources.

Point Reyes National Seashore protects a portion of the watershed necessary to ensure the safe migration and spawning of Coho salmon and steelhead trout. This protection is necessary as both species have been directly impacted by human activities and development. Healthy creeks are one step toward maintaining and hopefully increasing their populations. Their true hope for survival lies in changing human attitudes, behaviors, and priorities.

Armed with chest waders and measuring sticks, National Park Service staff and volunteers brave streams swollen from the winter rains to survey for spawning Coho and steelhead. They track spawners, carefully count carcasses, and take tissue samples for DNA analysis, providing valuable information to study the abundance and distribution of these fish. This is part of the work of the Coho and Steelhead Restoration Project.

When Coho salmon and steelhead trout were placed on the threatened species list, the National Park Service initiated a five-year project to identify, evaluate, restore, and enhance Coho and steelhead populations and their habitat within three West Marin parks, Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Muir Woods National Monument. The Coho and Steelhead Restoration Project is focusing on Pine Gulch, Redwood, Olema, and Lagunitas creeks and their watersheds.

The success of this ambitious program depends on the active participation of the public, local community conservation organizations, adjacent landowners, and public agencies. By working together, they will lay the groundwork for sustainable and healthy streams, riparian zones, and watersheds.

As native systems have been altered in other areas of California, many native plants have been pushed to the brink of extinction. Point Reyes National Seashore serves as a refuge for an astonishing number of these rare plants. Over 50 plants at Point Reyes are currently listed by the Federal government, State government, or the California Native Plant Society as being rare, threatened, or endangered. These threatened, rare, and endangered plants are actively monitored and managed by park scientists.

Unfortunately, 292 of the plants within the park are not native. These include a wide variety of grasses in the pastoral zone, South African capeweed, scotch broom, pampas grass, and trees such as eucalyptus, cypress, and Monterey Pine. Invasive non-native species tend to spread very rapidly and out-compete native plants for scarce space and resources. To curb the tide of many of the Seashore’s non-native invasive plants, volunteers are recruited to remove the most threatening species.

Point Reyes National Seashore is a Class I park and air quality is generally good due to the prevailing westerly marine flows. However, during periods when atmospheric conditions displace the east Pacific high pressure system, air flows from the San Francisco Bay area can degrade the air quality of the seashore. This mainly occurs during the late summer and early fall, when the major atmospheric systems undergo a seasonal change. During this time, the seashore is often impacted by a general haze, which significantly impairs visibility.

Because ambient ozone levels at Point Reyes are currently quite low, oxidant injury in vegetation is unlikely at the present time. If there were to be changes in the atmospheric patterns at the Seashore, there are approximately 37 plant and lichen species with known sensitivities to sulfur dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen oxides.

As you hike and drive around forested areas of Point Reyes, you may look out upon the landscape and notice a large number of dying trees. When first observed in the 1990’s, the disease affecting these trees was named “Sudden Oak Death” (SOD), and researchers attempted to ascertain it’s cause and what might be done to reverse or stop its spread. Research has revealed the answers to some of the questions, but not all.

Sudden Oak Death is caused by the fungus Phytophthora ramorum. It is a water mold which prolifically produces spores in humid and moist environments. This makes California’s damp riparian corridors superb highways for the pathogen to spread. As a result many of the native species in this “perfect environment” have become vectors for Phytophthora ramorum and infect other species, which then may die due to the fungus. Phytophthora ramorum was initially identified in 1993 in Germany and the Netherlands. There, the fungus began attacking ornamental rhododendrons. The pathogen made its first appearance in the United States in 1995 in Marin County’s Mill Valley, where it infected and killed a Tan Oak.

Tan Oaks (Lithocarpus densiflorus) are a common species in many types of forests. It has been a historically significant species since before the United States became a country. The Tan Oak has been, and continues to be, a food source for many Native American peoples. Tannins in the acorns increase storage time due to their resistance to mold. In addition to storage time the sheer volume of acorns produced made the Tan Oak an important food source. Soup, bread, and mush were all made from the acorn. The tree’s uses evolved as settlers moved west and played an important role in the tanning industry. Acids leached from the bark of the tree were used to tan leather.

In addition to human cultural uses the Tan Oak is an important wildlife species. It is associated with both conifer forests and mixed evergreen forests. Its acorns provide a plentiful food source for many wildlife species such as squirrels. They also provide homes for insect larvae. The elimination of this species from our landscape would create a cultural and ecological hole in our environment.

The Tan Oak is but one species affected by Sudden Oak Death. There are two ways a plant can play host to the pathogen: foliar host — which are not usually killed by SOD — and bark canker host. Foliar hosts are not usually killed by SOD, whereas bark canker hosts are. These include members from the Quercus (oak) family and Lithocarpus densiflorus (Tan Oak.) Red Oaks such as Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia) and Black Oak (Quercus kellogii) are species suffering mortality from the pathogen. Bark cankers form on infected trees and appear as open oozing wounds. Upon inspection the cankers excrete a dark brown, reddish thick liquid from the wound. These cankers are evidence of Phytophthora ramorum’s presence. Cankers girdle the cambium of the main stem eventually killing the tree. Sudden Oak Death may take up to two years to kill its host. However, cankers are extremely attractive to invading pests and these pests will often hasten the demise of the tree. The ambrosia beetle, Monorthrum scantellare, M. deatiger, bark beetle Psudopityophythorus pubipennis, and sapwood decay fungus Hypoxylon thouarsianum all pose a threat to infected trees. Sapwood decay fungus is especially compromising to the structure of the tree. As the tree ages, heartwood tissue naturally decays. Sapwood decay fungus weakens sapwood portions of the tree compromising the entire tree.

Currently there is no cure for Sudden Oak Death, although the research continues. One fungicide is approved both as a preventative measure and to slow onset of the disease of recently affected organisms (trees). Another preventative measure involves spraying a specific chemical on oak trunks and lower limbs. The hope is the substance will prevent the pathogen from entering treated trees. Another method of control is injecting a particular chemical into the base of oak trunks. It is hoped this method will prolong lifespans of treated trees. However, many of these treatments can have adverse impacts on the person applying it, or on pets, birds, insects, and other animals, if not applied carefully. These products need to be applied properly to prevent impacts, and should only be applied by a qualified professional.

Other ongoing research includes studies centering on California’s fire regime and whether recent changes in fire frequency has aided Phytophthora ramorum’s success. Initial studies found infested areas occur in locations where fire has been absent for an extended period of time. The pathogen is most common and abundant in urban areas correlating with an infrequent fire regime. But additional research on historic fire regimes and ground truthing is needed to obtain a more accurate picture and reliable conclusions on this matter.

The Marin County Fire Department has also investigated the fire regime issue. The department has found infested areas with Phytophthora ramorum where prescribed burns have occurred. This disproves the theory that fire itself could be the key to stopping the spread of Phytophthora ramorum.

Besides losing a piece of our cultural heritage and an important food source for wildlife, the die off of numerous trees raises other concerns. Increased tree mortality could increase fire risks to communities. Dead and down trees suffering from Phytophthora ramorum add significant amounts to fuel loads which previously did not exist. Just as fire suppression has played a part in altering our fire regime, so too could this newly increasing fuel load. However, instead of the decrease we see as a result of fire suppression, an increasing fuel load could increase fires.

As a visitor to places with Sudden Oak Death be aware of your surroundings and what you can do to stop its spread. Now that you know the signs of SOD, be aware of the vegetation around you. When you notice signs that may be SOD take precautions such as washing and disinfecting your shoes, tires, and anything that can transport vegetative particles and dirt. Disinfection can be accomplished with a diluted bleach solution. Phytophthora ramorum reproduces through spores and wet winters encourage reproduction. Periods of high dispersal rates of Phytopthora ramorum are during windstorms and rain events. Be especially vigilant about disinfecting shoes, etc., after storms.

Wood brought from outside of the park for building a beach fire must be pine or almond. Do not bring oak, fir, redwood, madrone, or tanoak unless they are certified to be free of Phytophthora ramorum. Because Phytophthora ramorum may be found on a large number of trees and other plants and in soil, there are often restrictions on the transportation of these items from areas affected by Sudden Oak Death in order to limit the spread of this pathogen. When in doubt, do not remove infected material from where it is found.

Warm dry summers and cool rainy winters characterize the Point Reyes Peninsula’s climate, similar to the type of climate that prevails on the Mediterranean. While this is the general trend, the weather may be quite different depending on which side of the Inverness Ridge you are visiting. For example, there are usually moderate to strong winds on the exposed headlands and outer beaches and lighter breezes on the east side of Inverness Ridge. The moderating influence of the Pacific Ocean creates a climate with no great extremes of heat or cold. Weather can change rapidly at Point Reyes. Tomales Bay can act as a wind tunnel. Be aware of afternoon wind forecasts.

Although there is very little rain during summer months, there is often dense fog. If you are visiting Bear Valley or Tomales Bay, expect patchy morning fog to burn off by mid-day. Afternoons are often sunny and warm with a light breeze. By contrast, the beaches and headlands are often 20 degrees cooler with heavy fogs common throughout the day in July, August and September.

The coastal areas of Point Reyes experience some of the clearest days in late September, October and early November. The occasional storm will start rolling through in late October, bringing clouds, wind, and rain. The strongest winds occur in November and December during occasional southerly gales. Winds have been clocked at 130 miles per hour at the Lighthouse on the Point, but the annual maximum wind velocity is 43 miles per hour. Winds are much lighter on the eastern side of the Inverness Ridge, but it is an unusual day that does not bring afternoon breezes to Point Reyes.

Headlands and beaches on the Pacific Coast are subject to frequent heavy fogs. During most of the year, the water temperatures near the coast are lower than that of the ocean farther to the west. As warm moist air from farther offshore travels east it encounters these frigid coastal waters. The air cools, condenses, and produces fog. The fog can blanket the ocean for more than 50 miles off the shore and often smothers the beaches. Heavy fogs are most common in July, August and September.

Rainfall averages about 12 inches per year out on the Point where the Lighthouse is located. The heaviest rainfall occurs in the winter months. A few miles inland the rainfall is much greater, averaging about 36 inches a year at Bear Valley. Although there is scarcely any rain from mid-April to October, the night and morning coastal fogs condense on the trees and keep the wooded hills moist. Come prepared for rain and drizzle to possibly last for several days. More rain falls east of Inverness Ridge than on the west side. In between winter rains, it is often sunny, calm and cool.

Most spring days are windy and even Bear Valley and Tomales Bay experience stiff breezes. Expect cool temperatures in March. Sunshine and higher temperatures can be found inland. By late May and early June, temperatures can be quite warm on the east side of Inverness Ridge. Inland temperatures in the summer are often 20 degrees warmer than temperatures on the Headlands and outer coast.

Current Park Weather

Remember that wildflowers are protected by law in national parks. Please don’t pick the wildflowers or crush them by straying off the trails. All objects (plants, animals, or parts of them such as flowers or antlers, historic artifacts, minerals, etc.) within the National Seashore are protected and may not be collected. However, certain products are available for personal (non-commercial) use only in limited quantities. These are: edible berries – 1 quart (1 liter) per person per day; edible mushrooms – 2 gallons (8 liters) plus 1 mushroom per adult per day;
unoccupied seashells, gathered by hand; and Daffodil flowers from the abandoned nursery site near the Laguna Trailhead – six (6) flowers per person per day.

Visitors will likely experience high winds, cool temperatures, fog and/or rain along the 0.5 mile (800 meter) walk to the Lighthouse, so dress appropriately. Please take your time walking from the parking lot to the Visitor Center and climbing the stairs.

The coastal water temperatures at Point Reyes rarely exceed 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Prolonged exposure to these temperatures can result in hypothermia (abnormally low body temperature) or death. Do not stay in the water for more than a few minutes unless you are wearing a wetsuit. Before swimming or wading, consider the weather conditions and whether you would be able to stay warm if you were to get wet. You have a much better chance of warming up again if the weather is sunny and hot as opposed to overcast, windy and cool. Don’t wait until you start to shiver or for your lips to turn blue before you get out of the water. If you start to shiver, you are already suffering from mild hypothermia. Get out of the water and try to warm up. Symptoms of hypothermia include uncontrollable fits of shivering, slurred speech, frequent stumbling. Cold water can be more dangerous than cold air since body temperature can be drained away much more quickly.

There were two white shark attacks at the mouth of Tomales Bay in 1996. In general, white sharks may be found near seal resting areas. The most likely place for a shark encounter in Tomales Bay is the area north of Tom’s Point.

The ocean is one of the most dangerous hazards found at the Seashore. Do not underestimate the power of the ocean. Numerous hazards exist along all beaches, including rough surf, sneaker waves, rip currents, contaminated water, hypothermia, and buried hot ashes. Hot coals may exist on the beach surface or just below the sand due to improperly extinguished beach fires. Put all fires out with water. Do not attempt to extinguish fires or cover the coals with sand. Please use common sense when near the water’s edge. There are no lifeguards present at the beaches within Point Reyes National Seashore.

Be aware of sneaker waves. A sneaker wave is an unexpectedly large wave, higher, stronger and reaching farther up the beach to levels far beyond where the normal waves reach. Beach goers, particularly children, can quickly be caught in the rip current and pulled out to deep water. If the person can not escape the current, they may drown. This has occurred numerous times at Point Reyes Beaches. Sneaker waves also have the ability to toss around large driftwood logs that may fall on a person, injuring or even killing them.

Never turn your back on the surf. Stay at least thirty yards away from the water on beaches facing the open ocean, particularly the Great Beach (North and South beaches), McClures Beach and Kehoe Beach. Watch out for sneaker waves. Sneaker waves are often preceded by a sudden lowering of the water level. Supervise children at all times. Avoid slippery rocks as you could be knocked off by a sneaker wave.

Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and past the line of breaking waves. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves. Rip currents can be killers.

If you are caught in a rip current, remain calm to conserve energy and think clearly. Never fight against the current. Think of it like a treadmill that cannot be turned off, which you need to step to the side of. Swim out of the current in a direction following the shoreline. When out of the current, swim at an angle–away from the current–towards shore. If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water. When out of the current, swim towards shore. If you are still unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself by waving your arm and yelling for help.

Lagoons, such as those found at Abbotts Lagoon, Kehoe Beach, and occasionally at Drakes Beach, and similar bodies of water can be hazardous areas for swimming whether they are in parklands or other urban or rural areas. Rainfall runoff and stream flow from surrounding agricultural areas flows into the lagoons potentially carrying harmful bacteria with it. The lagoons are also collection areas for waste from deer, birds and other wildlife that congregate there as well as dog waste. Please exercise caution if you choose to swim/wade in these areas and closely watch dogs and children who may enter the water. Additional advisories (where applicable) will be posted at trailheads.

Remote controlled, motorized aircraft are prohibited due to potential disturbance to visitors and wildlife. Hang gliders require special use permit to operate in the park. Contact the Special Park Uses office at 415-464-5111 for information about hang gliding at Point Reyes.

Bicycles must remain on paved roads or on trails designated by signs for their use. Bicyclists may not exceed 15 mph (25 km/hr) on trails, and must yield to horses and pedestrians.

Non-motorized vessels may be used on freshwater lakes within the Seashore. They are also permitted at Abbott’s Lagoon, Limantour Estero and Drakes Esteros, except that Limantour and Drake’s Esteros are closed to all boat traffic from March 1 through June 30 each year to protect breeding wildlife. Personal water craft are prohibited in Tomales Bay.

Camping is allowed by permit only in designated backcountry campgrounds and on the western Tomales Bay beaches that are not closed for wildlife protection. Camping is limited to four nights per visit, with a maximum of 30 nights per year. We do not allow groups of more than 6 people to split up into individual sites. Groups are restricted to group sites only. No dogs or other pets are permitted in any campground or on park trails. Wood fires are prohibited in the hike-in campgrounds. Only gas stoves, charcoal or canned heat may be used for cooking.

Store your food and other scented items properly in the food storage lockers provided at the campsite. While the lockers prevent larger animals from getting properly stored food, mice can gain access into the lockers through small drain holes. Campers may wish to use steel wool to plug these holes during their stay. Please remove the steel wool upon departure. Do not leave any food unattended or stored in your tent. Raccoons, foxes and skunks are plentiful and aggressive. Do not feed wild animals.

Quiet hours are from sundown to sunrise. Respect your neighbor, the wilderness and natural quiet. Campsites should be left clean. Pack out all trash, food scraps, packaging. Food scraps tempt wildlife into camping areas and may endanger them and you. Carry water with you, as there are few water sources emptying into the bay on the west side. Boil, treat, or filter any water obtained from the park. If you wash dishes, all soaps can adversely affect water. Use biodegradable soap when possible. Do not return wash water to the bay; dispose of all dirty water 100 feet (30 meters) at least from the source. Campers must vacate their campsite by noon on their day of departure, but are welcome to continue hiking and exploring the park after noon.

Fires are allowed on beaches but are subject to restrictions. A permit is required and is available at the visitor centers or from field rangers. Permits are issued free of charge on a same day basis (the same-day you plan to have a fire). During periods of high fire danger, all open fires may be prohibited. Check with a visitor center for fire closures on the day you obtain your permit. Wood fires are allowed only on beaches (below the high tide line, if possible), 30 feet (9 meters) or more from vegetation and other flammable material – nowhere else.

Reasonable amounts of driftwood may be gathered from beaches. Driftwood should be dry and clean (i.e., no wood coated with creosote or other chemicals, no wood embedded with nails or other metal objects), and shouldn’t be much larger or longer than your arm. Wood brought from outside of the park must be pine or almond. Do not bring oak, fir, redwood, madrone, or tanoak unless they are certified to be free of the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum which causes Sudden Oak Death.

The fire may not be more than 36 inches (0.9 meters) in diameter. Before leaving your beach fire, put it out completely with water. Douse the fire with water, stir the coals, douse with water again. Repeat until the coals do not emit any heat. Do not cover the coals with sand as it will only insulate the heat and be an unseen danger to wildlife and barefoot visitors. Fires must be extinguished by 12 midnight.

Charcoal fires are allowed in the Bear Valley and Drakes Beach picnic areas and the backcountry campgrounds in the grills provided. Visitors may also have charcoal fires in their own self-contained barbecue grills. Completely extinguish the briquettes and pack out the ash and charcoal. Visitors planning to cook food over a beach fire or barbecue should come prepared with an alternative means (i.e., self-contained gas stove) of cooking in the event of high, very high or extreme fire danger.

Fishing is closely regulated in the park and is subject to California State Fish and Game regulations. It is the individual’s responsibility to be familiar with the state laws pertaining to the area they intend to fish, and with the species and limits of fish they take. A valid state fishing license is required. Fishing is allowed on park beaches and freshwater lakes and ponds. Fishing is prohibited in Lagunitas Creek and all its tributaries including Olema and Bear Valley Creeks, in all inland freshwater streams in the park, in Limantour Estero, and in the Point Reyes Headlands Marine Conservation Area.

Horses are permitted on all open trails in the park. The Bear Valley Trail (between the Mt. Wittenberg Trail and the Glen Trail junctions), the Meadow Trail, and the Old Pine Trail are closed to horses on weekends and holidays. Horses are prohibited at Kule Loklo, Drake’s Beach, Earthquake Trail, Woodpecker Trail, and on roadways. Llamas are prohibited from Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve and the Limantour area from Home Bay to the Coast Trail/Woodward Valley Trail Junction from the beach up to Inverness Ridge. Maximum number of horses or pack animals in any campground is eight. Horses are not allowed at Glen Camp. Pack animals and horses must be tied to hitch rails.

Stinging nettle is a common plant at Point Reyes. Horses can react strongly if they are stung by this plant’s small needle-like hairs. In extreme cases, horses have died after extensive exposure to this plant. Some trails may be overgrown at certain times of the year with nettle. Both horse and rider should avoid this plant. The best way to do this is to stay on the trail.

To help control the spread of non-native plants, please feed horses weed-free feed for a few days before visiting the park. Please do not shovel manure out of horse trailers in parking lots or elsewhere within the National Seashore. Carry plenty of water! Always take a trail map with you. Free maps are available at visitor centers. Study the map carefully before beginning your trip so that you will know the names and locations of trails. In the event of an accident, this will assist rangers in locating the injured party quicker. It is best not to ride alone. In case of an accident, send someone to the nearest visitor center or ranger station or call 911. Give a good description of your location and the nature of injury to both horse and rider.

Allow plenty of time for your ride. Trails over Inverness Ridge can be steep and physically stressful for your horse. Plan adequate rest stops. Please share the trail. Horses have the right of way: hikers yield to horses and are asked to stand on the downhill side of slopes, and bicyclists yield to both horses and hikers. Remain alert. Remember that interactions can occur with little warning on curves and hills. Slow your horse to a walk when encountering other trail users.

To control erosion and lessen impact, short-cutting trails or switchbacks is prohibited. Do not leave pack animals unattended for extended periods of time in campground areas, unless you are camping at the site and have obtained a permit for overnight use. Horses may only be tied to hitching rails, not to trees, faucets, picnic tables, etc. Please check at the Visitor Centers for trails that are closed to horses.

Camping is by permit only in three established campgrounds. Permits must be obtained at the Bear Valley Visitor Center before starting your trip. Reservations are recommended and can be made in person at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Phone reservations are taken from 9am-2pm on Mondays through Fridays at 415-663-8054. The maximum number of horses or pack animals permitted overnight at Sky, Coast and Wildcat Campgrounds is six. Horses are not permitted over-night at Glen Camp. Llamas are not permitted at Coast Campground. Grazing in the wilderness areas is prohibited. All feed for the animals must be packed in with you. There is usually potable water available at each of the camps from faucets. Sky and Wildcat Campgrounds also have a water trough for horses and pack animals. Special Use Permits are required for commercial horseback riding or pack trains into the backcountry. Call 415-464-5111 for more information.

Metal detecting and detectors are prohibited in the park to protect cultural and historic resources. Metal detectors may be transported through the park if they are cased and broken down so as to prevent their use.

All pets must be restrained at all times while in the Seashore on a leash no longer than six feet long. Pets may not be tied to an object and left unattended, or be allowed to make unreasonable noise. Pets are not permitted in public buildings, on most trails, or in campgrounds. Pets are permitted on the Kehoe Trail to Kehoe Beach, and on the Bolinas Ridge, Randall, Jewell, and McCurdy Trails. Please observe all signs indicating pet restrictions.

Wildlife may not be viewed with an artificial light at night, nor approached so that animal behavior is altered. Respect the needs of wild animals and birds. Wildlife are sensitive to our presence and may change their behavior just by seeing us. Disturbing wildlife when they are resting or feeding may be life threatening to them.

To protect the snowy plover, do not approach birds or nests. Avoid prolonged picnicking near plover nesting habitat. Stay out of fenced or posted habitat areas, and do not approach fencing. Keep pets out of plover areas and where authorized, keep dogs leashed. Do not light fires near plover breeding areas. Dispose of garbage properly to avoid attracting plover predators. Equestrians must stay out of nesting areas. Observe posted restrictions and keep to wet sand in plover habitat. Do not collect kelp or driftwood from the beach; it provides nesting and feeding habitat for snowy plovers. Do not fly kites, hang glide or toss Frisbees or balls near snowy plover nesting habitat. Fireworks are prohibited. Other activities causing disturbance may also be restricted. Please report to park staff any nests, threats or disturbances to plovers.

For your own safety, always observe elephant seals from a distance. Use binoculars and spotting scopes. If a seal becomes alert or nervous and begins to move away, you are too close. Stay at least 100 feet from any marine mammal.
Do not come between a cow and pup, a bull and a group of cows, or two bulls challenging each other. Watch quietly; whisper. Move slowly. Bring your pets only where they are allowed. Observe beach closures and restrictions.

For your own safety, always observe elk from a distance. Use binoculars and spotting scopes. If an elk becomes alert or nervous and begins to move away, you are too close. If viewing from your car, pull off the road or park in designated areas. If you are on foot, stay on the trail; do not come between a cow and calf, a bull and a group of cows, or two bulls challenging each other. Watch quietly; whisper. Move slowly. Do not feed the elk. Feeding elk or any other wildlife is unhealthy for the animals, potentially dangerous for visitors, and strictly prohibited. Ride your bicycle only on designated trails. Within the Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve, bicycles are only permitted on the Pierce Point Road. Bicycles are prohibited on the Tomales Point and McClures Beach trails. Pets are prohibited in most areas where elk may be seen, including the Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve. Do not collect or remove elk antlers. They are an important source of calcium for many wildlife species such as rodents and deer.

On the water or beach, follow Marine Mammal Protection Act regulations – stay away 300 feet (100 meters) from whales, seals, and sea lions. Harbor seals are most sensitive during their pupping season, which is approximately March 1 through June 30, and as they molt in July and August. You may see single pups but do not disturb them. Usually, a parent is feeding nearby and has only left the pup for a brief period. The parent may abandon the pup if they sense humans nearby. It is extremely difficult to reunite a mother and her pup after the pup has been moved, and very difficult to raise a pup in captivity. If you are concerned about a marine mammal, contact the park dispatch office at 415-464-5170 or park visitor centers and leave a message about the location and condition of the animal.

Please take care not to make your presence known — either visually or audibly — when you come across an individual or a group of harbor seals when you are on land or on the water. Seals may flee into the water immediately when they hear or see a human. This flight disrupts their resting, can cause mother-pup separations and may endanger their health. If you see the seals raise their heads in a startle response, immediately back away so that they do not feel threatened.

To protect harbor seals from disturbance during the most crucial part of the pupping season, from March 1 through June 30 the National Park Service has closed the following areas to the public: Drakes Estero, Limantour Estero and South Blue Gum Beach. Pelican Point, Duck Island and the east side of Hog Island are closed to the public year round. Drakes Estero and the mouth to Drakes Estero are closed to boating, canoeing and kayaking. Double Point is closed to all visitor access. Tomales Point and Limantour Spit are harbor seal pupping areas, but are not closed. Please use care not to disturb the animals at these places and keep a distance of 300 feet (90 m) away. Ask at visitor centers for a map indicating closed areas.

During summer and fall, brown pelicans, a federally listed endangered species, roost on islands and floats in the bay. Many other seabirds make their home on the bay as well. Keep at least 100 feet (30 meters) away.

When exploring intertidal regions it is important to remember that these places are extremely sensitive. When the tide is low these animals are simply trying to “hold on” until the water comes back over them. Here are some simple rules for tidepool etiquette: Be careful walking. It is wet and slippery down there and a fall could mean injury to you and the animals. Also, many of the animals are not easy to see so look closely. Look more, touch less. Most of the animals will die if they are picked up and some may hurt you if touched. Get down low and watch them at their level, this way you can see their interactions and learn a lot.

Weapons, including firearms, B-B guns, slingshots, bows and arrows, or any object capable of discharging a projectile, as well as weapons prohibited by the state, are prohibited and must be secured to prevent their use. Hunting within the National Seashore is prohibited.

Stay on trails to prevent erosion as well as to avoid poison oak, stinging nettles and ticks. Ticks that carry Lyme disease are known to occur in this area. The quicker ticks are removed, the less the chance of transmittal of the organism that causes illness. Wearing light-colored, long pants helps you spot them; tuck your pant legs inside your socks to keep them from crawling up your legs. Always check your body completely at the end of your hike. Do not shortcut on switchbacks. Please do not enter closed areas. They are closed for your safety and resource protection. Stay away from cliff edges. Loose soil can give way suddenly and you may fall. Do not climb cliffs.

While hiking in the park, dress appropriately for possible weather changes. Wear layered clothing and be prepared for changing conditions. Always carry food and water for longer hikes. Dehydration is a common cause of exhaustion, fatigue and headaches. Raccoons and other animals can quickly find and ransack unattended food and daypacks. If horses are passing on the trail, step to the downhill side and greet the rider so the horse knows you are there; do not touch the animals. There may be trail closures in effect. Please check at the visitor center before heading out on the trails. Don’t forget to carry water and tell a friend where you are going if you travel alone. It is always better to travel with someone.

The protozoan Giardia lamblia may be present in natural sources of water and can cause severe illness. Do not drink water from streams and all other natural sources without treating. Water may be treated by boiling, filtering, or using iodine or other chemical water purifiers. Water treatment disinfecting chemicals are not considered as reliable as heat in killing giardia. Use a Giardia-rated filter in place of chemicals or heat disinfecting. Backcountry surface water should be boiled for one minute. The evening meal is an ideal time to boil water for drinking and brushing teeth for the next day’s use. Potable drinking water is available at visitor centers and in campgrounds.

Many of the cliffs and bluffs found within Point Reyes National Seashore are composed of friable rocks and are quite unstable. Rock falls and slumps occur regularly, so visitors should stay several feet away from the edge of cliff tops and the base of the cliffs. Because of the crumbly nature of the rocks, rock climbing within Point Reyes National Seashore is discouraged.

Boaters must remove human waste. Disposing of human waste in the bay or onto park beaches is prohibited, so campers must bring portable toilets or limit camping to Marshall Beach or Tomales Beach, where pit toilets are available. No overnight parking for boat-in campers is allowed in Point Reyes National Seashore or Tomales Bay State Park. Move gently through the water so that you do not disturb wildlife.

Be a prepared boater. Learn about the area and what to expect. Check local tidetables and maps. Bring adequate liquids and food. Check all equipment so that it is in good condition before you get on the water. Carry extra dry clothing. Know some first aid such as the signs and symptoms of hypothermia, sunstroke, heat exhaustion, etc. Check at park visitor centers and via the park web site for current weather and wildlife sightings. Personal floatation devices MUST be worn at all times. For safety, paddle in groups if possible. Ensure that you are close enough to reach fellow paddlers quickly if trouble arises. Paddle close to shore or if an open-water crossing is necessary, choose the most direct route.

Hog Island is in the northern section of Tomales Bay across from Whites Gulch on the west side and Nicks Cove on the east side. It is a critical wildlife habitat, a favorite haul-out for seals and roosting place for brown pelicans. The island is open on the west side only for day use. Heart’s Desire Beach has orange floats placed to mark the swimming area during the summer. Boaters may pull up on the southern edge of the beach to access the restrooms and drinking water. No overnight use or beach fires. Indian Beach is north of Hearts Desire and has a redwood kotca, a traditional Coast Miwok sleeping shelter on it. A pit toilet is available for use.

The change between high and low tide can create strong currents, especially at the mouth of Tomales Bay. Check the tide charts. Low tides also expose mudflats at the south end of Tomales Bay and you may become stuck at Millerton Point or White House Pool access points.

Horseback riders have right-of-way on the trails with hikers coming second. Bicyclists must yield to both of these trail user groups. Be aware that many horses are easily spooked when approached from behind. Reduce your speed when approaching horses or hikers. When approaching from behind, announce your presence. Stop on the downhill side of the trail while horses pass. The speed limit on all trails, even when headed downhill, is 15 mph. Be courteous. If trails are dry and dusty, slow down even more so as not to leave hikers in a cloud of dust.

The maximum number of bicyclists in any one group is 10. Larger groups of cyclists will have to divide into groups no larger than 10. This size restriction is necessary for the safety of cyclists using public roadways and authorized trails within the Park. These roadways and trails are narrow and winding and will not safely accommodate large numbers of bicyclists.

Loose dirt and gravel cover many of the trails. This slick surface can be difficult to maneuver in and can make for easy slide outs. The loose dirt can also hide potholes. These technical riding surfaces challenge even the most experienced bikers. It is recommended to always wear a helmet, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Carry plenty of water!

The historic sites are fragile and the information they contain is a part of the historic fabric of Point Reyes’ history. Please do not bother them.

Point Reyes National Seashore is home to wide diversity of wildlife. Nearly forty species of land mammals and at least a dozen species of marine mammals may be seen here. Birders scouring the Point Reyes peninsula have identified nearly half of the bird species found in North America. The park is home to one of the largest populations of tule elk and hosts a thriving breeding ground for the once nearly extinct elephant seal. Jutting 10 miles into the Pacific Ocean, Point Reyes offers one of the best spots for viewing the migrations of the California gray whale. Nearly half the park has been designated as a Wilderness Area.

For thousands of years, vast numbers of tule elk thrived in the grasslands of central and coastal California. The tule elk herds had virtually disappeared by 1860, 13 years before the state awarded them complete protection. In the spring of 1978, two bulls and eight cows were brought in from the San Luis Island Wildlife Refuge near Los Banos. The elk were contained within a temporary, three acre enclosure to allow for adjustment to their new surroundings. That summer, 6 of the cows bore calves. In the fall, 17 elk were released from the enclosure on Tomales Point to 2,600 acres of open grassland and coastal scrub. By the summer of 1988, the population was at 93 animals. The population census taken in 2000 counted over 400 elk. There are two separate herds of tule elk at Point Reyes. The larger herd is at Tomales Point, a 2,600-acre fenced reserve at the north end of the Seashore. The other is a herd of roughly 30 animals that was recently transplanted from Tomales Point and now roams free in the Limantour wilderness area of the Seashore. The reintroduction of this free-ranging herd is an important step in the ecological restoration in the park.

The tule elk is a subspecies of North American elk that occurs only in California. They are smaller and lighter in color than other subspecies of elk. The tule elk can be found in several locations within the park but the best chance of seeing them is in the Tule Elk Preserve at Tomales Point. They graze freely and are often seen near the road as you drive into the preserve.

The term “beaver” often leads people to imagine a large rodent living in ponds and building dams. This is not the case with the mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa). Mountain beavers are an unusual and primitive species of rodent. They are about the size of a muskrat, 10-12 inches (27-30 cm) long. However, they have a very short tail, less than one-half inch (1 cm) long. The subspecies of mountain beaver found at Point Reyes, the Point Reyes mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea), is endemic to the area – found nowhere else. It is only known to occur in western Marin County, almost entirely within Point Reyes National Seashore. Here it is found on cool, moist, north-facing slopes in moderately dense coastal scrub. This scrub vegetation typically includes coyote brush as well as sword fern, bracken fern, poison oak, California nettle, and cow parsnip, which tend to grow in the moister areas.

Most of the area occupied by the Point Reyes mountain beaver was regularly burned by Coast Miwok Indians who once occupied the Point Reyes peninsula. In the last 100 years, however, fires have been far less frequent and routinely suppressed. This fire control has resulted in a buildup of highly combustible fuels. The Vision Fire of October 3-12, 1995 burned 12,354 acres (5,000 ha), with 94% of the burn area within Point Reyes National Seashore. The fire consumed mostly coastal scrub, but also some Bishop Pine and Douglas fir forest, grassland, and riparian habitats. The fire burned 40% of the known range of the Point Reyes mountain beaver, including the majority of what was believed to be prime habitat. The post-fire survival rate of mountain beavers throughout the burn area was very low. It is expected to take up to 20 years post-fire for full recovery of the population.

Marine biologists have identified nearly a third of all known marine mammal species in the waters surrounding Point Reyes. Blue whales and humpback whales feed here during spring and summer months. Gray whales migrate past the park’s shores twice a year on their round trip from Alaska to Baja.

Engaging in the longest migration of any mammal, the California gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) swims 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) each year, spending about one third of its life migrating from the cold, nutrient-rich waters of Alaska, to the warm, shallow lagoons of Baja California. Along the way, these incredible animals can often be seen from the shores of Point Reyes. What drives the gray whale to undertake this incredible annual round trip from Alaska to Baja? Food and reproduction.

There is a mystery about these beautiful giants, the Humpback Whale. Like humans, they breathe air, have warm blood and give birth to live young. However, their home is in the depths of the dark ocean where so much is concealed from our probing human eyes. As the gray whales migrate along the Pacific Coast, we may have a brief chance to view them before their return to a world that remains mysterious.

The harbor seal, northern fur seal, California sea lion, Steller sea lion and northern elephant seal are the five species of pinnipeds a visitor might see at Point Reyes. Harbor seals can usually be distinguished from elephant seals by size alone. The harbor seal is a rather small marine mammal, only getting up to five-six feet (1.5-1.8 m) in length and 250 pounds (115 kg) in weight, whereas elephant seals are much larger. Bull elephant seals average about 3,000 to 5,500 pounds (1,360 to 2,500 kg), while females range in weight from 800 to 1200 pounds (360 to 545 kg). However, yearling and weaned pups weigh about 300 pounds (135 kg), so a young elephant seal could be mistaken for an adult harbor seal, if one attempts to identify the seal by its size. What color is the seal? While young elephant seals are a uniform gray, harbor seals are typically silver, white or gray, with black spots, although some harbor seals also are black or brown with white spots. Sometimes a harbor seal may have a reddish colored head or body, which is due to iron oxide deposits on the hair shafts.

After being absent for more than 150 years, elephant seals returned to the sandy Point Reyes Headlands in the early 1970s. In 1981, the first breeding pair was discovered near Chimney Rock. Since then, researchers have found that the colony is growing at a dramatic annual average rate of 16 percent. Fanning out from their initial secluded spot, the seals have expanded to popular beaches. From December through March a breeding colony of elephant seals can be observed from Elephant Seal Overlook near Chimney Rock, above beautiful Drakes Bay. The males are the first to arrive here, in December, to stake out a claim on the beach. Then pregnant females begin to arrive and soon give birth to a single pup. Subadult and juvenile animals arrive and the colony can number close to one hundred animals. Elephant seals are the largest pinniped.

From the Overlook you can witness the fascinating behavior of these animals, including male dominance contests, birthing of pups and the interactions of mothers and pups. You will hear the distinctive vocalizations of females, pups and the powerful trumpeting of the adult males (bulls) which can be heard for over a mile. During weekends and holidays, highly trained docents staff the Overlook. They have binoculars, spotting scopes, and a wealth of information to share with you.

Many invertebrates like corals, sponges and worms can be found at Point Reyes within intertidal habitats. Intertidal habitats exist on rocky shorelines that are only covered part of the time with water due to the tide. These pools are popular places for these animals to live because they receive a lot of sunlight which provides food for the things that intertidal creatures eat.

Point Reyes Seashore has the Red Octopus (Octopus rubescens), but like may inhabitants of the sea, it is almost never seen. They do live in intertidal areas, but spotting one is extremely rare and if you do, it is safest to not touch the animal. Another common cephalopod is the common squid, but don’t expect to see this one either. They only will come towards the shore area to breed and then die.

More than 70,000 acres of habitat harbor an incredible variety of bird life. Nearly 490 avian species have been observed in the park and on adjacent waters. The park’s coastal location and its wealth of unspoiled habitats, estuaries, grasslands, coastal scrub and forest all attract many migrating and wintering birds. The projection of the peninsula some 10 miles seaward from the “mainland” makes Point Reyes National Seashore a landing spot for many vagrants — birds that may have made errors in navigation and thus are unexpected in this area. All of these factors account for the Point Reyes area consistently reporting one of the highest tallies in the nation every year during the Christmas Bird Count.

In Bear Valley you can see warblers, sparrows, kinglets, thrushes, wrens, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, and owls. In the Limantour area look for wading birds in the marshes, waterfowl on the ponds, shorebirds on the beach, brown pelicans cruising over the breakers, and birds of prey soaring over dunes and wetlands. Bolinas Lagoon attracts cormorants, pelicans, kingfishers, and a variety of waterfowl and shorebirds. Audubon Canyon Ranch’s Bolinas Lagoon Preserve protects heron and egret rookeries. In winter, green-backed heron, hooded merganser, ring-necked duck, and grebes can be seen at Five Brooks Pond. In grasses and trees, watch for pileated woodpeckers, swallows, accipiters, warblers, and thrushes. An old pine plantation provides winter roosting habitat for long-eared and great-horned owls on Estero Trail. Look for water and shore birds such as great egrets, great blue herons, and loons in the Estero. Watch for hawks above the grasslands.

Winter rains bring new life to West Marin creeks. For thousands of years Coho salmon and steelhead trout have returned from the vast ocean feeding grounds to the shaded streams of their birth. Look for salmon one to three days after a rainstorm. Traditionally, January is the best month to spot the spawning Coho and steelhead. There are several places in western Marin County to view the spawning fish. Other fish that exist in the park but are endangered are the Threespine Stickleback, Tidewater Goby, Sacramento Splittail, Chinook Salmon and Green Sturgeon.

At Point Reyes, there are six species of salamanders. The most common include the Rough-skinned newt, the California newt, the slender salamander, Ensatina, and arboreal salamander. Larval California giant salamanders are found in many of the cooler streams in the Olema Valley, but adults are rarely seen except on warm, rainy nights.

The 14 species of reptiles found at Point Reyes National Seashore are found in a wide variety of habitats. Turtles utilize habitats such as freshwater ponds, streams, drainage ditches, marshes, stock ponds and the open ocean. Lizards occur in almost every habitat except the dampest innermost forest and the tidal salt marsh. Snakes prefer warm and dry environments; therefore the humid environment at Point Reyes limits the population sizes of several species. Some reptiles that you might see are the Northern Alligator Lizard, Southern Alligator Lizard, Rubber Boa, Racer, Common Kingsnake, Gopher Snake, Aquatic Garter Snake. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake, Western Fence Lizard, Western Skink, Western Rattlesnake, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Green Sea Turtle, Pacific Ridley Sea Turtle, and Leatherback Sea Turtle.

There are four species of frogs and toads known from the Seashore, one of which is not native to this area. The bullfrog was introduced into California in the 1800s, and has spread throughout much of the state. The most common frog is the Pacific treefrog, a species that calls in large, loud choruses in the late winter and spring. The California red-legged frog is Federally listed as a threatened species. While populations of this frog are greatly reduced throughout many parts of the state, there are still good-sized populations of this frog at Point Reyes.

A variety of hardy crustaceans exist in the Seashore. Shrimp and crabs are the bigger varieties but you could also see Fairy Shrimp, Tadpole Shrimp, Water Fleas, & Clam Shrimp if you had a microscope. These are very important as they serve as food for the larger fish. Krill, although rarely seen by visitors, can feed the occasional gray or blue whale passing by the tip of the peninsula. Many of the crustaceans that live here are important players in lower trophic levels of the ocean and are very small. However, there are plenty of big guys too. Many types of crabs (and their old shells) live here, such as the Pacific rock crab, Thick-Clawed Porcelain Crab, Pea Crab, and Pacific Mole Crab. Two types of barnacles that are common to find are the Gooseneck Barnacle and the White-acorn Barnacle.

California has over 30,000 species of insects within the state which scientists put into Class Insecta. They occur in all terrestrial habitats on earth except the poles and certainly occur in abundance at Point Reyes. As primary consumers they eat dead and decaying things, which return those things to the earth as nutrients.

Point Reyes hosts a large variety of habitats that hold a large variety of arthropods. Some of the insects here are listed with the Endangered Species Act. The Myrtle’s Silverspot butterfly is endangered and the Marin elfin butterfly, Point Reyes blue butterfly, San Francisco Lacewing, San Francisco Forktail Damselfly, Bumblebee Scarab Beetle, and Globose Dune Beetle are all species of special concern. The North American Butterfly Association has been conducting annual counts at Point Reyes for several years and often finds the rare butterflies.

A commonly seen caterpillar in the fall is the Yellow-spotted Tiger Moth, which is black with a yellow band through the middle and has long white hairs jutting up all over its body. The spring may provide some excellent opportunities to find butterflies in the park. You may see the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly on woodland borders or the Spring Azure butterfly anywhere within the park. In the summer, beetles are more easily spotted along the ground when the vegetation is dry and brown. Jerusalem crickets are plump and plentiful along the coast and many species of snakes feed on them.

Spiders are often seen, but not as often identified. A couple of the more conspicuous ones include the flower spider (Misumena vaita), which looks like a small crab and hangs out in flowers. It can change colors to match its surroundings so that when an insect, often a bee, lands on the flower it can attack and eat. The red-backed jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni) is found at Point Reyes and even included in a state-wide study. They are black with red spots on their abdomen and they jump like their name implies. If you see a beautiful web, check the middle for Cyclosa conica. This classic-looking spider decorates its web with dead victims to hide amongst as camouflage.

Wildlife can be unpredictable and dangerous. But visitors to Point Reyes National Seashore need not worry much about being harmed by wildlife if they use a bit of common sense. Always maintain a safe distance of at least 90 meters 300 feet (90 meters) from large animals such as elk and mountain lions, and at least 75 feet (23 meters) from other wildlife. It is illegal to be within 100 feet (30 meters) of marine mammals. Never position yourself between a bull elk and its harem, a mountain lion and its prey, or an adult and its offspring. Females with young can be especially defensive.

Bull elk behave aggressively during their rutting season. Stay on designated trails, where the elk are accustomed to encountering people. If you encounter an elk on the trail, stop and evaluate the situation. Do not approach the elk. Wait for it to proceed on its way. Or you can return to the trailhead. But, as with any potentially dangerous animal, don’t completely turn your back on the elk. Keep an eye on it and remain aware of what it is doing. See our Wildlife Precautions page for further safety tips.

It is illegal to feed wildlife, including squirrels and birds. Feeding wild animals makes them dependent on people, and these animals sometimes end up biting the hands of people who try to feed them. Diseases and/or parasites may also be transmitted from animals to humans.

Do not harass wildlife. Harassment is any human action that causes unusual behavior, or a change of behavior, in an animal. Repeated encounters with people can have negative, long-term impacts on wildlife, including increased levels of stress and the avoidance of essential feeding areas.

Point Reyes has an abundance of deer which are often found feeding on the shoulders of roadways. Automobile collisions with deer occur on an almost daily basis. Most of the roads of Point Reyes are windy and narrow, so slow down, observe speed limits and allow your passengers to enjoy the scenery.

No entrance fee is charged at Point Reyes.

CAMPING FEES:

$15/night/site for 1 to 6 people
$30/night/site for 7 to 14 people
$40/night/site for 15 to 25 people

SHUTTLE BUS

The fee is $5.00 per person for anyone over 16 years of age. On weekends from late December to mid-April when the weather is good, the west end of Sir Francis Drake Blvd is closed to vehicle traffic. Shuttle buses transport visitors to the lighthouse and Chimney Rock areas. Shuttle tickets may be purchased at Drakes Beach between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekends and holidays, weather permitting. The shuttle buses run approximately every 20 minutes starting at 9:30 a.m. and service the headlands area from Drakes Beach to the Lighthouse parking lot to Chimney Rock parking lot back to Drakes Beach. Children 16 years and under ride free. Shuttles are cancelled if weather is poor. See our Winter Shuttle Bus System page for more details.

Point Reyes National Seashore offers year-round backcountry camping along Drakes Bay and amongst the hills and valleys of the Phillip Burton Wilderness, and boat-in camping on the west shore of Tomales Bay. Because of its location near the Metropolitan San Francisco Bay Area, the campsites at Point Reyes are in great demand. Reservations are strongly suggested.

Each campground has a vault toilet and a water faucet. The water from the faucets is usually potable, but campers should bring along some means of treating the water in case the campground’s water treatment system fails, at which time signage would be posted at the water faucet to alert campers that the water is not potable. Each 1-6 person campsite has a picnic table, a food storage locker and a charcoal grill. Group sites have two picnic tables, two food storage lockers and one large or two regular charcoal grills.

Coast Camp is nestled within a small coastal grassy valley with easy access to the beach and tidepools. The beach is within 200 yards (200 meters) of the campground. The shortest approach to Coast Camp is via the 1.8 miles (2.9 km) slightly uphill hike on the Laguna and Firelane Trails, starting at the Laguna Trailhead just past the hostel. Following the Coast Trail from the Coast Trailhead before the hostel offers an easy, flat 2.7 miles (4.3 km) route and is open to bicycles. There are twelve individual sites and two group sites. Sites 1-7 are in a small semi-protected canyon.

Glen Camp is a quiet and secluded camp deep within a wooded valley protected from ocean breezes. The shortest hike to this camp is a moderate 4.6 miles (7.4 km) by foot along the Bear Valley Glen Trails. To access Glen Camp by bicycle, start at the Five Brooks Trailhead, follow the Stewart Trail to the Glen Trail, then north to the Glen Camp Loop, and finish by descending to Glen Camp. This is a strenuous 6.3 mile (10.1 km) bike ride. It is a 2.5 mile (4 km) strenuous hike to the beach at Wildcat Camp. No groups, horses, or pack animals are allowed at Glen Camp. There are twelve individual sites.

Sky Camp is located on the western side of Mt. Wittenberg at an elevation of 1,025 feet (310 meters). In clear weather, it has a sweeping view of Point Reyes, Drakes Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. The easiest and shortest approach is a 1.4 miles (2.2 km) slightly uphill hike or bicycle ride from the Sky Trailhead on Limantour Road. It is a 4 mile (6.4 km) moderately strenuous hike to the beach. Eleven individual sites and one group site are found here.

Wildcat Camp is located in an open meadow on a bluff overlooking the ocean with a short walk to the beach and a 2.0 mile (3.2 kilometer) round-trip walk to Alamere Falls. It is a 6.3 mile (10 kilometer) hike from Bear Valley or a 5.5 mile (8.8 kilometer) hike on the Coast Trail from Palomarin with access to Bass Lake. The only bicycling route is via a strenuous 6.7 mile (10.7 kilometer) ride along the Stewart Trail from the Five Brooks Trailhead. Five individual sites and three group sites are available; three of the individual sites only hold up to four people.

Tomales Bay boat-in camping is allowed on the west side National Park beaches north of Tomales Bay State Park’s Indian Beach. These beaches are tidally influenced and generally are small sandy coves backed against steep cliffs. All waste (including human) must be removed. Disposing of human waste in the bay or onto park beaches is prohibited, so campers must bring portable facilities or limit camping to Marshall Beach or Tomales Beach, where pit toilets are available. There is no potable water available. There are seasonal closures on some beaches. Check with the seashore reservation office for updates. Twenty permits are available each day – nine to parties of 1 to 6 people, eight to parties of 7 to 14 people, and three to parties of 15 to 25 people.

All campsites are accessible only by hiking, biking or horseback for the backcountry sites, and only by kayak or boat for the Tomales Bay sites. There is no car or RV camping available in the park. There are, however, many nearby campgrounds, located outside of Point Reyes National Seashore, that do have car and RV camping.

Hike-in camping is allowed only in one of the four established campgrounds at the numbered site specified on the permit. Boat-in camping is allowed on national park beaches on the west side of Tomales Bay north of Tomales Bay State Park’s Indian Beach.

Camping is by permit only. Camping permits must be obtained from the Bear Valley Visitor Center before starting your trip. When you arrive to pick up your permit, please be prepared to provide a description (color, make, model and license plate number) of any vehicles that you will be leaving overnight in the park. There is no after-hours self-registration for camping available. You must have made a reservation in advance to camp within Point Reyes National Seashore. If you have made a reservation and are arriving after 5 p.m., a permit will be left for you in a small box on the back side of the information board outside Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Campsites may be reserved up to three months (to the day) in advance. To obtain a reservation, call (415) 663-8054 between the hours of 9:00 am and 2:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Reservations by phone are not accepted at any other time. You may make reservations in person 7 days a week at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Weekends and holidays fill up quickly, especially group sites, so reservations are strongly suggested.

A credit card payment is required for phone reservations. The non-refundable payment is due at the time the reservation is made. There are no refunds given for weather, illness, etc. Even though a campsite is guaranteed for your stay once the payment is made, you must still obtain the permit at the Bear Valley Visitor Center before your trip. When you arrive to check-in, please have vehicle descriptions (color, make, model, license plate number) for all vehicles in your party.

If you arrive after 5:00 pm, your permit will be in a small wooden box on the back side of the information board in front of the Visitor Center. You will need to fill in the highlighted sections of the permit, remove the carbon copies and place the carbon copies (with your list of vehicles attached) back in the wooden box. Attach the original permit to your backpack as you travel to your campsite and then attach the permit to a tent so that park personnel checking for compliance can easily find your permit.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area is 14 miles away. Muir Woods National Monument is 23 miles away. Fort Point National Historic Site is 33 miles away. Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail at the Presidio is 34 miles away. San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park is 36 miles away. Alcatraz Island is 36 miles away. Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park is 30 miles away. John Muir National Historic Site is 47 miles away. Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site is 60 miles away. Pinnacles National Monument is 160 miles away. Tomales Bay State Park is 7 miles away. Samuel P. Taylor State Park is 7 miles away. Mount Tamalpais State Park is 21 miles away. Jack Mason Museum is 6 miles away. Bolinas Museum is 12 miles away. Other areas within driving distance are San Francisco, CA, Mendocino National Forest, Van Damme Beach State Park, Russian Gulch State Park, Stanislaus National Forest, Yosemite National Park and Sierra National Forest.

Point Reyes is located approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of San Francisco on Highway 1 along the west coast of California (see Maps). Travelers may approach the park from the winding scenic Highway 1, either northbound or southbound. You can also reach the park via Sir Francis Drake Boulevard or the Point Reyes/Petaluma Road.

From San Francisco, go north on U.S. Highway 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge. Follow U.S. 101 about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Sir Francis Drake-San Anselmo exit. Make sure you are in the lane for San Anselmo (the second lane from the right) and exit onto Sir Francis Drake Boulevard heading west. Follow Sir Francis Drake west approximately 21 miles (33 km) – passing through San Anselmo, Fairfax and Samuel P. Taylor State Park – until it intersects with Highway 1 at Olema. Turn right on Highway 1 and proceed north about 100 yards (100 m). Take the first left turn at Bear Valley Road and head west about 1/2 mile (0.8 km). Look for a big red barn on the left and a sign for Seashore information on the right. Turn left past the red barn and proceed up the driveway to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, the main park contact station.

Directions from the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area): Follow Interstate 580 west across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Shortly after the bridge, take the Sir Francis Drake Blvd. exit (the second exit after the bridge). Follow Sir Francis Drake west approximately 22 miles (35 km) – passing through San Anselmo, Fairfax and Samuel P. Taylor State Park – until it intersects with Highway 1 at Olema. Turn right on Highway 1 and proceed north about 100 yards (100 m).
Take the first left turn at Bear Valley Road and head west about 1/2 mile (0.8 km). Look for a big red barn on the left and a sign for Seashore information on the right. Turn left past the red barn and proceed up the driveway to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, the main park contact station.

Directions from Sacramento: Follow Interstate 80 about 50 miles (80 km) west to Vallejo. From Vallejo, take California Highway 37 about 21 miles (33 km) west to the intersection of U.S. Highway 101 in Novato. Go north on U.S. Highway 101 about 2.5 miles (4 km) and take the Atherton Avenue-San Marin Drive exit.
Turn left onto San Marin Drive and head west for about 2.5 miles (4 km) to the junction with Novato Blvd. Turn right onto Novato Blvd. and proceed west for about 6 miles (10 km) to the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road. Turn left and follow the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road southwest for about 7 miles (11 km) to the junction with Platform Bridge Road. Turn right to stay on the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road and continue west for about 3 miles (5 km) to the junction with California Highway 1 in the town of Point Reyes Station. Turn left onto Highway 1, drive south through Point Reyes Station and continue south on Highway 1 approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) – if you get to a flashing red light, you’ve gone 100 yards (100 m) too far. Turn right onto Bear Valley Road and head west about 1/2 mile (0.8 km). Look for a big red barn on the left and a sign for Seashore information on the right. Turn left past the red barn and proceed up the driveway to the Bear Valley Visitor Center, the main park contact station.

Due to the high volume of traffic out to the Lighthouse and Chimney Rock areas during the elephant seal and gray whale migration, the park will be operating a shuttle bus system from the Drakes Beach parking lot (usually from New Year’s to Easter each year on weekends and holidays – weather permitting). Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from South Beach to the Lighthouse and Chimney Rock areas will be closed during shuttle operating hours. For more information call the Bear Valley Visitor Center at (415) 464-5100.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities Point Reyes National Seashore :

By Car:

Santa Rosa, CA – 40.42 miles

San Francisco, CA – 37.74 miles

San Jose, CA – 84.53 miles

Daly City, CA – 41.21 miles

Sacramento, CA – 98.50 miles

Modesto, CA – 127.46 miles

Point Reyes National Seashore

1 Bear Valley Rd.

Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

(415) 464-5100

Fax (415) 663-8132

Map

There are five visitor centers in Redwood National and State Parks. Hiouchi Information Center is open from mid-June to mid-September, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed in the winter. It is located on US Highway 199 at Hiouchi, CA. Ranger-led walks, junior ranger programs, and evening campfire programs are held in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, across the street. Programs occur during the summer season. Inside you will find Coast redwood, wildlife, and preservation history exhibits and a 12-minute film on the redwoods. Outside is the “Trees of the coast redwood forest” walk with waysides. You will also find a book store, picnic area, and restrooms.

Jedediah Smith Visitor Center is open from May 20 to September 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed in the winter. It is located on US Highway 101 at Hiouchi, CA. Ranger-led walks, junior ranger programs, and evening campfire programs occur during the summer. Redwood National and State Parks’ Junior Ranger activity newspapers are available here. Coast redwood, history, and wildlife exhibits can be found as well as a nature museum, gift shop, campground, dump station, picnic area, and restrooms. Many trails start here.

Crescent City Information Center is open all year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center is closed Thanksgiving, December 25th, and New Year’s Day. It is located at 1111 Second Street, Crescent City; CA. Junior Ranger activity newspapers are available here. The also have a gift shop, picnic area, and restrooms.

Prairie Creek Visitor Center is open all year: from March 1 to October 31 – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from November 1 to February 28 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Thanksgiving, December 25th, New Year’s Eve, and Easter. The visitor center is located just off US Highway 101, along Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Ranger-led walks, junior ranger programs, and evening campfire programs are held in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park during the summer season.
Redwood National and State Parks’ Junior Ranger activity newspapers are available here. You can see coast redwood forest, wildlife, and history exhibits.
A video room is available. Nature museum, gift shop, campground, dump station, picnic area, and restrooms can also be found here. 70 miles of trails begin here.

Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center is open all year from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed on Thanksgiving, December 25th, and New Year’s Day, it is located on US Highway 101 at Orick, CA. Patio talks and coast walks occur during the summer. Redwood National and State Parks’ Junior Ranger activity newspapers are available here. There are many exhibits in the visitor center on coast redwoods and watersheds. The video room has many films available. A gift shop, picnic area, and restrooms are also available.

There are 131,983 acres total in the Redwood National and State Parks. Historical sites in Redwood National Park are numerous. The landscape associated with the Lyons’ ranches is significant because of historical and present day manipulation by both American Indians and Euro-Americans. The Bald Hills Archeological District exhibits at least 4,500 years of human use and encompasses many sites of prehistoric activities.

The Lyons’ Ranches Rural Historic District includes eight structures dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Each structure has been stabilized, and some of the structures are eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. East of Crescent City in the Little Bald Hills is Murphy’s Ranch and outlying barn site, which dates circa 1884 to the 1920s. The ranch was established along the historic Kelsey Trail, a pack route linking Crescent City with the Salmon and Trinity gold mines.

Radar Station B-17, which sits atop an ocean bluff south of Klamath, is an example of a World War II early warning radar station. The two structures include radar antennas and two machine gun emplacements. The Prairie Creek Fish Hatchery near Orick was one of the first small local hatcheries developed to improve the area’s sport and commercial fishing. Constructed in 1936, the hatchery is one of only three remaining hatcheries that were built in California from 1871 to 1946.

Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park also has historic places. The Kelsey Trail linked Crescent City with the Salmon and Trinity gold mines in the 19th century. Camp Lincoln, as one of the major 19th century military outposts in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, is designated a California state historical landmark. Walker Ranch, dating from the early 20th century, rests along the west side of the Smith River and consists of concrete foundations, walkways, and walls.

The Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center and associated structures are all historically significant as examples of Civil Conservation Corps construction carried on in the state parks during the 1930s. Other historical buildings and structures within the park include the Huggins Home site (occupied from 1914 to 1967 by Frederick Huggins), Caruther’s Cove Cabin, the Indian Tree House (a hollow, burned out redwood), and the Old Cabin and Store Site.

During the 1930s, Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park was the home of the Civilian Conservation Corps Company 1903. The company, which consisted of between 186 and 193 young men, was housed in a temporary camp built in nearby Boyes Prairie, now known as Elk Prairie.

The most impressive achievement of the CCC was the construction of the “concession and recreation building” which is now the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center. With the exception of the window lights, plumbing, and chimney flue, all the materials for the building were constructed of natural materials salvaged from an earlier cleanup of the prairie area.

The building is an excellent example of the rustic “back to nature” ethic that dominated National Park Service construction in the 1920s and 1930s. In an attempt to restore the prairie to its natural state, the building was constructed to blend in with the surrounding environment.

When western expansion met the redwoods in the 1800s, the trees began to fall under saw and axe. The massive redwoods offered early settlers a seemingly inexhaustible lumber supply. However, within a hundred year span the vast forests were reduced to a fraction of their former range. By the early 1900s, it was apparent that the future of the old-growth redwood forest was in doubt.

Thanks to the visionary actions of the Save-the-Redwoods League, the redwoods received the protection they needed. Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park, Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park were created by the State of California in the 1920s to protect some of the finest remaining examples of coast redwoods.

Congress protected lands adjacent to the three California state parks in 1968 with the creation of Redwood National Park. In 1994, the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service agreed to jointly manage the four-park area for maximum resource protection. Together, these parks are recognized as both a World Heritage Site and an International Biosphere Reserve. The designations reflect worldwide awareness of RNSP’s resources as irreplaceable.

The North Coast region, which includes RNSP and the adjacent offshore area, is the most seismically active region in the United States. As a result of frequent earthquakes, rapid uplift rates have led to landslides, actively braiding and shifting rivers, and rapid coastal erosion. The reason for all this activity is the geologic setting of the North Coast region. Three tectonic plates (thin pieces of the Earth’s crust which float above the mantle) known as the North American, the Pacific, and the Gorda, contact each other at the Mendocino triple junction. This junction lies offshore near Cape Mendocino, which is about 100 miles (160 km) southwest of RNSP.

Rocky and jagged, the RNSP coastline is a meeting place of ocean and continent where a unique collection of life has adapted to the harsh environment. Most of RNSP is underlain by rocks of the Franciscan assemblage, which is primarily composed of sandstones and mudstones. This rock unit is best seen along the coast from Enderts Beach to the mouth of Redwood Creek and in road cuts on the way to the Tall Trees Grove trailhead. Much of the Franciscan assemblage consists of rock that has been sheared and lifted from the ocean floor as a result of the plate action along the Cascadia subduction zone. Elevations at RNSP range from sea level to just over 3,000 feet (1,000 m).

Rivers at RNSP are world-renowned for fishing and no less loved for recreation and sheer beauty. The Smith River, named for explorer Jedediah Smith, arises in the Siskiyou Mountains and flows through the parks’ north section. It is now California’s last major free-flowing river and is famous for salmon and steelhead. The Klamath River, also a salmon and steelhead river, crosses the midsection of these parks. Redwood Creek flows through the parks’ southern section.

The three large river systems within the park — the Smith River, the Klamath River, and Redwood Creek — have cut deep gorges through the forest and mountainous terrain. Redwood Creek follows the Grogan Fault northwest, with many small tributaries. The Klamath River, the largest in the North Coast region, provides important habitat for wildlife along its banks and in its estuary. The Smith River is also important for wildlife and has been named a Wild and Scenic River.

Stream flow depends on the amount of rainfall in the parks. The rainy season usually stretches from October through April, but the Smith and Klamath rivers also receive water from snowmelt in the mountains to the east. Warm rains combined with snowmelt have caused floods, including the large flood of December 1964 which caused the highest record peak flow on Redwood Creek.

Though there are no natural ponds or lakes in the parks; there are lagoons and marshes, results of oceanic and tectonic processes. Also within the parks’ boundaries are the estuaries at the mouths of the Klamath River and Redwood Creek. These estuaries provide several uses for humans and wildlife: a transition and nursery area for fish, valuable habitat for fresh and saltwater species, recreational area for park visitors and nearby communities, and a supply of water for farming and ranching.

Tides rise and fall twice daily on a 25-hour lunar cycle. In the zone between high and low tide, life forms arrange themselves vertically. Just where depends on their tolerance for exposure to air and/or water and to heat and wave shock. Other biological limits apply, too, such as predators and competing organisms.

A splash zone above the high tide line receives the powerful shock of pounding waves. Inhabitants here are more attuned to life on land than on sea, but they are at the same time transitional.

Tidepools form in rocky beach outcroppings and shelter many forms of ocean life in these environments. Tidepool dwellers cope with great changes in water temperature, salinity, and oxygen content.

The rocky islands in the sea are common — and commonly known as seastacks. They are erosional features in which sandstones and mudstone wear away and cherts and greenstone are left behind. More than 40 percent of California’s seabird population nest on these seastacks, which provides a world of protection from predators. When you see a crowd of birds on these rocks — and there can be thousands of them on one house-sized boulder — think of them as seastack cities!

At RNSP, visitors often come just to see the redwoods. They are the world’s tallest trees, but they are also just one species in an incredibly varied ecosystem. From the wind-pruned, salt-tolerant Sitka spruce by the seaside, to the cool, moist redwood groves, and sunny, open grasslands of the prairies, visitors can find an interconnected community of greenery. In this narrow zone where land meets sea, salt-laden winds, cold fog-shrouded days, steep slopes, and sandy beaches conspire against plants. Only the toughest survive. Their stunted size and wind-pruned shapes bear witness to an ongoing bout with the parks’ harshest environment.

The coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) are the two dominant trees of the old-growth redwood forest. The species associated with redwood groves varies according to whether an area is upland, streamside (riparian), along a flood plain (alluvial), or close to the ocean. At higher elevations, and further inland, redwood seedling establishment is limited by hotter, drier conditions, and the redwood forest gives way to a mixed evergreen forest. Other trees include hardwoods such as tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), madrone (Arbutus menziesii), big-leaf maple (Acer macrophyllum), California bay or laurel (Umbellularia californica), and red alder (Alnus rubra). Hardy Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), able to withstand salt winds and harsh conditions better than other conifers; dominate the most exposed forest sites. Crescent Beach, Gold Bluffs Beach, Freshwater Lagoon Spit, and the Coastal Trail are great places to discover these tenacious maritime residents.

A redwood cone is the size of an olive. Each cone contains 60 to 120 seeds. One tree may produce 10 million seeds but only a few will reach maturity. If a seed settles in just the right place it may grow into a tree. From a seed no bigger than one from a tomato, California’s coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) may grow to a height of 367 feet (122 m) and have a width of 22 feet (7 m) at its base. Imagine a 35-story skyscraper in your city and you have an inkling of the trees’ ability to arouse humility. Exactly why the redwoods grow so tall is a mystery. Theories continue to develop but proof remains elusive. The trees can reach ages of 2,000 years and regularly reach 600 years.

Resistance to natural enemies such as insects and fire are built-in features of a coast redwood. Diseases are virtually unknown and insect damage insignificant thanks to the high tannin content of the wood. Thick bark and foliage that rests high above the ground provides protection from all but the hottest fires.

The redwoods’ unusual ability to regenerate also aids in their survival as a species. They do not rely solely upon sexual reproduction, as many other trees must. New sprouts may come directly from a stump or downed tree’s root system as a clone. Basal burls — hard, knotty growths that form from dormant seedlings on a living tree — can sprout a new tree when the main trunk is damaged by fire, cutting, or toppling.

Undoubtedly the most important environmental influence upon the coast redwood is its own biotic community. The complex soils on the forest floor contribute not only to the redwoods’ growth, but also to a verdant array of greenery, fungi, and other trees. A healthy redwood forest usually includes massive Douglas-firs, western hemlocks, tanoaks, madrones, and other trees. Among the ferns and leafy redwood sorrels, mosses and mushrooms help to regenerate the soils. And of course, the redwoods themselves eventually fall to the floor where they can be returned to the soil.

The coast redwood environment recycles naturally; because the 100-plus inches of annual rainfall leaves the soil with few nutrients, the trees rely on each other, living and dead for their vital nutrients. The trees need to decay naturally to fully participate in this cycle, so when logging occurs, the natural recycling is interrupted.

Especially during summer, the North Coast is often gray with a thick layer of fog. When inland temperatures are high, the fog is drawn in from over the ocean. This natural cooling and moistening system is beneficial to the redwoods near the coast. Fog precipitates onto the forest greenery and then drips to the forest floor, providing a small bit of moisture during summer dry periods. Fog accounts for about 40 percent of the redwoods’ moisture intake. Also, the Smith River’s influence at Stout Grove has created a level forest floor with sparse vegetation, as well as unusually stout trees from the rich river soils.

Aside from logging, the most frequent cause of death for mature redwoods is wind-throw. The reason for this is that redwoods have no taproot. The roots only go down 10 to 13 feet (3-4 m) deep before spreading outward 60 to 80 feet (20-27 m). Large redwoods move hundreds of gallons of water daily along their trunks from roots to crown. This water transpires into the atmosphere through the trees’ foliage. Powered by the leaves’ diffusion of water, water-to-water molecular bonds in the trees’ sapwood drags the moisture upwards. During the summer, this transpiration causes redwood stems to shrink and swell with the cycles of day and night.

Many different shrubs populate the understory of old-growth redwood forests. Sword fern (Polystichum munitum) and redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) are the most common members of redwoods’ understory. Nothing compares to Fern Canyon with its 30-foot walls dripping wet and full of ferns. Also among the understory are berry bushes such as red and evergreen huckleberry, blackberry, salmonberry, and thimbleberry. Black bears and other inhabitants of the forest make use of these seasonal food sources.

Perhaps the most famous and spectacular member of the redwood understory is the brilliantly colored California rhododendron. In springtime, the rhododendrons transform the redwood forests into a dazzling display of purple and pink colors. There is also salal (Gaultheria shallon) and azalea (Rhododendron occidentale).

Dunes shift with the action of wind and water. Beach pea (Lathyrus littoralis), beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), and sand verbena (Abronia spp.) adapt to this dynamic environment by anchoring themselves with long runners on or below the surface.

The Columbia Lily, also known as Tiger Lily, colors the road sides and forest edges with brilliant yellow-orange blossoms from May through August. The stem is two to three feet tall and has several whorls of long, narrow leaves.

More than 200 miles of trails weave through a variety of environments, including prairies, mixed evergreen forests, coastal scrub, streams, marshes, old-growth redwood forests, and unspoiled beaches. Consistently mild temperatures make year-round exploration a possibility whether day hiking or backpacking. The 70 miles (142 km) of Coastal Trail in the parks offers the adventurous hiker a different experience. Tidepool creatures, wet forests, and the Pacific coast await your exploration.

Found in the northern section, Little Bald Hills Trail is a strenuous 10-mile (16-km) round trip hike through redwoods and prairie. The trailhead is located off Howland Hill Road, 7½ miles (12 km) east of Crescent City, or 1½ miles (2½ km) off South Fork Road east of Hiouchi. This is an all-day hike for most people, but can be done as an overnight backpack trip by staying at the Little Bald Hills Camp. The trail begins in an old-growth forest and then gradually ascends 1,800 feet (600 m). A mixed conifer forest bordering prairie lands replaces the redwoods shortly into the hike. Good birdwatching and wildflower displays can be found along the way. Potable water is available at the Little Bald Hills Camp.

Mill Creek Trail is a moderate 5-mile (8-km) round trip hike through redwoods. From June through September, this trail can be accessed from the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park campground, but is available year round from Howland Hill Road. This is a half-day hike through an old-growth redwood forest. Mill Creek is a crystal stream bordered by thick forest. This is an easy hike, with some non-level grades; good fishing and photo opportunities abound. Bring your own water.

Stout Grove is an easy ½-mile (1-km) walk through colossal redwoods. Summer access is available from Jedediah Smith Redwoods State campground. It is available year round from Howland Hill Road, seven miles east of Crescent City. This is an easy, 1-hour stroll through a redwood grove. The clear, aquamarine Smith River runs alongside the grove. The river’s influence at Stout Grove has created a level forest floor with sparse vegetation, as well as unusually stout trees from the rich river soils.

Found in the Middle section, Damnation Creek is a strenuous 4½ mile (7-km) round trip hike through redwoods. It is located just north of False Klamath Cove on Highway 101 at mile marker 16.0. This is a steep trail that descends 1,000 feet (330 m) through an ancient forest of redwoods, Sitka spruce, red alder, and all the forest has to offer, traversing all the way to the ocean. Used in the past by Tolowa Indians for food gathering at the ocean, the trail offers excellent photo opportunities of both the forest and the ocean. Expect at least three hours to complete. Bring your own water.

In the southern section, Miners Ridge/James Irvine is a moderate 11-mile (18-km) round trip hike through varied environments. It begins at the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center. This trail follows an old trail used by gold miners in the 1800s. James Irvine is relatively flat, passes through spectacular old-growth redwood forests, crosses creeks, and ends at the 30-foot walls of Fern Canyon. Continue along Coastal Trail at Gold Bluffs Beach and pick up Miners Ridge. This trail follows a ridgeline that allows the heart to pump. Backpacking is possible with a stay at the Miners Ridge camp. Bring your own water.

Day hikes and longer backpack trips may be done on the Coastal Trail. Permits are required at some backcountry camps and are available at the park visitor centers. The Coastal Trail is nearly continuous in the parks; the one major detour is the Highway 101 bridge over the Klamath River. Several access points and five backcountry camps are within an easy day’s walk of each other. Be prepared to see whales, off-shore seastacks with a vast array of seabirds, sea lions, sweeping ocean panoramas, old-growth forests, 30-foot walls of ferns at Fern Canyon and the old Union Gold Bluff mine site.

Bicycling in Redwood National and State Parks can be a challenging and an awe-inspiring experience as you pass through the redwood forest or along the coastline. Although most national parks prohibit biking in the backcountry, the parks offer a few—often on rehabilitated logging roads where tires cause less erosion damage and where routes are wide enough to safely accommodate multiple uses. Help limit impacts on other trails by respecting areas where bicycles are not permitted. Pick up a park brochure with map at any visitor center. Little Bald Hills Trail on Howland Hill Road is a steep 5 miles one way and is open only during the summer. Drury Scenic Parkway combines several trails in a 19-mile loop that varies from easy to steep. There are several more trails for bicycles. Bicycles are allowed on designated trails only: Lost Man Creek Trail, Last Chance Section of the Coastal Trail, Davison Trail, and Ossagon Trail Loop. Bicycles are welcome on all roads. There are also organized bike rides in the park.

Horses are welcome on Little Bald Hills Trail, Mill Creek Horse Trails, and Orick Horse Trails. Pick up a Visitor Guide or stop by one of the five visitor centers and talk to a ranger about rules and regulations. For horseback riding the Redwood Creek Horse Trail comprises four possible loops and two stock-ready camps. Several days of riding are possible. The Redwood Creek Horse Trail begins in Orick next to the Orick Rodeo Grounds off Highway 101, about 1 mile (1½ km) north of the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center. Little Bald Hills Trail off Howland Hill Road (within RNSP’s Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park) is horse-accessible with a stock-ready camp. Mill Creek Horse Trail is available for day use.

There are many scenic drives to choose. Discover Howland Hill Road and Stout Grove: a 10-mile scenic drive through old-growth redwoods, along Mill Creek, with a ½-mile walk through a river bottom grove of tremendous trees. A narrow and windy corridor, this route has numerous pullouts for you to stand beside an ancient one and offers many trailheads for exploration. Motorhomes and trailers are not advised here. The Bald Hills Road serves as a scenic byway to a high prairie landscape dotted with magnificent 300-year-old Oregon white oak trees. This region of the parks offers fields of colorful springtime wildflowers and trail access to several historic ranches. A Roosevelt elk herd could surprise you!

Explore Enderts Beach and Crescent Beach Overlook: Stand before outstanding Pacific Ocean views from the overlook; you may even see a gray whale! Walk 1-mile to Enderts Beach, an access route to multi-colored, myriad tidepool creatures and seabird viewing. Or check out Lagoon Creek/Yurok Loop, 1-mile (1½ km) hike to Hidden Beach. Be sure to check low tide times by picking up a tides schedule at a visitor center. Trailers are not advised.

Take Requa Road and drive to Klamath River Overlook, a prime spot for watching the gray whale migration. Look for other marine mammals and a host of seabirds any time of year. Hike ¼ mile down a steep trail to the lower overlook and more dramatic views. Get off the beaten path and onto Coastal Drive! This 8-mile rough and tumble road winds past expansive Pacific Ocean views and descends into redwoods at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Look through binoculars at the massive off shore rocks to spy thousands of seabirds nesting. Whales, sea lions, and pelicans are often seen from overlooks. Motorhomes and trailers are prohibited on gravel section.

Travel Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Not even the Avenue of the Giants can beat this! It is a 10-mile scenic drive through ancient redwoods. Stop and walk an 1/8 of a mile to Big Tree Wayside and watch for Roosevelt elk grazing in the prairie. You can also look for access to numerous trailheads. Investigate Davison Road where Roosevelt elk hang out in the prairie. Trillium Falls Trail covers 2½ miles through ancestral forest and has one of the few falls in the parks. Follow Davison Road to the gray sands of Gold Bluffs Beach. See if you can find the remains of the mining era. Nothing compares to Fern Canyon with its 30-foot walls dripping wet and full of ferns. Survey the creek for slippery creatures. Trailers and vehicles longer than 24 feet are prohibited. Be sure to stop at Kuchel Visitor Center one mile south of Orick. The state-of-the-art exhibits are fabulous!

Rivers at RNSP are world-renowned for fishing and no less loved for recreation and sheer beauty. The Smith River, named for explorer Jedediah Smith, arises in the Siskiyou Mountains and flows through the parks’ north section. It is now California’s last major free-flowing river and is famous for salmon and steelhead. The Klamath River, also a salmon and steelhead river, crosses the midsection of these parks. You can also experience kayaking on North Coast rivers, lagoons, harbors, coves, and in the ocean.

Ranger-led programs are offered during the summer season (mid-June to Labor Day). Check at a park visitor center for details. Weekly schedules for the programs are posted in the state park campgrounds and at visitor centers (where most programs occur). Topics for various activities may include bears, tidepools, American Indian cultures, and redwood ecology. Campfire programs are held at the following campgrounds: Jedediah Smith, Mill Creek, Gold Bluffs Beach and Elk Prairie.

Junior Ranger programs for children ages 7-12 are held at: Jedediah Smith campground, Mill Creek campground, Gold Bluffs Beach campground and Prairie Creek Visitor Center. Redwood National and State Parks has a junior ranger newspaper with activities designed for children 7-12 years old. But remember, any age can participate! You can earn a patch or a sticker. To earn a patch, 10-12 years olds complete six activity pages and 7-9 year olds complete four activity pages (two must be “in-park” activities marked by a star); in addition, each young adult will collect a bag of litter, attend a ranger program or hike a trail, write down one park rule, and understand and sign the Junior Ranger Pledge. To earn a sticker, each potential junior ranger must complete three activities, collect a bag of litter, write down one park rule, and understand and sign the Junior Ranger Pledge.

American Indian dance demonstrations presented by members of the Tolowa and the Yurok tribes are performed in RNSP every summer season. The Tolowa conduct a renewal dance demonstration at the Jedediah Smith picnic area, off Highway 199 just west of the community of Hiouchi. Yurok demonstrate the traditional brush dance at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, one mile south of Orick on Highway 101. Each demonstration begins with an introduction explaining the dance’s significance to each American Indian culture. Both dance demonstrations are open to the public and free of charge. Call for dates and times, (707) 465-7304 or (707) 465-7765.

Enjoy whale watching! Peak migration months for viewing gray whales are November – December and March – April. A resident population may be seen any month of the year at the Klamath River Overlook. Pick a clear, calm day. Bring your binoculars and watch for their spouting. Other good viewing spots include: Crescent Beach Overlook, Wilson Creek, High Bluff Overlook, Gold Bluffs Beach, and Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center.

There are also a few guided tours you can sign up with to see the redwoods or a day-long field trip into the redwoods. You can call (800) 400-1849 for tour information and (707) 465-7325 for the field trips.

RNSP protect threatened and endangered (T&E) species by minimizing potential disturbance to T&E species caused by visitor use and park management activities. Hunting is not allowed at any time within RNSP. Fishing is allowed in certain designated watercourses within the parks. In 2000, the park closed beaches to off-road vehicle traffic, with the exception of commercial fisherman holding permits, and they are required to drive only on the wave slope. This action helps ensure that habitat for the federally-listed western snowy plover is not degraded and reduces disturbance to the brown pelican and other seabirds and marine mammals. Remote areas of the park, including old-growth forest habitat, are off-limits to motorized vehicles and have controlled visitor use. Park management activities are designed to minimize noise and other forms of disturbance to breeding T&E species by implementing limited operating periods, using hand-tools instead of machinery to conduct park maintenance, and consulting with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service on all projects that have the potential to affect federally threatened or endangered wildlife, fish, or plants.

Restoration efforts in the parks have helped T&E fish and wildlife primarily by reducing sedimentation from logging roads through road decommissioning and rehabilitation. Reducing sediment runoff from hill slopes creates better stream substrate for anadromous fish redds (gravel bed for eggs) and fry (young fish). It also helps stabilize stream-banks, which allows old-growth redwood trees to remain upright and keeps old-growth habitat intact for species such as the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet. Exotic plant management (for example, of European beachgrass, yellow bush lupine, and pampas grass) along beaches enhances habitat for wildlife such as the western snowy plover, that nests and roosts in back dunes, and plants such as the endangered beach layia that requires shifting sand dunes to grow.

The parks’ fishery and wildlife biologists conduct annual surveys to assess the status and distribution of T&E species in RNSP. Specifically, fishery biologists conduct stream inventories including snorkel surveys, electro-fishing, seining for anadromous fish, and spawning/carcass surveys in Redwood Creek and its tributaries. Wildlife biologists monitor known northern spotted owl territories, bald eagle nests, and peregrine falcon eyries (nesting sites), and conduct monthly western snowy plover surveys on all accessible beaches.

Redwood National and State Parks are engaged in watershed restoration work. Restoration work along Redwood Creek includes the removal of several miles of abandoned and eroding logging roads. These roads are remnants of the logging and road building that happened before the parks’ establishment. The primary goals are to restore stream channels and hill slopes to the natural conditions that existed prior to road construction. These goals are accomplished by clearing stream channels choked with road fill and logging debris, re-contouring hill slopes marred by road networks, and reestablishing natural drainage patterns. In achieving these goals, the unnaturally high erosion and sedimentation rates in Redwood Creek will be reduced and a solid foundation will be recreated for the protection and reestablishment of a healthy ecosystem. These measures reduce sedimentation from previously logged lands and associated roads, sediment that is harmful to salmon survival in Redwood Creek and its tributaries.

Placement of large in-stream wood structures, removal and modification of unnatural fish barriers, reestablishment of streamside (riparian) vegetation, and modification of existing flood control levees are also improving fish habitat. Other measures that benefit salmonids are the prioritization of roads slated for removal by risk failure (potential for erosion) and sensitive resources (number of fish species and their population size) and review of timber harvest plans adjacent to the park. Annual surveys in summer and winter are conducted to provide information on the status of salmon and steelhead. Two decades of monitoring juvenile salmonids in summer and fall in the Redwood Creek estuary has verified the prominent role of estuaries in the life cycle of Chinook salmon and steelhead and the importance of small coastal estuaries in degraded watersheds. The park is proposing to restore the Redwood Creek estuary to a fully functioning ecosystem benefiting fish, wildlife, and the public.

Salmon and steelhead populations were severely diminished by past logging activities within Redwood Creek’s watershed. Increased sediment loads as a result of increased erosion have altered the habitat of Redwood Creek. Today, these fish are attempting to maintain their presence in the creek, but very few of these fish are able to adapt to the ecological imbalance.

The restoration work is accomplished using large, heavy equipment, primarily bulldozers and excavators. If visiting the Redwood Creek area of the parks, remember to stay well away from work areas due to the danger of heavy equipment and loose slopes.

For thousands of years, American Indians routinely set fires in the prairies to keep them free of encroaching trees, to make the land more productive, and to attract elk, which were an important food source.

The regularity of fire in the prairies has limited what kind of trees grew there. Oaks gained a foothold in places and big-leaf maples thrived along stream courses, but for the most part, fires killed tree seedlings before they had a chance to take hold and turn grassland into forest.

In more recent times, the suppression of fire has resulted in the spread of Douglas-fir, a species well suited for growing in hot, dry places like the Bald Hills. The open grasslands have dwindled, now replaced by fir forests.

Today, park staff is again using fire to maintain the oak woodlands, grasses, and other native plants found in this diminishing natural community. Fire not only helps preserve the natural values of these grassy expanses, but the cultural values as well. Values represented by the historic barns, relict stands of oak, and the openness of the land itself.

The Redwood National and State Parks together comprise a World Heritage Site, so designated for the rugged coastlines, streams, rivers, and ancient redwood forests. The parks are mandated to protect this heritage for public inspiration and enjoyment, and to ensure passage unimpaired to future generations. Currently, there are more than 200 species of exotic plants in the parks. More than thirty of these are invasive species. At least ten exotic plant species threaten the parks’ native species and ecosystems. Exotic plant management is a necessary part of the responsibility to protect our natural heritage. Control of harmful exotic plants requires both a guiding plan and long-term, steadfast commitment.

Short-term lapses allow invasive species to expand quickly and to negate previous control efforts. The threat of invasive exotic species will not disappear. The keys to successful control are a systematic approach and consistent follow-up. Controlling invasive exotics is a universal challenge of importance beyond simply the parks.

Of the flowering plants found in the parks to date, slightly more than 200 are exotic, representing about a quarter of the flora. The number of exotic species and dominance by exotics varies widely by vegetation type. So far, less than 1 percent of the plant coverage within the old-growth redwood forests is from exotic species. In contrast, the Bald Hills prairies have an extensive list of exotic plant species, with a relative cover of 50 to 75 percent. The nature of threats from exotics differs in separate areas of the parks. The parks’ response to each threat is site-specific, but based on an overall management strategy.

Priority is assigned to each species in each place based upon the threats exhibited and the potential for successful and cost effective control. A key factor is the species’ existing distribution and the availability of habitat for future invasion. The fact that some invasive species are not presently targeted does not exclude them from consideration for future management. What it means simply is that efforts will be budgeted and directed toward the most immediate threats and potential future threats addressable through control actions during a given interval of time. Federal agencies are required to prevent the introduction of invasive exotic species, to provide for their control, and to minimize the harm they cause to the extent practicable within budgetary limits. Thus, park staff use a threat assessment to prioritize the exotic species against which the major portion of control efforts will be directed within each budget cycle.

Park staff research exotic plant control techniques described by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), other resource management agencies and universities. The most promising control techniques are tested on high priority species. Following NPS IPM guidelines, the following classes of control techniques are options for individual species under the parks’ Exotic Plant Management Plan: No Action if the ecological threat from an exotic species is insignificant (the species is innocuous), or if no further action is needed to achieve or maintain control of the species. Mechanical Controls with heavy equipment, power tools, hand tools, manual removal, draught animals, and prescribed fire. “Cultural control” means educating people and encouraging them to adjust their activities and surroundings (insofar as possible) to minimize the spread of harmful plants. Cleanliness, making sure all equipment is seed free before being allowed in sensitive areas. Natural Enemies: Certain insects or pathogens (e.g., fungus, bacteria) attack specific plants and limit their growth or reproduction. Vegetation succession: Canopy closure by native evergreen conifers and/or hardwoods suppresses or eliminates shade-intolerant exotic species. Soils can be managed toward conditions that favor native species or that selectively target invasive species when the natives and invasives have differing soil requirements. An herbicide may be considered as a means to control an invasive plant species if it is determined that alternative mechanical, physical, cultural, or biological means are either not acceptable or not feasible. Herbicides will not be considered for control in natural vegetation unless other control techniques prove ineffective.

Temperatures range from 40 to 60 degrees year round along the redwood coastline. Redwoods rely on the fog that envelops the coast in the summer. Summers are mild with warmer temperatures inland. Winters are cool with considerable precipitation. Call (707) 443-7062 for current weather conditions. Always pack your rain gear and good walking shoes for the slippery rain forest. Wear layers to accommodate cool to warm temperatures.

 Current Park Weather

Be aware that trails in the redwoods are often wet and slippery, so bring raingear and good boots for your hike. In winter, the Redwood Creek and Trestle trails may be difficult or impossible to use. Temporary bridges open these trails in summer but are removed for the rainy season. Access to Stout Grove from Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park campground exists only in the summer via seasonal bridges.

Remember that a good backpacking checklist will make your stay in the wilderness more enjoyable and safe. Some needed things are: tent with rainfly, sleeping bag and mat, ground cover, backpack, something to keep your pack dry, layered clothing suitable for the season, food, water, water purification system, collapsible water container, 1-2 quart water bottle, first-aid kit, extra medications, repair kits, camp stove, matches, fire starter, cooking and eating utensils, toilet kit, flashlight with extra batteries and bulb, knife or multipurpose tool, rain gear, a signal device, garbage bags, small trowel, topographical map, compass or GPS unit, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

Backpackers stay in designated campsites except along the Redwood Creek gravel bars. You can camp along Redwood Creek’s gravel bars beyond the first seasonal bridge and no closer than within 1/4 mile of Tall Trees Grove. Enjoy the forest or ocean for 5 consecutive days; 15 in a calendar year. Be sure to obtain a permit for camping and firewood collecting along Redwood Creek. Backpackers can collect up to 50 pounds of dead wood per day per campsite. Fires are permitted only in designated fire pits. Obtain your overnight backcountry permit at a park visitor center. Proper food storage when camping in bear country is required by law – be bear aware! Bear-proof food storage canisters are available at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center. Practice Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. Pets, firearms, and motorized vehicles are prohibited on park trails. Make sure to stop by a visitor center for tick and poison oak information.

Ticks that carry Lyme disease occur in the area. Stay on trails, check clothing, wear light colors to easily spot a tick, tuck pant legs into socks and shirt into pants, and inspect your head and body after a hike. Poison oak can be identified with the saying “Leaves of three let them be”. Contact with poison oak leaves can cause an itchy skin rash, so wash thoroughly if you brush against it. Stay on trails!

For those with horses the following regulations apply. Permits are required for overnight use and can be obtained at visitor centers. Camp only in designated sites. Carry only pellets or certified weed-free feed to camps and on trails. Animals may not graze park vegetation. Animals must be hobbled or tied to a hitching post when unattended.

Permits to visit the Tall Trees Grove are available for no charge at the Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, located on Highway 101, one mile (1½ km) south of Orick, at the Crescent City Information Center at 1111 Second Street, and at Prairie Creek Visitor Center on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway. Visitors should plan to spend three to four hours for this hike. Limited to 50 cars per day.

These parks are natural environments; the wild animals, plants, streams, and other natural features, as well as certain weather conditions that occur here can be hazardous. Coastal areas present hazards associated with cold ocean waters, heavy surf, strong currents, and tsunamis. In an emergency, call 911.

Tides can be dangerous, so check a tide chart and keep an eye on the surf for “sneaker” waves. A sneaker wave is a wave that is larger than it appears. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes beneath the ocean floor and can cause waves up to 100 feet (33 m) high to surge inland. If you feel a strong earthquake move to higher ground – at least 100 feet (33 m) above shoreline, preferably on foot – and wait for an official “all clear” on the radio. If there is no high ground, move inland away from the coastline. Stay away from the coast. Later waves are often higher than the first. Waves may continue to arrive for hours.

Falling objects cause the most deaths during earthquakes. If you are indoors, take cover under a sturdy desk, table, or other furniture. Hold onto your shelter and stay there until shaking stops. Stay clear of windows, fireplaces, wood stoves, and heavy furniture or appliances. Stay inside! If outside when a quake hits, get into the open and away from trees, power lines, and buildings. If you are driving when a quake hits, stay away from bridges, overpasses, and tunnels and avoid stopping under trees, light posts, power lines, or signs. If you are in a mountainous area or near unstable slopes or cliffs, be alert for falling rock and other debris that could be loosened by the earthquake.

Pets are wonderful creatures that give comfort and companionship; however, a national or state park is not the best place for them. Domestic dogs and cats retain their instinct to mark territory with scent and may spread domestic diseases to wildlife. Studies show that wildlife leaves the area when pets leave their scent. Unleashed pets may chase wildlife, causing injury to wildlife or to the pet! Your unleashed pet may get lost and become a meal for a coyote or a mountain lion. Please follow these regulations: Pets are not allowed on any trails.
Pets must remain on a leash under six feet (2 m) in length and be under your control at all times. Leashed pets are allowed at Crescent and Gold Bluffs beaches, all road-accessible picnic areas, the parking area of Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center, the Freshwater Lagoon Spit, and state park campgrounds and roads. Only guide animals are allowed in park buildings or at interpretive programs. Keep dogs away from any dead fish that may be found along the river banks. Raw salmon, if eaten, is extremely toxic.

All visitor centers are physically accessible to wheelchair users. Wheelchairs are not available. TDD phones are not available. Other accessible areas (north to south) include Crescent Beach, Crescent Beach Overlook, Jedediah Smith campground, Mill Creek campground, Lagoon Creek, Klamath River Overlook, High Bluff Overlook picnic area, Big Tree Wayside, Lost Man Creek, and Elk Meadow Day Use Area. Along Highway 199, Simpson-Reed Grove Trail is classified as “barrier-free.”

Cool and shady, the coniferous forests at RNSP provide important habitat to the area’s many species of wildlife. Old-growth redwood forests are vital to species such as the northern spotted owl and banana slugs. A variety of wildlife species call RNSP home. The diversity of ecosystems in the parks means that creatures as different as black bears, sea stars, and bald eagles can be seen by a lucky visitor in a single day. You could also see the Big Brown Bat, Bobcat, Black-tailed deer, Coyote, River otter, Brush rabbit, Chickaree and the Gray fox. In addition to the more common inhabitants, many threatened and endangered species rely on the parks’ old-growth forests, open prairies, estuaries, and the coastline for crucial havens of survival.

Nowhere at RNSP is the wildlife more diverse than along the coast and in the Pacific Ocean. Marine mammals such as sea lions and gray whales are among the most visible wildlife in the parks. You might also see Harbor seals, Common dolphins and Surf scoters. Pelicans, ospreys, and gulls are frequently spotted along the coast. Of course, tidepool creatures aren’t likely to run very far at your approach, so anemones and crabs are easy to spot too.

Peak migration months for viewing gray whales are November – December and March – April. A resident population may be seen any month of the year at the Klamath River Overlook. Pick a clear, calm day. Bring your binoculars and watch for their spouting. Other good viewing spots include: Crescent Beach Overlook, Wilson Creek, High Bluff Overlook, Gold Bluffs Beach, and Thomas H. Kuchel Visitor Center.

Visitors are also likely to see Roosevelt elk browsing in the prairies. Roosevelt elk, one of the largest members of the deer family, are the most easily observed wildlife in the parks. Bulls can weigh as much as 1,200 pounds! They are seen throughout the parks, but primarily south of the Klamath River in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, Gold Bluffs Beach, along the Bald Hills Road, and in the Orick area. Males sport large antlers in late summer through winter. Females are smaller in stature and have no antlers. The rut, or mating season, occurs in fall. Calves are born in grassy, open areas in May and June.

Four species of frogs and one toad utilize aquatic habitats within the redwood region. The northern red-legged frog is quite abundant and is well-camouflaged on the moist forest floor. The Pacific tree frog is another species found here as well as the Western toad. Other amphibians found are California slender salamander, Pacific giant salamander, and Northern rough-skinned newt. Reptiles found in the parks are the Western fence lizard, Northern alligator lizard, and the Northwestern ringneck snake.

A few of the birds you might see are Chestnut-backed chickadee, Winter wren, Steller’s jay, Varied thrush, Red-shouldered hawk, Great blue heron, Northern spotted owl, Killdeer, Western sandpiper, Western gull, Sanderling, Willet, Bald Eagle, Brown Pelican, the Western Snowy Plover, Black oystercatcher, Double-crested cormorant, and a wide variety of other seabirds.

Some T&E species found at RNSP are the Bald Eagle, Brown Pelican, Chinook and Coho Salmon, Steelhead Trout, Marbled Murrelet, Northern Spotted Owl, Steller’s Sea Lion, Tidewater Goby, and Western Snowy Plover.

While you’re out watching wildlife at RNSP, remember that all wildlife is protected in the parks. Never feed or approach animals such as bears, mountain lions, elk, chipmunks, raccoons, rabbits, or birds. Please treat the members of this natural community with respect.

Be careful: elk are wild and unpredictable animals. They are particularly dangerous during calving and the fall rut. Cows will charge and kick with their front hooves when threatened, particularly during calving season in the spring. Be aware when hiking; surprising a wild animal will lead to a dangerous situation. Always observe them at a safe distance.

Like all mammals in our parks, bears are wild. Inviting them into your picnic or camp—on purpose or accidentally—can result in damage to your equipment, you, or the bear. Bears have great memories, so they quickly become accustomed to human foods. Once habituated to campground fare, a bear may become aggressive to humans. At that point, wildlife managers may have to destroy the bear.

Help save a bear and trouble for you by following these precautions. Use the campground bear-proof lockers for food and all scented items. Dispose of garbage immediately in bear-proof trash cans. Carry a bear-proof canister when backpacking. Keep a clean camp at all times. Never feed bears. If a bear approaches or stands up, wave your arms and shout. DO NOT RUN! Please report any sightings to a park ranger.

The illusive tawny cat with the long tail: cougars (mountain lions) are large, seldom seen forest inhabitants. Like any wild animal, they can be dangerous. No attacks on humans have occurred in the parks, but mountain lion sightings have increased in recent years. Do not run! Do not crouch or bend over! Stand up and face the lion. Pick up young children. Appear large; wave your arms or jacket. Slowly back away. See Wildlife Precautions page for further safety tips.

Steller’s jays are noisy campground residents and take advantage of unnatural human food sources. Normally feeding on seeds and nuts, jays also prey on the endangered marbled murrelet and their chicks. Please help to protect the robin-sized murrelet by not sharing your lunch with any wildlife.

Redwood National Park is free to visit!

State Parks – Jedediah Smith, Del Norte Coast and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks have fees for day use, camping, and extra vehicle in a campsite.
Call 1.800.444.PARK for reservations and fees.

Redwood National and States Parks offer four developed campgrounds, three in the redwood forest and one on the ocean. Tidbits to know: no trailer hook-ups exist; there is a charge for each extra vehicle per site; and day use fees are charged.

Mill Creek campground is located 7 miles south of Crescent City, CA on US Highway 101 in Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. There are 145 RV or tent sites, trailer length up to 27 feet, RVs up to 31 feet. Amenities include restrooms, four loop trails, hiker/biker sites, dump station, fire pits, no hookups, handicap access, ranger-led walks, junior ranger and evening campfire programs. Reservation phone is 1-800-444-7275.

Jedediah Smith campground is located on Highway 199 at Hiouchi, CA in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. There are 106 RV or tent sites, RV length up to 36 feet, trailers up to 31 feet. Facilities/amenities include nature center, bookstore, no hookups, restrooms, river sites, picnic area, many miles of trails, hiker/biker sites, dump station, fire pits, handicap access, ranger-led walks, junior ranger and young naturalists programs, and evening campfire programs. There are no showers. There is a group site for 50. For site-specific information, call (707) 465-2142.

Elk Prairie campground is located 50 miles north of Eureka, CA on the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway just off US Highway 101 in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. There are 75 RV or tent sites, trailer length up to 24 feet, RVs up to 27 feet. Facilities/amenities include nature center, bookstore, no hookups, showers, restrooms, picnic area, more than 70 miles of trails, hiker/biker sites, dump station, fire pits, handicap access, ranger-led walks, junior ranger and evening campfire programs. For site-specific information, call (707) 465-7347.

Also in Prairie Creek, Gold Bluffs Beach campground can be found by traveling three miles north of Orick, CA on US Highway 101, then turn west on Davison Road and continue for four miles (gravel road). There are 25 RV or 29 tent sites, trailers are prohibited, RV length up to 24 feet and 8 feet wide. Amenities include solar showers, restrooms, access to over 70 miles of trails, Fern Canyon, hiker/biker sites, fire pits, no hookups, ranger-led walks, junior ranger and evening campfire programs. No reservations.

There are several backcountry camp sites to use while backpacking or horseback riding. Little Bald Hills Trail begins off Howland Hill Road in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. 4-½ mile (7-km) trail to the camp features a strenuous, gradually ascending 1,800-foot (600 m) climb through old-growth forest and open prairies fringed by fir and pine trees. Five sites are available with picnic tables, fire pits, bear-proof lockers, toilets, and a potable water spigot. It is horse and bike accessible, with a corral and horse troughs.

Nickel Creek: This camp is located alongside the Coastal Trail, access from south or north. From the north, Enderts Beach Road provides the easiest and quickest access with an easy ½-mile (1-km) trail to the site. Five sites are available with picnic tables, fire pits, bear-proof lockers, and toilets. Located ¼-mile (½-km) from the ocean alongside a stream, this campsite features a lush coastal environment and the beauty of nearby Enderts Beach. Purify water from the stream before drinking.

DeMartin: Located along the Coastal Trail just south of Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. It is accessible by a 3-mile (5-km) hike from the north or south, with trailheads located along Highway 101. The hike features a mixed conifer redwood forest. Ten sites are available with picnic tables, bear-proof lockers, fire pits, and toilets. No nearby water is available, so bring your own. The camp offers ocean vistas from a high bluff.

Flint Ridge: Located just south of the Klamath River estuary along the Coastal Trail. The access is from two trailheads along the Coastal Drive (exit just south of the Klamath River off Highway 101). From the west, hike a ½-mile (1-km), from the east hike 4-½ miles (7-km). This quiet section of the parks features outstanding wildlife viewing and one of the finest old-growth redwood stands. Ten sites are available with picnic tables, bear-proof lockers, fire pits, and toilets. No nearby water is available, so bring your own.

Ossagon Creek: (Bikes okay) Located in the northern section of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, this camp is along the Coastal Trail and is accessible by several trailheads. Many loops of differing lengths are possible. Inquire at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center. Three sites are available with picnic tables, bear-proof lockers, fire pits, and toilets. Purify water from the nearby creek before drinking. There is a charge for Ossagon Creek backcountry camp, pay at Prairie Creek Visitor Center.

Miners Ridge: Located in the southern part of Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, this camp is on a bluff above Gold Bluffs Beach. Access the camp by a 4-½ mile (12-km) hike from the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center. Inquire at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park Visitor Center. Three sites are available with picnic tables, bear-proof lockers, fire pits, and toilets. Purify water from the nearby creek before drinking. There is a charge for Miners Ridge backcountry camp, pay at Prairie Creek Visitor Center.

Elam and 44 Camps: (Horse) Both located in the Redwood Creek area, these two camps feature four loop possibilities and access and facilities for both horses and hikers. Loops of 3 hours (seven miles, 11 km), 7 hours (14 miles, 21 km), 2-day (20 miles, 29 km) and 3-day (32 miles, 50 km) are your options from various trailheads, including the Orick Horse Trails and Redwood Creek Trail. Elam Camp is on the two shorter loops. Three sites are available with picnic tables, bear-proof lockers, fire pits, toilets, non-potable water, and a corral. No more than 12 stock animals are permitted. 44 Camp is on the two longer loops. 44-camp is open to backpackers only until further notice. No stock allowed. No water is available. Four sites are available with picnic tables, bear-proof lockers, fire pits, and toilets. Redwood Creek Gravel Bars located along a stretch of Redwood Creek, the gravel bars offer the only area in the park where dispersed camping is permitted. Dispersed camping is permitted anywhere on the gravel bar between the first seasonal bridge and no closer than ¼-mile (½-km) of the Tall Trees Grove. Be sure to obtain a permit for camping and firewood collecting at a park visitor center.

Crater Lake National Park, 3½ hours from Crescent City, CA or 140 miles

Oregon Caves National Monument, 1½ hours from Crescent City, CA or 60 miles

Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 4¼ hours from Crescent City, CA, or 215 miles

Lassen Volcanic National Park, 5 hours from Crescent City, CA or 230 miles

Lava Beds National Monument, 6 hours from Crescent City, CA

Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 8 hours from Crescent City, CA or 320 miles

Smith River National Recreation Area in Gasquet, CA, and Tolowa Dunes State Park, Battery Point Lighthouse Museum, Northcoast Marine Mammal Center in Crescent City, CA, Yurok Indian Reservation, and Klamath National Forest are all great attractions.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Redwood National Park:

By Car:

Eureka, CA - 0 miles
Santa Rosa, CA – 258 miles
Sacramento, CA – 330 miles
Portland, OR - 398  miles
Reno, NV – 464 miles

Redwood National and State Parks

1111 Second Street

Crescent City, California 95531

Visitor Information (707) 465-7306

Fax (707) 464-1812

Map

The park is open 24 hours a day, 12 months of the year. There are several Visitor Centers at the park. Alpine may open starting May 25, daily, (weather permitting); 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. fall dates and hours vary. The visitor center is open depending on road conditions and closed in winter. It is located at Fall River Pass at the junction of Trail Ridge and Old Fall River roads, 4 miles east of the Continental Divide. There are Ranger-led walks and talks and Alpine tundra exhibits. Of course you will also find accessible restrooms, or vault toilets, a bookstore, adjacent gift shop and snack bar. Beaver Meadows is open all year 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, but during the summer from June 17th until August 18th, it is open until 9:00 pm. It is located on U.S. Rt. 36, 3 miles from the town of Estes Park at the park entrance. A film introduction to the park is shown on the hour and half-hour throughout the day and a large topographical relief map of the park can be found. Handicapped accessible restrooms are in the plaza restroom facility and on the main floor of the visitor center. Fall River visitor center is open in the spring, after March 28th 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and after June 18, it is open until 6:00 pm and Sat. and Sun from 9-4 pm. It is located on U.S. Rt. 34, 5 miles west of the town of Estes Park, at the Fall River Entrance to the park, and contains wildlife exhibits and a “Discovery Room” for children. Restaurant and gift shops are adjacent to the visitor center. It is fully handicapped accessible. The Kawuneeche visitor center is open all year, in winter – after September 30 th , the hours are 8:00 am to 4:30 pm; in spring – after May 15 th , the hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm; and in summer – after June 19th , the hours are 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. It is located 1 mile north of the Town of Grand Lake on U.S. Rt. 34 at the entrance to the park. Ranger led programs are presented in the auditorium every Saturday evening commencing June 19th throughout the summer. You will find a topographical relief map of the park here also, cultural and natural history exhibits, and a park orientation film. This is also where the back country office is located. It has fully accessible restrooms.

There are two museums worth visiting. Holzwarth Historic Site – Holzwarth Trout Lodge (Never Summer Ranch) is open June 20 through August 21. 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The site is on US Rt. 34, about 7 miles north of the Grand Lake Entrance Station. The lodge buildings are reached by a half mile walkway from the parking lot. A walking path connects the various buildings. It offers guided tours of the historic buildings and each open building has displays of furnishings, tools and other equipment used by the dude ranch. There are several old buildings used in the operation of the historic lodge and dude ranch. Outside are pieces of equipment used in the ranch and lodge operations. An electric cart provides accessibility to the ranch, which is 1/2 mile from the parking lot. The Moraine Park Museum is open daily 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (970-586-1206) It is located off of the Bear Lake Road, 1 1/2 miles from the Beaver Meadows Entrance. There are natural history exhibits in the museum and a half-mile nature trail begins at the museum. All facilities are handicapped accessible.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a living laboratory. Everyone from preschoolers to Ph.D.’s can study their favorite natural sciences while enjoying the breathtaking beauty of this park. The park supports more than a thousand flowering plants in its varied ecosystems. It encompasses three different elevational ecosystems, the Montane, the Subalpine, and the Alpine. Variation in vegetation communities relates not only to elevation, but also to direction and amount of slope, drainage, moisture availability, exposure to wind, amount and type of soil, fire history, and other factors. 150 lakes and 450 miles of streams are the basis of the riparian (wetland) ecosystem in the park. Lush plant life and dense wildlife are the hallmarks of these wet areas that speckle and divide other ecosystems.

Forests of pine and grassy hillsides dominate the Montane Ecosystem in the park. The Montane Ecosystem occurs at elevations between approximately 5,600 and 9,500 feet. These areas may be drier than riparian areas but life still abounds. Look for critters leaping or creeping from tree to tree or poking their heads from underground. As you gain elevation, you leave the Montane areas and enter the Subalpine Ecosystem.

The bent and gnarled bodies of spruce and fir trees tell the story of hard summers and harder winters near the mountain tops. The Subalpine Ecosystem occupies elevations approximately between 9,000 and 11,000 feet. A typical subalpine forest may consist mostly of subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce. However, previously-burned areas may contain varying amounts, or even almost pure stands, of lodgepole pine. Ground cover in a previously-burned forest area often includes two species of huckleberry. Limber pine, with flexible twigs and needles in groups of five, may also be a part of subalpine forests.

If you keep going up, you’ll emerge on the alpine tundra. The Alpine Ecosystem starting at elevations from 11,000 to 11,500 feet, depending on exposure, is an area of extremes. This land is too harsh for trees and appears barren at first glance. But take a closer look. Nestled close to the ground is a dense carpet of plants and animals. It takes 100 years for many alpine tundra plants to grow an inch. At an elevation of 12,000′, you can experience the alpine tundra in bloom – a spectacular life zone covering more than one quarter of Rocky Mountain National Park. Here a four-inch pincushion plant might be fifty years old; a tiny spring beauty can have a root which reaches three feet below ground! Life persists even here in one of earth’s most extreme environments.

No matter what ecosystem you are in, you will be in the company of animals. Elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, coyotes, black bears, cougars and hundreds of smaller animals make a living in the park. From mighty elk to rare boreal toads, Rocky Mountain National Park protects animals of the high south-central continental divide. Elk number about 1000 in the park, and are easily seen. Moose are rarer, found primarily in the Kawaneeche valley. Bighorn sheep are fond of coming to mineral licks in Horseshoe Park. Mountain lions are fairly common, but as is also true of bobcats, secretive and rarely seen. Black bears live in the parks lower forests. Otters were reintroduced into the Colorado River area and are doing fairly well. These animals are difficult to spot. Mule deer are common and can be seen anywhere. They are most often found at lower elevations in open areas. Bats feed over lakes and ponds at dawn and dusk. Hardy ptarmigan remain active at higher elevations through the winter, as do pikas. Ptarmigan, snowshoe hares, and ermine blend with the season, whitening in winter. Marmots and ground squirrels sleep deeply then, but are easily seen during the summer. Greenback Cutthroat Trout have been restored to many lakes and streams, where they feed on a rich insect fauna. Also found are nearly 60 other species of mammals; more than 280 recorded bird species; six amphibians, including the federally endangered boreal toad; one reptile (the harmless garter snake); 11 species of fish; and countless insects, including a surprisingly large number of butterflies.

Underlying the bounty of life in the park is the literal foundation of the Rocky Mountains. The towering peaks and deep valleys are all composed of igneous (born of fire) and metamorphic rock. Throughout its 416 square miles of rock-ribbed wildness, there are at least 60 mountains that exceed 12,000 feet, topping off at 14,259 feet on the football field-sized summit of Longs Peak. Names such as Cirrus, Chiefs Head, Isolation, Mummy, and Storm evoke the grandeur of this high landscape. The same glaciers that sculpted the mountains have widened many valleys in the park. Forested moraines, great heaps of earth and rock debris left behind by melting Ice Age glaciers, rise above lush mountain meadows. The Continental Divide, where stream flows are separated east from west, is crossed at Milner Pass, located at a surprisingly low 10,120 feet elevation.

On November 10, 1978, the President signed the “National Parks and Recreation Act” amending the “National Trails Act of 1968.” The amended legislation addressed the proposed Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (CDNST). This plan was completed in cooperation with other federal agencies, the public and interested private landowners in November 1985. The entire Continental Divide National Scenic Trail corridor is approximately 3,100 miles (4,988 kilometers) long, extending from the Canadian border in Montana to the border of Mexico in New Mexico. About 1,900 miles (3,211 km) of the corridor contains existing trails or primitive routes. Considerable trip planning will be necessary to determine your specific route. The corridor varies from 4,000 feet (1,219 m) to over 13,000 feet (3,962m) elevation above sea level. Existing and proposed trails along the route traverse a variety of privately and publicly owned lands. The variety of situations encountered in the 3,100-mile corridor necessitates different land use and travel regulations and conditions.

In 1997 the route through Rocky Mountain National Park was adjusted and now consists of approximately 30 miles of spectacular scenery. In the park, the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail route does not entirely travel the actual Divide; however the most breathtaking section is above tree line, consisting of high peaks and fragile alpine tundra. Travel is through the montane and sub-alpine life systems at elevations of 8,000 (2,438 m) to 11,500 feet (3,505 m). The route is entirely along existing, well-maintained trails.

Bear Lake Road and the lower portions of Trail Ridge Road are open year-round. The central part of Trail Ridge Road is generally open from late May through mid-October. For current road conditions, please call (970) 586-1206. Old Fall River Road is a steep, one-way, unpaved road. It is typically open from July 4th weekend through late September. It is not suitable for RV’s or low-clearance vehicles, but provides spectacular views for suitable passenger cars, trucks, or SUV’s. Trail Ridge Road rises above where trees can grow; the central eleven miles of this high route traverse open, windswept alpine tundra. This route provides some of the greatest mountain views available from roadside in this nation. Because of the high altitudes and exposure of park roads, they are subject to strong winds and rapid weather changes.

Covering the 48 miles between Estes Park on the park’s east side and Grand Lake on the west, Trail Ridge Road more than lives up to everyone’s expectations and leaves them with an adventure not soon forgotten. Eleven miles of this high highway travel above tree line, the elevation near 11,500 feet where the park’s evergreen forests come to a halt. As it winds across the tundra’s vastness to its high point at 12,183 feet elevation, Trail Ridge Road (U.S. 34) offers visitors thrilling views, wildlife sightings and spectacular alpine wildflower exhibitions, all from the comfort of their car. Whether they begin their journey at Estes Park or Grand Lake, Trail Ridge Road travelers climb some 4,000 feet in a matter of minutes. The changes that occur en route are fascinating to observe. A drive that may begin in montane forests of aspen and ponderosa pine soon enters thick subalpine forests of fir and spruce. At tree line, the last stunted, wind-battered trees yield to the alpine tundra. Up on that windswept alpine world, conditions resemble those found in the Canadian or Alaskan Arctic. It’s normally windy and 20 to 30 degrees colder than Estes Park or Grand Lake. The sun beats down with high- ultraviolet intensity. The vistas, best enjoyed from one of several marked road pullovers, are extravagant, sweeping north to Wyoming, east across the Front Range cities and Great Plains, south and west into the heart of the Rockies. Put aside at least a half day for the trip. Longer, if possible.

Completed in 1921, Old Fall River Road earned the distinction of being the first auto route in Rocky Mountain National Park offering access to the park’s high country. In the minds of many park visitors, the relatively subtle old route remains foremost. Unlike Trail Ridge Road, which is well known for being the highest continuous paved road in the nation, the Old Fall River Road is a much more “motor nature trail.” Primarily gravel, one-way uphill and punctuated by switchbacks, slower-paced, 11-mile-long. The old road quietly leads travelers from Horseshoe Park (a short distance west of the Fall River Entrance) through the park’s wilderness to Fall River Pass, 11,796 feet above sea level. The journey to the alpine world at the top of Old Fall River Road is relaxing. The experience is one to be savored. The posted speed limit is 15 miles per hour, a clear indication that a journey up Old Fall River Road is not for the impatient. The road itself is safe, but narrow and curved. In places, the trees of the montane and subalpine forests are so close that motorists can touch them. Old Fall River Road is ideal for visitors seeking to become intimate with nature.

The road follows a route traveled long ago by Indian hunters, who came to the park area in search of its abundant game. Early in the trip, travelers pass the alluvial fan scoured out by the 1982 Lawn Lake Flood and the site of a labor camp that housed state convicts who worked on the road project. For these men, crime did not pay. The laborers were forced to build the three-mile stretch of road to the scenic respite of Chasm Falls with no more than hand tools at their disposal.

After passing Willow Park, where elk often are seen feeding on the foliage, the road enters the alpine tundra. Awaiting there is the Fall River Cirque, birthplace of glaciers that once worked their way up and down the mountain valleys. The road traverses the headwall of this amphitheater-like formation before joining Trail Ridge Road near the Alpine Visitor Center at Fall River Pass.

Rocky Mountain National Park has over 350 miles of hiking trails. These range from flat lakeside strolls to quite steep peak climbs. If you are new to the park, rangers at the visitor centers and backcountry office can provide advice on trails that are appropriate for different fitness and experience levels. If you have never hiked before or are traveling with children, check out the recommended accessible trails. Ranger-led walks are free and can increase your confidence while you learn more about the park. Rocky Mountain National Park is a great place to discover how traveling by foot brings you closer to nature.

Here are few of the favorite hiking trails. Bear Lake is a 0.6 mile loop and is an excellent interpretive nature trail that circles this popular subalpine lake at the end of Bear Lake Road . Cub Lake is rated moderate and is 2.3 miles one-way. A park favorite, this hike to a mountain pond travels through woods that blaze with color in the fall. Glacier Gorge at Mills Lake is a moderate 2.5 miles hike one-way. The view of Longs Peak and the Keyboard of the Winds from Mills Lake is one of Rocky Mountain ‘s finest. A beautiful stream and pleasant scenery accompany hikers on this popular west side walk of Adams Falls , East Inlet which is only 0.3 miles. Alberta Falls , Glacier George Jct. is 0.6 miles and rated easy. Glacier Creek thunders down this spectacular waterfall that ranks as one of the park’s more popular hiking destinations. Ouzel Falls Wild Basin is a moderate hike that’s 2.7 miles one-way. Watching the falls’ namesake – the ouzel, or dipper – plunge into the rushing stream water entertains hikers at this popular spot. Deer Mountain Deer Ridge Jct. is 3.0 miles one-way and rated moderate. Fine views, pleasant hiking and a picnic on top make this trip a hiking favorite. Summit elevation is 10,013′ (gain of 1083′). Flattop Mountain in Bear Lake is 4.4 miles one-way and rated strenuous. Panoramic views and access to many other great peaks lure hikers up this mountain in the middle of the park. Summit elevation is 12,324′ (gain of 2849′).

Climbing has been a popular activity in and around the area known today as Rocky Mountain National Park since the 1800′s. The wide variety of peaks and granite rock formations in the park provide excellent opportunities for a wide spectrum of climbing including rock climbing, big wall, snow and ice climbing, bouldering and mountaineering. It is a Mecca for local climbers, as well as those from around the world. Opportunities for climbing exist in many areas of the park including Lumpy Ridge and Longs Peak . As the attractiveness of the sport continues to grow, it becomes necessary to balance this recreational activity with responsible management of the Park’s resources. In balancing preservation versus use, the objective is to allow climbing to continue as freely as possible, while minimizing impacts on environmental resources and other park visitors. Respect for the environment and a commitment to Leave No Trace climbing techniques are required of the climbing community to maintain a mutually beneficial partnership.

Climbing opportunities range from bouldering for a few hours to multi-day big wall experiences. Day use in the park requires no special registration or permit. For those climbers planning multi-day climbs, 3.5 or more miles from a trailhead, consisting of 4 or more technical pitches, a bivouac permit is required. Contact the Backcountry Office for information on permit procedures, backcountry conditions, and climbing regulations. A bivouac is a temporary, open-air encampment established between dusk and dawn and is issued only to technical climbers. The permit also provides technical climbers with an advanced position on long, one-day climbs and/or climbs that require an overnight stay on the rock face. All bivouacs require permits. Permits must be in your possession while in the backcountry.

Of course, no mountain climbing in the Rockies would be complete without tackling Longs Peak . At 14,259 feet, Longs Peak towers above all other summits in Rocky Mountain . The flat-topped monarch is seen from almost anywhere in the park. The summertime is the season when thousands hike or climb to Longs’ summit. The Keyhole Route , Longs Peak ‘s only non-technical hiking pathway, is eight miles long one-way with an elevation gain of 4,850 feet. Typically free of ice and snow from mid-July through mid-September, this challenging route was the choice of celebrated British adventurer Isabella Bird in 1873. Bird, who ascended Longs in the company of mountain man “Rocky Mountain Jim” Nugent, was not the first woman to climb Longs Peak . She was preceded to the summit that same year by Anna Dickinson. Both women followed in the footsteps of Addie Alexander and a “Miss Bartlett,” two women who successfully climbed Longs in 1871. Once climbed, or even viewed at a distance from the safety of a car, Longs Peak is not a mountain easily forgotten.

Tragically, there are those who never left Longs Peak alive. A stone gazebo at the Keyhole formation displays a plaque memorializing Agnes Vaille, a well-known climber in the 1920s. The pioneer of numerous mountain routes in the Rockies , Vaille attempted the first winter ascent of the mountain’s precipitous east face in January, 1925. She and her climbing partner, Walter Kiener, succeeded after more than 24 hours of dangerous mountaineering through frigid blizzard conditions. While descending the North Face, Vaille fell 100 feet down the rock cliff, coming to a stop in a snowdrift. Her injuries were minor, but because of fatigue and hypothermia, Vaille was unable walk. Battling frostbite that would cost him toes and fingers, Kiener promptly summoned help. Vaille’s rescuers arrived to find her dead from exposure. Agnes Vaille and about 50 other climbers have lost their lives on Longs Peak . It is not a mountain tolerant of the unprepared. But hiking and technical climbing on the mountain are exciting and rewarding experiences. And they are comparatively safe if common-sense safety principles are applied. Keyhole route hikers should be properly outfitted with clothing, food and water. Use caution when ascending or descending steep areas. Don’t be afraid to back down when bad weather threatens.

Winter brings deep snows to Rocky Mountain National Park west of the Continental Divide. Lighter snowfall on the east side of the park leaves low elevation trails open for hiking. Trails below 8,700 feet (2,700 m) offer diverse opportunities to those who wish to travel without the aid of skis or snow shoes. Before each outing, check with park rangers for local snow conditions and current avalanche hazards. Snow accumulation varies tremendously across the park. The West Side of the park receives moisture-bearing storms first, and has the deepest accumulation of the fluffy white stuff. Often there is sufficient snow cover by late November to cover rocks, logs, and other obstacles, making trails and slopes safe for skiing and snow shoeing. There are no ski lifts in the park, so skiers generally use cross-country equipment that allows them to ascend as well as descend in mountainous terrain. The East Side of the park, the lee side of the mountains, is relatively dry and snow cover is patchy, especially early in the winter. Although the East Side does not really offer beginning cross-country skiing, it does have a selection of trails suitable for the beginning snow-shoer. The strong winds, variable temperatures, and steep slopes of the East Side all contribute to increased avalanche danger. Since snow conditions and avalanche hazard are quite changeable, we encourage you to stop by a visitor center or call the Information Office/Backcountry Office to discuss your plans.

Winter play areas, suitable for sledding, are located at Bear Lake and Hidden Valley . However, as described above, conditions are not always safe. In particular, when snow coverage is limited, rocks and logs may not be safely buried. Heavy use at these areas, particularly on weekends, can result in icy conditions. Condition reports are made daily, and can be obtained at any visitor center. However, it is your responsibility to inspect an area to ensure it is safe before allowing children to sled or play. Snowmobiling is allowed on the West Side along a small portion of Trail Ridge Road . Access is from Grand Lake . There are several suitable winter hiking trails for those who enjoy winter hiking.

Although Rocky Mountain National Park is famous for its steep terrain, accessible trails have been constructed in areas noted for their scenery. These trails are also good choices for visitors interested in adjusting to the park’s higher elevations, groups that include young children, visitors with visual impairment and anyone who finds walking on level, relatively smooth paths attractive. Park trails meeting accessibility specifications include: Coyote Valley Trail, Sprague Lake , Lily Lake , and Bear Lake.

Fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park requires a license from the State of Colorado for all persons 16 years of age or older. Specific park regulations list open and closed waters. Fish populations in high elevation lakes and streams are spotty. The park does not stock, except to reintroduce native species. Fishing activities are balanced with efforts to restore and perpetuate natural aquatic environments and life. Fishing was popular with early settlers and visitors in the Rocky Mountains . In an attempt to improve the sport, many streams and lakes were stocked with non-native species of trout. Waters with no sport fish were also stocked.

The National Park Service stocked non-native Yellowstone cutthroat trout as late as 1969. The only trout fish natives to the park are the greenback cutthroat and the Colorado River cutthroat. These efforts to enhance recreational opportunities in National Park areas were reconsidered in the 1970′s. Since 1975, native greenback cutthroat and Colorado River cutthroat trout are being restored to park waters and exotic or non-native fish are being removed.

Populations of at least four species of trout exist in the park: brown, brook, rainbow, and cutthroat. Some suckers also inhabit the streams and lakes. Only 48 of the 156 lakes in the park have reproducing populations of fish. Cold water temperatures and lack of spawning habitat prevent reproduction in high altitude lakes. Supplemental stocking is done only to restore native species. Fishing success at high altitudes varies, even in waters known to contain fish. Restoration of native species requires that the possession limits be managed carefully. You must be able to identify each species of fish taken.

Hunting is prohibited in Rocky Mountain National Park . Firearms or any projectile weapons are prohibited in the park.

Rocky Mountain National Park contains excellent habitat for birds of prey. Golden eagles, kestrels, turkey vultures, peregrine and prairie falcons, and re-tailed and Cooper’s hawks are especially suited to the park’s craggy rock outcroppings. Raptors, while fierce predators as adults, have a fairly low reproductive rate and a high-risk lifestyle. Golden eagles are highly sensitive to disturbance during their courtship and nesting cycle. Courtship and nest selection begins in February, and the eagles often rotate between several established nest sites in an area. Once the nest has been established, the eagles become committed to the nest and eggs, and disturbance is not as critical as during courtship. However, climbers near the nest site will cause the incubating eagle to leave the nest, exposing the eggs and the young to stress. Disturbance prior to fledging may cause the young birds to fall from the nest to their deaths. In order for wildlife managers to gather information and ensure that raptors can nest undisturbed, specific areas within the park are closed temporarily to public use during nesting season. Initial closures occur in March and April, when raptors return to the region and scout for nesting sites. Areas containing general habitat preferred by raptors are closed during this time. Once raptors have selected nesting spots, the initial closures are lifted or adjusted. The specific areas which raptors choose for nesting sites remain closed.

Many of the species of the park are unique to the mountainous habitats – aspen, ponderosa pine, high elevation willow, spruce/fir and alpine tundra – found in the Southern Rocky Mountains . Specialty species include White-tailed Ptarmigan, Blue Grouse, Gray Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Williamson’s Sapsucker, Three-toed Woodpecker, Mountain Chickadee, Pygmy Nuthatch, American Dipper, Western Tanager, Pine Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, Townsend’s Solitare, Wilson’s, MacGillivray’s and Virginia’s Warblers, Brown-capped Rosy Finch, Black Swift and Northern Pygmy Owl. In 2000, Rocky Mountain National Park was designated as a Global Important Bird Area. This designation recognizes the vital role of the park in the perpetuation of bird species.

The first step in planning your backcountry trip is to obtain a Rocky Mountain National Park topographical map to choose your destination and route. Use the guide map, or the Trails Illustrated Topographic Map, to select backcountry/wilderness campsites. As you plan your trip, take into consideration the physical condition of the least experienced member of your party, and the distance and elevation gain from the trailhead to your destination. Rocky Mountain National Park is a high elevation park. If you live at sea level, it will take you several days to become acclimated to this elevation. Most trails begin above 7,000 feet (2,000 meters) and climb abruptly higher. If you are not acclimated, you can get high altitude sickness. Rangers recommend that you spend at least one night at 7,000 or 8,000 feet (2,000 or 2,500 meters) prior to setting out. This will allow your body to begin to adjust to the elevation.

There are four distinct seasons. November through March is cold and windy H –20 – 30; L — 10 – 20. Hold onto your hat during the snowy winter months when winds in the lowlands hit 60 miles per hour and wind-monitoring equipment in the highlands gets blown away. Here, at elevation above 11,200′, climatic conditions bear some similarity to far northern Alaska . April and May have quite variable weather conditions with possible snow storms. June through August have typical mountain summer conditions. Sunny summer mornings frequently give rise to formidable afternoon thunderstorms. Summer days in July and August often reach the 70′s or 80′s and drop into the 40′s at night. All temperatures given are in Fahrenheit. Temperatures are often moderate at elevations below 9,400′ (2,865 m). At higher points, like Bear Lake , Trail Ridge Road , or Longs Peak , it may snow even in July. September through October is quite variable with possible snow storms. A wide variation between day and nighttime temperatures is also typical of mountain weather.

The Continental Divide runs northwest to southeast through the center of the park atop the high peaks. This accounts for two distinct climate patterns – one typical of the east side near Estes Park and the other associated with the Grand Lake area on the park’s west side. Lower elevations on the east slope of Rocky Mountain National Park are usually free of deep snow. At higher elevations, arctic conditions prevail. Sudden blizzards, high winds, and deep snow pack are common. The west side of the park experiences more snow, less wind, and clear cold days during December, January, February and March.

Spring comes to the montain environs – elevations 8,000′ to 9,500′ (2,438 – 2,895 m) – in late April, although snowfall is not uncommon at this time of year. Unpredictable weather alternates between warm and cold, wet and dry. In June, spring is just reaching the subalpine country – 9,500′ to 11,500′ (2,895 – 3,505 m), while summer is on the plains. Wildflowers begin blooming at lower elevations in late April or early May. Many trails are still snow-covered. In late May, Trail Ridge Road opens for the season.

During the summer, on the alpine tundra — 11,500′ to 13,000′ (3,505 – 3,962 m) wildflowers bloom from late June to early August. Afternoon thunderstorms and wind are normal patterns. Always be prepared for temperature drops of 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit. Fall starts in September and runs through November. September and October bring clear, crisp air, blue skies, and generally dry weather. An early snowstorm may occur. Aspen leaves start changing colors in mid-September. Elk mating season begins in September and continues through most of October. Trail Ridge Road usually closes for the winter by mid-October.

Should you decide to travel the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail through the park for a few hours or several days, here are a few considerations: The air is thin at these high altitudes between 10,500 feet (3,200 km) and 13,000 feet (3,962 km). Travel is slow and strenuous. Lightning danger accompanies early afternoon thunderstorms. Travel above tree line should be accomplished early in the day. Winter lasts about nine months on the Divide, from September through May. Arctic conditions prevail making travel extremely hazardous, if not impossible, during this season. Horses and llamas have the right-of-way. Step off the trail on the downhill side and stand quietly until the stock passes. Always practice Leave No Trace hiking and camping skills. A backcountry permit is required in Rocky Mountain National Park for any overnight trips. The permits can be obtained by writing to Rocky Mountain National Park , Backcountry Office, Estes Park , Colorado 80517-8397 or call 970.586.1242. A displayed “dash tag” is required for overnight parking. During the busy summer months, if you have a permit reservation, you must pick up the permit by 10 AM on the first day of your planned backcountry/wilderness stay; otherwise, the permit will be cancelled in its entirety, and given to other backpackers. If you know you will not be using your permit, please cancel your reservation as soon as possible. If you end a trip early, notify a ranger to cancel the permit, so other backpackers may take your place.

Be sure to use this backpacking checklist to help you remember to travel equipped and safe. Map of the area, compass, extra food and water, water bottle (at least 1 quart per person), collapsible water container, water filtering system, extra layered clothing, including rain gear, storm gear, (it’s best not to use cotton in winter as a layer as it tends to stay wet and cold when wet), sunglasses, sunscreen, hat, pocketknife or multipurpose tool, matches in a waterproof container, a candle or other fire starter, a whistle or signal mirror, flashlight with extra batteries and bulb, space blanket for day hike and sleeping bag and mat for overnight trips, first aid kit, tent with rain fly, repair kit, campstove, fuel, cooking equipment, garbage bags to pack out your trash or keep items dry, good hiking boots, backpack, a small garden trowel or lightweight scoop for digging, and ground sheet. Be aware that mountain weather changes very quickly. Within just a few hours, bright sunny skies may give way to raging storms. High winds often occur in the high country. Wind chill accelerates the lowering of body temperature which can result in hypothermia. Hypothermia is the lowering of the body’s core temperature which can be life threatening. It can occur any time of year. Dress warm and stay dry. Proper clothing is your first line of defense against cold. Dress in layers so you can regulate your temperature by bundling up, or peeling down. Most high country overnight trips require gear suitable for -35 degrees or below. It is your responsibility to know and follow all backcountry rules and regulations.

Plan ahead and prepare to have a safe and hopefully uneventful backpacking trip. When you visit the park, discuss your plans with a ranger. Find out whether snow has melted from the trails and destination where you wish to hike. Know and obey the regulations and special concerns for the area you’ll visit. Be physically and mentally ready for your trip. Know the ability of every member of you group. Be informed of current weather conditions and other area information. Know and accept risks associated with backcountry experiences. Take responsibility for yourself and your group. Always leave an itinerary with someone at home and when they should expect you back. Make sure you remember to notify them when you return safely. Choose proper equipment and clothing in subdued colors. Plan your meals and repackage food into reusable containers. Travel and camp on durable surfaces. Water sources are from lakes and streams and should be treated or boiled before drinking for Giardia.

There are pit toilets at many backcountry sites. Use them. If there are no pit toilets nearby, urinate or defecate at least 200 feet (75 adult paces) from water, camp, or trails. Urinate in rocky places that won’t be damaged by wildlife who dig for salts and minerals found in urine. Deposit human waste in cat holes dug 6-8 inches deep. Cover and disguise the cat hole when finished, or pack out solid waste. Use toilet paper sparingly and pack it out along with sanitary napkins, and tampons in an airtight container. Consider using natural toilet paper such as a smooth rock or soft pinecone. Wash your dishes and yourself at least 200 feet (75 adult paces) from water sources, and use small amounts, if any, of biodegradable soap. Scatter strained dishwater. Strain food scraps from wash water and pack them out. Keep all scented items out of your tent including soap, deodorant, and toothpaste. Store them with you food. Never take food in the sleeping area. Separate where you eat from where you sleep.

Do not plan to build a fire. Cook meals with a portable stove. Fires are comforting and aesthetically pleasing, but they cause considerable impact on the backcountry. Wood is better used for habitat for wild creatures than as fuel for campers whose lives do not depend upon forest resources. Campfires have potential to get out of control if not well tended. For these reasons, fires are allowed in only a few designated campsites which have metal fire rings.

As you plan your hike, keep in mind that park elevations range from 7,500 to over 12,000 feet. Even very fit individuals coming from lower elevations may experience altitude problems. Symptoms include headaches, shortness of breath, insomnia, and rapid heartbeat. After a few days your body will have made some physiological adjustments to higher elevations, but full acclimation may take a week. To minimize symptoms drink plenty of fluids, avoid alcohol, don’t skip meals, and get plenty of rest. Although you may not feel thirsty, the “thinner” air at high elevations actually results in increased water evaporation from your lungs. Again, drinking extra water may prevent a bad headache or other altitude symptoms. Ultraviolet light is stronger in the mountains because there is less atmosphere for the sunlight to pass through. Wear sunscreen, a hat, sun glasses, and consider covering up with a long sleeved shirt if you are out in the sun for extended periods.

Winter in the park is an inviting yet silently dangerous time for hikers. The season brings short days with strong winds, low temperatures, and rapidly changing weather. Be prepared for these conditions by carrying extra clothing for layering, as well as water and high energy food. Prevent frostbite by keeping your extremities and face well protected. Watch for the first warning signs of frostbite–a tingling, then numbing feeling. Avoid hiking in deep snow which is quickly fatiguing and creates hazardous holes for skiers and snowshoers who follow. When conditions are icy, use instep crampons or ski poles for extra safety. If you are camping in the winter and the designated site has more than 4″ of snow, camp at least 200′ (70 adult steps) away from the site. Do not camp in the site. Party size is limited to 12 people.

Streams, lakes and waterfalls in winter can be deceptively dangerous. Keep your distance. In winter, ice is thinner near inlets and outlets and over fast moving water. Stay back from steep snow slopes and cornices. Snow avalanche danger is often high. Ask a ranger about current avalanche potential. Consider attending a formal avalanche training session before beginning your trip. Avalanches are common and occur regularly during the winter and early spring in Rocky Mountain National Park . Avoid skiing or snowshoeing in gullies, on unforested slopes and under snow cornices where avalanches could occur. Open slopes of 30 to 45 degree can be loaded with dangerous masses of snow, easily triggered by the presence of one or more backcountry travelers. Know how to recognize dangerous snow conditions. Be aware of changing weather that may influence avalanche conditions. Remember, avalanche danger increases during and after snow storms as well as after heavy wind storms.

Always wear an electronic transceiver inside your jacket when traversing avalanche terrain and know how to use it. If you are caught in an avalanche, make swimming motions and try to stay on top of the snow. Discard all equipment and try to remain calm. Carrying the following essential items will increase your group’s chances of surviving an avalanche: transceivers, portable shovels, probes, ski poles and an avalanche cord. Tragic incidents involving avalanches may be avoided using these precautions.

Pets are allowed in campgrounds, picnic areas and along road sides, but not on any park trails. Pets cannot be left in cars unattended. Pets are prohibited in backcountry areas of Rocky Mountain National Park . If you bring a pet on the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, an alternate route to bypass the park (north to south) is to travel along County Road 491 and U.S. Highway 34 past Grand Lake to the Arapaho Bay Road rejoining the actual route south of the park. Pets are allowed along park roads and must be on a leash and under physical control at all times. Dogs and cats are considered to be unnatural predators in a natural environment. Pets may harass and even kill wildlife, carry disease and intrude on other park visitors’ experiences. Pets are also prey for larger carnivores like mountain lions and coyote packs.

Driving in the mountains provides many challenges. Steep roadways combined with less oxygen at higher altitudes can place additional demands on any vehicle. By following a few guidelines, you can help your car stay healthy at the park’s higher altitudes: Use lower gears while traveling downhill. You can slow down your car without wearing down the brakes. If you smell your brakes, pull over, let them cool off and test them before proceeding. Do not drive if the brakes are not working properly. If the vehicle is losing power while traveling uphill, use a lower gear to help prevent power loss. After stopping, let your car’s engine run a minute before turning off the engine. Do not use air conditioning. It contributes to power loss. If the vehicle is losing power, has a rough-running engine or will not start, it may be experiencing vapor lock. If you suspect your vehicle has vapor lock, let it sit for 30 minutes. Loosen the gas cap and open the hood. If possible, remove the air filter. Try restarting the engine after 30 minutes. If your engine dies, try to pull into a turnoff. There are no service stations in the park. If you need towing or road service, notify the park by using an emergency phone or getting a message to a ranger station or visitor center. Towing and road service are available from Estes Park or Grand Lake . Slower drivers should use the park’s pullouts to let other vehicles pass.

With its long history of climbing activity, RMNP and the surrounding area have long been known for a strong traditional climbing ethic and concern for the resource by its users. The local climbing community does not accept practices such as placing bolts on existing routes or establishing new bolt-intensive routes and chipping or gluing new holds. Clean-climbing techniques are generally the norm. It is incumbent on the local climbing community, along with the Park, to inform and educate climbers new to the area of this fact for the ultimate protection and maintained access to climbing areas. Chipping and drilling holds destroys the rock face. Avoid changing the rock to make the route easier. Accept nature on its terms. Use removable protection and natural anchors whenever practical. Bolts and pitons permanently change the rock and placing them is a serious endeavor. Motorized drills are prohibited. Be courteous to other park users. Help educate non-climbers about your activity to reduce social impacts. Inform other climbers of Leave No Trace techniques.

It is critical that climbers understand the impact that human feet have on the ground and on the rock. Because many climbing areas are remote from established trails and different routes on a rock may start anywhere along the base, climbers can have enormous effects on vegetation. A direct access route straight up or down a hillside may uproot plants which have taken centuries to become established. Once erosion has begun in remote areas, it is very difficult to control. The access trails used to approach climbs, even if no formal trail exists, can be carefully chosen to avoid the heavy impact of the human foot. Rocky slopes will withstand foot traffic far better than delicate canyon bottoms, and will not present erosion problems as quickly. Where rock is not available, thoughtfully traversing slopes with minimum impact in mind can help protect natural areas. Often climbers can work with the local resource managers to develop access which is not damaging to the environment. As more people flock to these special places, the only way to avoid conflict with one another is to respect others as we respect the environment. For climbers, this may mean dressing in earth tone colors, using voice signals only as needed for safe climbing, and recognizing that our human presence alone may impact other users and the environment.

Take personal responsibility for the care of our fragile resources. To accomplish this goal, please adopt this code of ethics for low impact climbing: Accept responsibility for yourself and others. Pack out all litter. Bury human waste away from water and high use areas or pack it out. Use existing access trails to approach climbs. Avoid short-cutting trails. The adaptations for survival of drying winds and cold may make tundra vegetation seem very hardy, but in some respects the tundra is very fragile. Repeated footsteps often destroy tundra plants, leaving exposed soil to blow away, and recovery may take hundreds of years. Know and respect historic and environmentally sensitive areas. Be considerate of wildlife and other users. Leave the rock and its environs in its natural condition. Avoid placing permanent protection. Renew your commitment to leaving no trace. Know and abide by local regulations.

For safety considerations, climbers are encouraged to notify family or friends on route selections and contact them at the completion of any climb. Hazards in the form of violent weather (lightning, wind, snow, and rainstorms), snowfields, avalanches (even in summer), waterfalls, rivers, and the dangers associated with climbing, cause injuries every year and can ruin a climb. Be responsible. Always let a friend know your plans. You are responsible for notifying someone when you return. National Park Service rangers will not start a search until after a climber is reported overdue. Helmets are advised for climbing. Be prepared with appropriate gear: Sleeping bag/tent with appropriate seasonal rating, snow sealed or plastic boots, storm gear, gaiters, cap, gloves etc., sunglasses (check UV/IR), sunscreen (check SPF), topographical map/compass, supplies to purify all water, rope for hanging all food. 40′ of rope & 2 stuff sacks, camp stove, fuel, the “Essentials”, the signed permit, dash tag required for each vehicle at the trailhead, and snowshoes or skis seasonally.

If you plan to bivouac, you must obtain a bivy permit. You can make reservations as described above for backcountry permits. The following rules apply for bivouacs: You may have no more than 4 people in your party. All in the party must climb. You must bivy in the area specificied on your permit.
Bivys must be on rock or snow. Bivys must be set up at dusk and taken down by dawn. No tents or structures are permitted. Fires are not allowed.
Helmets are advised for climbing. No more than 3 consecutive nights in 1 bivy area. For backcountry permits you may obtain day-of-trip permits in person year round. You may make reservations by mail or in person anytime after March 1 for a permit for that calendar year. You may only make reservations by phone from March 1 to May 15 and anytime after October 1 for a permit for that calendar year.

A climb must be 4 or more pitches, roped, technical climbing. A site must be off all vegetation. You must sleep on rock or snow. No tents are allowed. You may use a ground cloth. Pets, weapons, & vehicles are not allowed. You must respect and know Raptor Protections Closures. You must bivy in the area specified on your permit. Bevies must be broken down by sunrise.

Plague is endemic to the Park and there have been outbreaks here in the past. This disease is transmitted by fleas from infected rodents, especially ground squirrels. Do not feed or approach ground squirrels or other small mammals. Symptoms of bubonic plague include swollen lymph nodes and fever, usually developing 1 to 6 days after exposure. Pneumonic plague may develop as the lungs become infected and is especially dangerous because it may easily be spread by coughing. Untreated bubonic plague is fatal in about 50 percent of the cases.

Colorado Tick Fever is also endemic to the Park and may be carried by one-third of the tick population here. Symptoms include malaise and high fever. This disease may go into brief remission, followed by a second bout of fever lasting for several days. Fever will usually be evident 4 to 6 days after exposure. The longer a tick stays attached to a person, the greater likelihood for the transmission of any diseases which it may carry. Ticks should be removed carefully, making sure that all of the mouth parts are removed from the bite. Do not squeeze the tick with bare hands so hard as to rupture the tick or drive more toxins into your body.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is another disease which is endemic to the Park and usually spread through the bite of an infected tick. It is less frequent than Colorado Tick Fever; however, untreated it is fatal in 15-20 percent of cases. High fever, malaise, headache, chills and muscle pain may persist for 2 to 3 weeks. The incubation period is usually 3 to 14 days. About 50 percent of the cases develop a rash of red spots starting on the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet.

Hantavirus is another reason for not feeding small mammals. No known cases of hantavirus have been reported in this area. However, this disease has killed several people in the southwest corner of Colorado . This disease is spread from the feces and urine of infected rodents, especially the deer mouse. Deer mice are prevalent in the Park and our populations do carry the disease. Approximately 20 percent of the deer mice tested positive for hantavirus in 1994.

Current Weather

Enjoy wildlife at a distance; remember that the animals are wild and therefore unpredictable. Never feed wildlife. Feeding junk food to wildlife reduces its ability to survive the long mountain winter. When they panhandle by roadsides, animals fall easy prey to automobiles. As they become habituated to humans and lose their natural fear, the animals become aggressive and may be destroyed. Protect wildlife, hang your food and scented items securely. Minimize noise and avoid sensitive habitat.

Drive slowly. Watch for animals crossing the road. Deer and elk are seldom alone. If you see one animal, look for others that may follow.

Deer, bighorn sheep, porcupines, and other animals are attracted by sweat and urine. These animals can destroy campsites, clothes, boots, and camping gear in search for salt. Hang your gear and use proper backcountry/wilderness sanitation. There are also black bears, but no grizzlies. Use bear proof containers for food and scented items or hang your stuff at least 10 feet (3 meters) above the ground and 4 horizontal feet (1.5 meters) from the tree trunk. Although lion attacks are rare, and bear attacks are even rarer, they are possible, as is injury from any wild animal. Please report all unusual wildlife sightings, trail conditions, or incidents to a ranger. See the Wildlife Precautions page for further information.

Bicycle or Motor Cycle fees are $10.00 per person/ 7 days.
Passenger Cars are $20.00/ 7 days or $35.00 Rocky Mountain National Park annual pass.
The camping fees are $20.00/night during the regular season and $14.00/night for off-season.

There are five drive-in campgrounds and one drive-in group camping area in the park, besides backcountry camping. Two campgrounds, Moraine Park and Glacier Basin, take reservations, as does the group-camping area. Other park campgrounds are first-come, first-served, and fill on most summer days. None of the campgrounds have electric, water, or sewer hookups at the camping sites. Stay limits of seven nights are in place from June 1 through September 30. The limits extend to an additional 14 nights at the year-round campgrounds the rest of the year. At all campgrounds two tents or one vehicle and one camp unit (i.e., tent, RV, or trailer/tow vehicle) per site. During July and most of August, expect the campgrounds to fill every day by early afternoon. In June and September, park campgrounds tend to fill on the weekends. Golden Age & Golden Access Passport holders receive a 50% discount on camping fees.

Aspenglen is open seasonally and the campground has 54 campsites situated along Fall River just inside the Fall River Entrance on US Rt. 34, 5 miles west of the town of Estes Park. Glacier Basin is also a seasonal campground located 7 miles west of the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center off of the Bear Lake Rd. Most sites are in a lodgepole pine forest. Glacier Creek runs near the campground. Good hiking trails are easily accessed from the campground. Reservations are recommended for all camp sites. Call 1-800-365-2267 for further information. Longs Peak is open year round. Nestled near the trailhead to Longs Peak, the campground’s 26 sites are for tents only on a first come/first served basis. During July and August, most campers rise early to hike the Longs Peak Trail. During the fall, winter, and spring, when no water is available, the fee is $14. There is a seven night stay limit during the summer; fourteen nights during the winter. Moraine Park is open all year. It is located off of the Bear Lake Rd., 2 1/2 miles from the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center . Sites are mostly in a ponderosa pine forest and look out over Moraine Park, a large meadow area with the Big Thompson River flowing through. Reservations are accepted for camping here from January 5, 2005 to September 30, 2005. Reservations are recommended. Timber Creek campground is open throughout the year. The 98 campsites are set on high ground looking out over the Kawuneeche Valley and the Colorado River. Fishing and hiking are readily accessible. Moose regularly visit the valley, along with elk and mule deer.

There are numerous designated areas for backcountry camping allowing for ample adventure travel. They are North Fork Area, East Inlet Area, Mummy Range Area, North Inlet Area, Gorge Lakes Area, Tonahutu Area, Bear Lake Area, Timber Lake Area, Longs Peak Area, Never Summer Range Area, Wild Basin Area, and Hague Creek Area. Individual parties consist of 1 to 7 people. Each party is assigned 1 campsite. Each camping area has 1 to 6 sites. We recommend you travel in small parties because fewer people per site leaves less impact on Rocky’s fragile resources. Groups consist of 8 to 12 people. They must camp at special group sites. Due to impacts caused by group interaction in and between sites (site spread, social trails etc.) groups over 7 persons may not camp in neighboring individual sites but must use group sites or split up and camp at least one mile apart. Between June and September, campers may stay in the backcountry/wilderness for a maximum of 7 nights and no more than 3 consecutive nights in 1 camping area. Between October and May, campers may stay in the backcountry/ wilderness for a maximum of 14 nights with no more than a total of 21 nights per year.

Plan to be below tree line during the afternoon when thunder and lightning storms most often occur. Pets, weapons, and vehicles (including mountain bikes) are not allowed in the backcountry/wilderness. Don’t forget insect repellent to fend off mosquitoes. Check frequently for ticks. Be considerate of others and the resource. Set a pace that is comfortable for all members of your party.

Stay on the trail and hike single-file. Resist the temptation to walk off the trail when it is muddy. Mud will flake off your boots much sooner than trampled plants will grow back. Never short-cut switchbacks. Never leave food unattended. Properly store your food. When you pause to rest, sit on rocks or clearings rather than on vegetation. When you arrive at your destination, you will see trail signs that show where to find campsites. Pitch your tent in designated areas. Camp must be established on designated tent pads where provided or within 15′ of the metal arrowhead that marks the designated site. Don’t pitch your tent on undisturbed vegetation, and never dig or trench around a tent. Perhaps the best method to secure your food and scented items is to carry and use a portable food storage container. Refrain from packing greasy, smelly foods into the backcountry/ wilderness.

Cross-country areas are the least traveled and least accessible places in Rocky Mountain National Park. Stocks are not permitted to travel in these areas. Those who travel here must be skilled with a map and compass and must be proficient at Leave No Trace camping and hiking techniques. Cross-country areas are remote areas characterized by rugged terrain, dense forests, icy streams, and wet bogs. These areas are below tree line. Fires are not allowed. There are no developed campsites, no developed trails, and no pit toilets. The following regulations and guidelines, in addition to those listed above, apply to cross-country area campers. Have no more than 7 people in your party.

Plan more hiking time to get to your destination than if you were on a trail.

And carry a portable stove for cooking. When you choose a campsite, stay within the boundaries of the cross-country area. Camp at least 70 adult steps (200 feet/60 meters) away from any water source. Be out of sight and sound of any other party. Move your camp at least 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) each day.

Stay no more than 2 nights in 1 cross-country area.

Sprague Lake Accessible Camp is a special wheelchair accessible backcountry campsite near Sprague Lake. It is half a mile (1 kilometer) from the trailhead to the campsite. This camp accommodates 12 campers including a maximum of 6 wheelchair users. If you are hearing or sight impaired and have a certified assistance dog, your dog may accompany you to this or any other campsite or trails in Rocky Mountain National Park.

There are special stock campsites and rules for overnight camping with stock. (Horses, Mules, Burros, Llamas) Some trails are closed to stock use. Camp must be established in “stock camps” only. Party size is limited to 6 people and 8 stocks at individual sites. Party size is limited to 12 people and 16 stocks at group stock sites. Use stoves only. Fires prohibited, unless staying in a wood fire site with visible metal fire ring (using dead and down wood only). Grazing is prohibited. Carry complete feed. Loose herding is prohibited. Tie stock to hitch racks. Call 970.586.1206, or 970.586.1242 for information about packing with stock. Ask for the Horse and Pack Animals brochure.

The Denver International Airport is the closest airport.

By car, the park can be found via U.S. routes 34, 36 from the east through Estes Park, Colorado and from I-70 and U.S. Rt. 40. to U.S. Rt.34 through Granby and Grand Lake.
Amtrak goes to Granby, and then you can take a private shuttle service to the park.

Private transportation is needed inside the park, except for a shuttle bus in the Moraine Park and Bear Lake areas during the peak summer season – June through Labor Day.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Rocky Mountain National Park:

By Car:

Boulder, CO – 41.12 miles

Denver, CO – 73.09 miles

Buckingham, CO – 53.18 miles

Colorado Springs, CO – 142.17 miles

Laramie, WY – 135.01 miles

By Plane

Denver International Airport – 79.83 miles

Rocky Mountain National Park , 1000 Highway 36, Estes Park , CO 80517-8397
Visitor Information 970-586-1206
Visitor Information Recorded Message 970-586-1333
Visitor Information for the Hearing Impaired (TDD) 970-586-1319
Backcountry 970-586-1242
Campground Reservations 800-365-2267
By Fax 970-586-1256

Map

Sequoia and Kings Canyon have a variety of visitor centers, nature centers, and information and wilderness permit stations. Not all are open year-round.

The parks are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, weather permitting. Highest visitation is in July & August. It can be difficult to find a campsite at popular campgrounds on summer Saturdays. Because of the extreme elevation range in the parks, conditions vary greatly from area to area and day to day.

The Foothills Visitor Center is open daily. They are located on the Generals Highway, 1 mile from Sequoia Park entrance at Highway 198. The Foothills visitor center focuses on the Sierran foothills which is the most biologically diverse area of the parks. The Crystal Cave tour tickets are sold here until 3:45pm during the summer only; tickets are not sold at the cave. Books, maps, and educational materials are also for sale here. Local wilderness permits are also available at this visitor center. Accessible restrooms, pay phones and first aid is also available for your convenience. Please call for hours of operation: 1-559-565-3135

The Giant Forest Museum is open daily. The museum location is housed in the historic market building, in the Giant Forest sequoia grove. It is 16 miles from Sequoia Park’s entrance at Highway 198. This museum offers an in-depth look at the incredible giant sequoias of Giant Forest, and what we have learned about how to protect them. There gift shop sells books, maps, & educational items. There are fully-accessible restrooms, trails, pay phones and first aid. During the summer the museum is a stop for the new park shuttle. Please call for hours of operation: 1-559-565-4480

Beetle Rock Family Nature Center in Giant Forest is open during the summer. They are located across from the Giant Forest Museum. There is fun for all ages. Call for hours of operation and programs: 1-559-565-4480

The Lodgepole Visitor Center is open early spring through late fall. They may be open on the weekends in winter. During the summer the visitor center is a stop for the new park shuttle. They are located on Lodgepole Road off the Generals Highway. Here you can explore the natural and human history of the southern Sierra Nevada. Crystal Cave tour tickets are sold here until 3:30pm. Local wilderness permits are issued here as well. Bear canisters are also for sale or rent. Accessible restrooms, pay phones and first aid are also available. Please call for hours of operation: 1-559-565-4436

The Mineral King Ranger Station is open late during the month of May and early in September. They are located on Generals Highway, but on the Mineral King Road, 24 miles up this narrow, winding road from Highway 198 in Three Rivers (no RVs, buses, or trailers, please). The road closes from October 31 to late May. When the station is not open, wilderness permits are available on the porch. This small station houses some exhibits on Mineral King’s human and natural history. Books, maps, and educational items and bear canisters are sold here. Pay phones are located in the nearby campgrounds. Please call for hours of operation: 1-559-565-3768

Spring is a moveable feast here, beginning in late January or early February in the lower Foothills and lasting until July in the High Sierra. The road to Cedar Grove usually opens in mid-April and the Mineral King Road by Memorial Day—weather permitting. For information call 1-559-565-3341.

Summer generally runs from late June to early September. Activities and temperatures peak in this season. All park areas, roads, and facilities are usually open (subject to current conditions). Ranger-led nature programs and Crystal Cave tours are offered daily.

Fall commonly lasts from mid-September through November. Autumn is a great time to visit the parks. The weather may bring sudden storms and deliver snow as low as the sequoia groves. A few facilities start to close but many remain open.

Winter lasts from November until mid-April. This is a great time to explore lower elevations in the parks and the sequoia groves are covered in snow. A few campgrounds are open. The roads to Cedar Grove and Mineral King are closed. The General’s Highway is open but subject to brief closures after winter storms for plowing. For information call 1-559-565-3341. Keep tire chains, a sleeping bag, water and emergency food with you in your car.

Kings Canyon Visitor Center in Grant Grove is open daily. Call for hours of operation: 1-559-565-4307. They are located in Grant Grove Village, three miles east from the Big Stump park entrance on Highway 180. There are new exhibits that focus on the Kings Canyon, the High Sierra and the giant sequoia (English/Spanish text). There is also a new 15-minute movie on Kings Canyon National Park (English and Spanish subtitles available). They also sell books, maps, & educational materials for sale. Local wilderness permits are issued here. There are also accessible restrooms, pay phone and first aid.

Cedar Grove Visitor Center is open late June through early September.
Please call for hours of operation: 1-559-565-3793. They are located in Cedar Grove Village next to Sentinel Campground, on the floor of the Kings Canyon. Please note; (The road into the canyon closes mid-November to mid-April)

Spring is a moveable feast here, beginning in late January or early February in the lower Foothills and lasting until July in the High Sierra. The road to Cedar Grove usually opens in mid-April and the Mineral King Road by Memorial Day—weather permitting. For information call 1-559-565-3341.

Summer generally runs from late June to early September. Activities and temperatures peak in this season. All park areas, roads, and facilities are usually open (subject to current conditions). Ranger-led nature programs and Crystal Cave tours are offered daily.

Fall commonly lasts from mid-September through November. Autumn is a great time to visit the parks. The weather may bring sudden storms and deliver snow as low as the sequoia groves. A few facilities start to close but many remain open.

Winter lasts from November until mid-April. This is a great time to explore lower elevations in the parks and the sequoia groves are covered in snow. A few campgrounds are open. The roads to Cedar Grove and Mineral King are closed. The General’s Highway is open but subject to brief closures after winter storms for plowing. For information call 1-559-565-3341. Keep tire chains, a sleeping bag, water and emergency food with you in your car.

Sequoia is the second-oldest national park in the United States. It was established in1890 to protect the Big Trees in Giant Forest, including the General Sherman Tree, the world’s largest living thing. Sequoia also contains the Mineral King Valley and Mt. Whitney, the highest mountain in the U.S. outside of Alaska. In volume of total wood, the giant sequoia stands alone as the largest living thing on Earth. Its nearly conical trunk, like a club, not a walking stick, shows why. At least one tree species lives longer, one has a greater diameter, three grow tall, but none is larger. The General Sherman tree is between 2,300 and 2,700 years old. Its largest branch is almost seven feet in diameter. Each year the General Sherman adds enough wood growth to make a 60-foot-tall tree of usual proportions. The oldest known sequoia lived more than 3200 years. Since they continue to grow each year, they achieve impressive sizes.

The General Grant Tree is a living memorial to the men and women of the United States who have given their lives in service to their country. It was proclaimed a National Shrine on March 29, 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The official dedication was made that year on Veterans Day, November 11, by the president’s personal representative, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. Each year during the Christmas ceremony, park rangers place a large wreath at the base of the Grant Tree, remembering those who gave their lives.

Awe-inspiring giant sequoia trees are among the largest living things on earth, but the opportunity to experience them is rare. Approximately 75 groves exist, and only along the southern Sierra’s western slope on moist sites between about 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation. Giant Forest, one of the largest groves, was saved from logging by the establishment of Sequoia National Park in 1890. However, national park status did not fully protect the big trees. The road that brought visitors to Giant Forest also brought camping, cabins, commercial development, and congestion. The impacts of this development, both to the giant sequoia ecosystem and to the quality of visitor experience, conflicted with the National Park Service. They mandated to conserve park resources and values and leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations.

After a century of human use and development, the forest ecosystem in Giant Forest had changed in several ways. Paved roads, trails, and parking lots changed drainage patterns, allowing water to concentrate and create erosion gullies. Vehicle and foot travel compressed the soil and quickly broke down needles and twigs on the soil surface, depleting the topsoil of organic matter. Groups of mature trees were cleared for buildings and parking lots. Fire, on which giant sequoias depend for regeneration, could not be used in Giant Forest Village. There were very few grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, or tree seedlings in the Village because of lack of fire and human trampling.

Humans have traveled or lived in the Southern Sierra for at least 7,000 years. In the higher mountains, and also down into the western foothills, lived hunters and gatherers remembered today as the Monache or Western Mono. West of the Monache in the lowest foothills and also across the expanses of the Great Central Valley was a second group, the Yokuts.

In the late 1700s and early 1800s, Spanish began exploring the edge of the Sierras. Soon afterwards, trappers, sheepherders, miners, and loggers poured into the Sierras seeking to exploit whatever the mountains had to offer. By the end of the 19th century, San Joaquin Valley communities increasingly looked to the Sierras for water and recreation. In the struggle between all these competing interests, two national parks were born that became what we know today as Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Today the parks together protect 265 Native American archeological sites and 69 historic sites.

In native times, the region now included in Sequoia National Park was given over to two distinctive Indian groups, the Western Mono and the Tubatulabal. The Balwisha division of the Shoshonean-speaking Western Mono inhabited the upper Kaweah River drainage, including the part which lies in the western portion of the park. The Western Mono occurred also to the north of the park, occupying the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains between their summit and western foothills. The eastern portion of Sequoia park, that is, the Kern River drainage, falls in the territory of the Shoshonean-speaking Tubatulabal or Pitanisha, who are, like the Western Mono, mountain people, who occupied the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains west of their summit.

East of the water-shed of the Sierra is a third Shoshonean-speaking group, the Owens Valley Paiute (formerly called the Eastern Mono.). Their territory adjoins that of the Western Mono and Tubatulabal at the summit of the Sierra, that is, at the eastern boundary of Sequoia Park, but also includes a large portion of eastern California to the north. South and east of the Western Mono were the Yokuts, a large group of people distributed mainly in the flat San Joaquin Valley but locally running up slightly into the Sierra foothills, and speaking a language which bears no relation to Shoshonean, but which belongs to the great west coast stock, the Penutian.

Sequoia National Park, then, were permanently occupied in its western half by the Balwisha group of the Western Mono, while its eastern half was summer hunting territory of the Tubatulabal. Individuals from the Owens Valley Paiute to the east and the Yokuts to the west undoubtedly visited the country from time to time. Also, many specimens of Owens Valley or San Joaquin Valley origin were traded through this region by the several Indian trails that crossed the Sierra in this latitude. But a collection of Yokuts specimens cannot be said to characterize the industry of these mountain people any more than would a collection of Paiute specimens.

Before 1916, a company of mounted cavalry troops were dispatched each summer from San Francisco’s Presidio to patrol what is now Sequoia and Kings Canyon. In those early years, the summer of 1903 stands out as a monument to energy and commitment. This was the year that Captain Charles Young and soldiers of the all-black troops I and M of the 9th Cavalry came to the Sierra. Young and his troopers completed the first road to the Giant Forest, making the grove easily accessible for the first time. On the day the road opened, modern tourism began in Sequoia National Park.

When the new military superintendent for the summer of 1903 arrived in Sequoia National Park he had already faced many challenges. Born in Kentucky during the Civil War, Charles Young had early set himself a course that took him to places where a black man was not often welcome. He was the first black to graduate from the white high school in Ripley, Ohio, and through competitive examination he won an appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point in 1884. He went on to graduate with his commission, only the third black man to do so.

In May, 1903, Sequoia National Park was already thirteen years old but still under-developed and hard to visit. Since 1891, the management and development of the park had been the responsibility of the US Army, but owing to a lack of Congressional funding almost nothing had been done. The biggest lack in the park was an adequate wagon road to the Giant Forest, the home of the world’s largest trees. Army work on a road had begun in the summer of 1900, but progress had lagged. In three summers barely five miles of road had been constructed.

Army administration of the early national parks usually took the form of a military officer sent to the park for the summer and authorized by the Department of the Interior to function as “Acting Superintendent”. These assignments usually changed each year, part of the reason Army accomplishments in the parks were so limited. In its first dozen years, Sequoia National Park never had a military superintendent who worked in the park more than two consecutive seasons.

Young and his troopers arrived in Sequoia after a 16-day ride to find that their major assignment would be the extension of the wagon road. Hoping to break the sluggish pattern of previous military administrations, Young poured his considerable energies into the project, and dirt and rock began to fly. By mid-August wagons were entering the mountain-top forest for the first time. Still not content, Young kept his crews working and soon extended the road to the base of the famous Moro Rock. During the summer of 1903, Young and his troops built as much road as the combined results of the three previous summers. Young only served in Sequoia National Park for one summer.

Although Colonel Charles Young only served one season as Acting Superintendent of Sequoia National Park, he has not been forgotten. The energy and dignity he brought to his national park assignment left a strong imprint. His roads, much improved in later times, are still in use today, having served millions of park visitors for more than eighty years.

In 1888 Walter Fry came to know the Sequoias as a logger, having left hardship in the Midwest for a new life in the Sierra. After spending five days with a team of five men sawing a single sequoia, he counted the growth rings on the fallen giant. The answer shocked him into changing careers, in just a few days they had ended 3266 years of growth. Two years later a petition was circulating, calling for a new national park to protect the sequoias. The third signature was Walter Fry’s.

Fry moved his family from the San Joaquin Valley to Three Rivers after the park was created in 1890, making it easier to pursue his interest in this beautiful area. Although the military ran the park then, in 1901 civilian Fry was hired as road foreman. In 1905 he became a park ranger.

By 1910 Fry was Chief Ranger, managing the parks for the military superintendents that were appointed to supervise each summer. When the Army gave up caretaking the parks in 1914, the choice for civilian superintendent was a clear one. Fry went on to lead the parks through challenging times—a world war and the creation of the National Park Service.

When Col. White became superintendent in 1920, Fry shifted jobs again, becoming U.S. Commissioner, or federal judge, in the parks. White recognized his worth immediately: It would be almost impossible to overstate the affection and esteem in which Judge Fry is held by both Park employees and visitors. He has been able to enforce park regulations with such sympathetic insight into the needs of visitors and residents that the enforcement has won friends for the Park Service.

It was in 1922 that Fry got involved with what may have been his most enduring contribution, the first Nature Guide Service for the public. Again, the obvious leader for the program was the man who had spent countless hours outdoors, observing the intricacies of life here. Now he influenced the park by influencing visitors, passing on his deep appreciation of the place.

Until he retired in 1930 at age 71, Fry offered walks, wrote nature bulletins and organized visitor centers; the thousands of visitors he touched in turn became ambassadors for the landscape he loved so much.

It is for this reason that the nature center at Lodgepole Campground was rededicated as the “Walter Fry Nature Center” in the summer of 1994. To this building children come by the thousands each summer for hands-on involvement with the stuff of these parks: monster trees, awesome geology and fascinating wildlife. Each child takes home a sense of the Sierra, and in so doing, carries on a bit of Judge Walter Fry’s distinctive legacy.

Norman Clyde was attracted to the Sierra Nevada Mountains sometime after 1911 while in his mid-20s. Clyde spent more than 50 years perfecting his mental maps, locating crashed airplanes, and rescuing lost souls and climbers in trouble—or retrieving their bodies.

Clyde’s name was legendary. Many climbers would rank him second only to John Muir as an intimate pioneer of places inaccessible and second to none as a climber. Apart from legend, few people knew much about this quiet man who minimized his achievements. Asked about his climbing feats, Clyde might downplay them by saying they weren’t really so many when you considered that he was 350 years old.

Recollecting Clyde’s feats, Wheelock wrote in 1961: “A strong team of skilled rock climbers will conquer a lonely spire, using the most modern of climbing gear and techniques and win through with well-coordinated teamwork only to find on a faded Kodak box the record of a solo climb of three decades ago. Or, at the high point of a distant ridge will be found a small cairn, but no written record. Obviously the work of man and one mountaineer will turn to his companion with, ‘Well, it looks like a first ascent, except for Norman Clyde.’ Later, discussing the route with him, Clyde will ponder a bit, ask a couple of questions about some difficult pitch encountered on the ascent, and then admit he had been there a score of years ago.”

Other than his carefully crafted newspaper and magazine accounts of climbs and the few recorded recollections of fellow mountaineers, Norman Clyde’s long High Sierra tenure passed with sparse biographical record. Not so Clyde’s backpacks. Heading for the mountain backcountry one day, Clyde, weighing 140 pounds then, weighed his pack: 75 pounds. He spent that night with a survey crew who were amazed at the size of his pack. In the morning, the crewmen as a prank badgered Clyde about the dangers of running out of food in the wilderness. The survey crewman urged extra cans of their food on Clyde. Never one to turn down free supplies, Clyde set out that day with a pack that had grown to 95 pounds. Many people might find his way of travel in the mountains quite strange, especially with today’s gear. But it was not just visiting the mountains or passing through the peaks. He lived there.

In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the dynamic landscape evolves from geologic processes working over millennia to sculpt granite, marble and other forms of rock. Here in the parks are canyons carved by rivers and glaciers, towering rugged peaks and miles of underground caverns. Found throughout the park are thousands of lakes and ponds and miles of rivers and streams; together they form important watersheds in the park. These watersheds are a valuable source of water not only to park resources but also to the inhabitants of California’s Central Valley.

The park contains a considerable portion of America’s longest mountain range, the Sierra Nevada. Included in the parks’ mountainous landscape is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, Mt. Whitney, which rises to 14,491 feet above sea level. Eleven additional peaks taller than 14,000 feet are also found along the parks’ eastern boundaries at the crest of the Sierra Nevada. In Kings Canyon National Park, prominent ridges extend westward from the crest creating the Goddard and Monarch divides with mountains taller than 13,000 feet. In Sequoia National Park, a second prominent ridge of mountains, The Great Western Divide parallels the Sierras crest. It is the mountains of the Great Western Divide that greet visitors in Mineral King and that can be seen from Moro Rock and the Giant Forest area. Peaks in the Great Western Divide climb to more than 12,000 feet.

Between these mighty mountains lie deep, spectacular canyons. Most significant is Kings Canyon. In the parks, Kings Canyon is a wide glacial valley featuring spectacular tall cliffs, a lovely meandering river, green vibrant meadows and beautiful waterfalls. Within a few miles outside the parks, Kings Canyon deepness and steepness becoming arguably the deepest canyon in North America for short distance. The confluence of the South Fork and Middle forks of the Kings River lies at 2,260 feet, while towering above the rivers on the north side of the canyon is Spanish Peak, which is 10,051 feet tall. The south side of this canyon above the confluence is significantly lower. Dozens of other canyons also await visitors to the two parks. This includes scenic Tokopah Valley above Lodgepole, Deep Canyon on the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River and deep in the parks’ remote backcountry, Kern Canyon, which is more than 5,000 feet deep for 30 miles. The parks are headwaters for the Kaweah River, the Kern River, two forks of the Kings River and small areas of the San Joaquin and Tule river watersheds.

Most of the mountains and canyons in the Sierra Nevada are formed in granite rocks. These rocks, such as granite, diorite and monzonite, formed when molten rock cooled far beneath the surface of the earth. The molten rock was a by-product of a geologic process known as sub-duction. Powerful forces in the earth forced the landmass under the waters of the Pacific Ocean beneath and below an advancing North American Continent. Super-hot water driven from the subjecting ocean floor migrated upward and melted rock as it went. This process took place during the Cretaceous Period. Granite rocks have speckled salt and pepper appearance because they contain various minerals including quartz, feldspars and micas. Valhalla or the Angel Wings are prominent cliffs that rise above the headwaters of the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River.

While geologists debate the details, it is clear that the Sierra Nevada is a young mountain range, probably not more than 10 million years old. Incredible forces in the earth, probably associated with the development of the Great Basin, forced the mountains to grow and climb toward the sky. During the 10 million years at least four periods of glacial advance have coated the mountains in a thick mantle of ice. Glaciers form and develop during long periods of cool and wet weather. Today, a few small glaciers remain in the parks. They are the southern-most glaciers in North America. Glaciers move through the mountains like slow-motion Rivers carving deep valleys and craggy peaks. The extensive history of glaciations within the range and the erosion resistant nature of the granite rocks that make up most of the Sierra Nevada have together created a spectacular landscape of hanging valleys, towering waterfalls, craggy peaks, alpine lakes and gigantic glacial canyons.

The Sierra Nevada is still growing today. In fits and leaps the mountains gain height during earthquakes on the east side of the range near Bishop and Lone Pine. Rain and winter snows combined with the steep character of the landscape create an environment that includes massive movements of sediment and rapid erosion. The mountains are being removed by erosion almost as quickly as they grow. This erosion has created and deposited sediments thousands of feet thick on the floor of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys.

Small sections of the park contain areas of metamorphic rocks. These rocks are the remnants of volcanic islands that were added to North America before the Sierra Nevada uplift. They include metamorphosed volcanic rocks, schist, quartzite, phyllite, and marble.

Surprisingly, the marble rocks in the parks contain caves. Marble is metamorphosed limestone and Sequoia and Kings Canyon together contain more than 200 marble caves. Caves form only under special conditions including the right kind of rock, fractures or spaces in the rock and enough water to erode underground rooms and passages. The caves of the two parks include the longest cave in California, Lilburn Cave, with nearly 17 miles of surveyed passage. Lilburn is a very complex maze cave with beautiful blue- and white-banded marble. Nearby mines attest to the unusual geology in the Lilburn area and the cave has a display of rare and colorful minerals including green malachite and blue azurite. Beautiful Crystal Cave features a trail and lights for park visitors. This commercialized cave has seen millions of visitors since it first opened to the public in 1941. It has beautifully banded marble; many cave formations, large rooms, and the creative Spider Web Gate. Soldier’s Cave has been a favorite with California cave explorers since its discovery in 1949. Three rope drops must be negotiated to reach the cave’s lowest and most extensive level. Several outstanding formation areas exist, one of which has high quality “dog-tooth spar” crystals. This cave has suffered due to inadvertent damage by cave explorers. People have accidentally broken cave formations and muddied extensive areas of white flowstone. Soldiers Cave was the site of a restoration and cleaning project between 1992 and 1997.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks could have been set aside solely to protect the amazing caves found in this area of the Southern Sierra Nevada. The two parks protect half of the caves more than a mile long in California, the longest cave in the state, numerous karsts streams and some of the best alpine karsts topography in the United States. The caves contain Pleistocene era fossils, rare minerals and unique animals. They are the sites of numerous scientific research projects and provide recreational opportunities to thousands of park visitors each year.

Most caves are in the Western one-third of the Parks in narrow bands of marble paralleling the trend of the Sierra. They are found at elevations ranging from over 10,000 feet to under 1,500 feet and have internal temperatures ranging from just above freezing to over 60 degrees. Some of the caves have active stream systems, but many are the dry remnants of ancient, water-flow patterns.

In recent years detailed maps of many park caves have been created. Maps are a key requirement for proper management and research in caves because they document the caves, their features and their extent. Crystal Cave was mapped between 1995 and 1998. From the field work, a series of maps was produced that document the cave’s mineralogical features, its exploration history, passage elevations, crystal streams and lakes, management restrictions, the cave lighting system, and much more. Other maps of Hurricane Crawl and Soldiers caves have also been completed. Peter Bosted, chief cartographer for the Cave Research Foundation, has coordinated a project to produce more than 80 quadrangle maps of Lilburn Cave. These maps show this very complex cave in detail.

In general, caves in the two parks are managed by category. Some caves can be visited by anyone at any time. Other caves, with rare and sensitive animals or mineralogical features may be closed to entry. A few caves are set aside for research and study. Some others that are delicate or dangerous require the presence of an experienced trip leader known as a “Trustee” before access is allowed. Six park caves are gated, meaning that the entrances contain locked gates of metal bars that protect the cave from uninformed trespassers or which protect any trespassers from dangers in the cave. Most of the 200 caves are small and found in isolated sections of the parks, far from any roads.

Caves are just a small part of the geological phenomena known as karst. Named for a region of Slovenia, karst describes areas of the earth’s surface that have caves, springs, sinkholes, disappearing streams and other unusual landforms. These features develop when mildly acidic groundwater acts on soluble rock, such as limestone marble or gypsum, to erode away the stone.

Karst hydrology is the study of the movement and properties of groundwater flowing through karst areas. It is the actions of this water that makes caves, sinkholes and other karst features. Karst hydrology has become an important area of research in recent years because groundwater in this setting behaves very differently from groundwater in a normal geologic region. Usually groundwater moves through the earth very slowly through tiny pores, spaces and fractures in rock. These small spaces may act as filters that clean and purify groundwater. In a karst system, groundwater flows rapidly through open conduits and passages in the rock. Groundwater is not filtered or naturally purified in karst systems.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks contain some 3200 lakes and ponds and approximately 2600 miles of rivers and streams. Three major rivers originate in these parks –Kings, Kaweah and Kern. These rivers provide valuable irrigation water to the rich agricultural lands in Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties as well as providing water for recreation and industrial activities outside the parks. The monitoring and maintenance of watershed health is clearly of interest not only to park managers but also to water users throughout this region.

Winter snow pack in the Sierra Nevada is a natural storage system for the precipitation that accumulates during winter months. The amount of water stored as snow pack increases through mid-April at higher elevations. Melt off typically begins in April and continues through May or June. October is the month in which the least water runoff occurs from park watersheds. Snowfields, forests, lakes and streams collect, store, and release the water supplied from winter storms so it is available throughout the dry summers for agriculture, recreation, electrical power generation and other uses. The amount of snow pack is also important to park vegetation and wildlife. In years of low snow pack accumulation; there is less water available for plant growth. During these drought years, reduced plant growth and fruit and seed production result in altered food production for wildlife.

Extreme topographic differences and a striking elevation in the foothills along the Sierra crest create a rich tapestry of environments, from the hot, dry lowlands along the western boundary to the snow-covered alpine high country. This topographic diversity in turn supports over 1,200 species of vascular plants, which make up dozens of unique plant communities. These include not only the renowned groves of massive giant sequoia, but also vast tracts of montane forests, spectacular alpine habitats, and oak woodlands and chaparral. The richness of the Sierra flora represents the state as a whole of nearly 6,000 species of vascular plants known to occur in California, over 20 percent of them can be found within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Along the western edge of the parks, the vast grasslands of the Great Central Valley give way to blue oak savanna and a mosaic of chaparral types. Unlike most of the park vegetation, which is made up of plant species native to the region, the foothill grassland is composed primarily of non-native annual grasses which were introduced to California during the mid nineteenth century and have subsequently become naturalized. The slow-growing, gnarled blue oaks that cover this landscape can be hundreds of years old.

Dominated by dense thickets shrubs, chaparral communities are characteristic of lowland Mediterranean climates, where winter rains provide most of the precipitation and, but for the hot dry summers, temperatures are relatively mild. Many of these species exhibit specific adaptations to fire and drought, both of which have a strong influence on life in the foothill environment.

Unlike many of the coniferous forests of the world, which are dominated by a single species of tree, the mixed coniferous forests that cloak the lower and middle montane slopes of the Sierra Nevada support a remarkable diversity of tree species. Here ponderosa pine, incense cedar, white fir, sugar pine, and scattered groves of giant sequoia intermix and coexist. These trees, many of which reach tremendous heights, form some of the most extensive stands of old growth coniferous forest that remain in the world.

Red fir forests grow in pure stands in the mid to upper elevation forest range anywhere between 7,000 to 9,000 feet within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. These stately trees typically form a dark forest with scant ground cover.

In the upper montane, the mixed coniferous forest is replaced by nearly pure stands of red fir and lodge pole pine. Characterized by deep snow accumulation during the winter months and a dense canopy that limits the amount of sunlight that reaches the forest floor, the red fir forests lack a diverse herbaceous component. Only the most shade tolerant herbs thrive beneath the towering trees. Lodge pole pines have an unusual distribution, growing in both moist lowlands and in drier sites on benches and ridges. In more damp sites, these forests can support a rich amalgam of herbs and wildflowers in their understory.

Above the upper-most edge of the montane forests, sub-alpine woodlands define the limit of tree life in the Sierra. In Sequoia National Park, these include the southernmost populations of foxtail pine, a close relative of the long-lived bristlecone pine which can be found in the White Mountains to the east. Downed pieces of foxtail wood can persist intact for thousands of years, preserved by the extremely cold and dry conditions that characterize the high elevations. To the north, stands of white bark pine provide a critical food source for the ubiquitous Clark’s nutcracker.

Foxtail pines grow in scattered stands on bare rocky slopes at high elevations. Exposed to extremes of temperature, unlimited sunlight, severe winds and storms, and long summer droughts, these trees have shapes sculpted by the elements.

Where soils are too saturated or shallow to support tree growth, numerous meadows can be found in the montane, sub-alpine and alpine zones. Wet meadows support a remarkably diverse assemblage of grasses, sedges and wildflowers, which provide essential habitat for many small mammals, birds, and insects. Dry-land meadows, too, are an important source of food and shelter for animals of the higher elevations.

In the rocky alpine, where the short growing season and harsh winter conditions exclude all but the hardiest of plants, stunted trees give way to low-growing, perennial herbs. Here plants often form ground-hugging mats or hummocks to take advantage of the warmer surface temperatures. In winter, the snow pack provides insulation from sub-freezing temperatures and desiccating winds. During the brief summer, when freezing temperatures and snowstorms remain a threat, surprisingly showy flowers burst forth in the race to set seed before winter returns.

There are many fun activities to take part in while visiting Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Your choice of activities will vary greatly depending on the time of year and area you visit. There is picnicking, hiking, wildlife viewing, camping, strolling under the sequoias, and taking in the parks’ breathtaking views are just some of the popular visitor activities. There are also Ranger-led programs that are popular with kids of all ages. The programs and times vary with the seasons. Please check the NPS site for dates and times of the programs.

Come explore the underground beauty of Sequoia National Park. Walk by scenic waterfalls on the half-mile trail to Crystal Cave. Beautiful stalactites and curtains, impressively large rooms, and ornate marble polished naturally by a subterranean stream make a tour of Crystal Cave an unforgettable experience.

Anyone wishing to visit Crystal Cave must be part of a guided tour. Tour tickets are not sold at the cave entrance. They must be purchased in person at the Foothills or Lodgepole visitor centers in Sequoia National Park. After purchasing tickets allow at least 1½ hours to arrive at the cave.

Kayaking is popular on some rivers in the parks, but involves high risk and requires advanced skills. There are no beginner kayaking rivers in the parks. If you’re going to travel the rivers in these parks keep in mind it is extremely hazardous to canoeists and kayakers and river travel should only be attempted by the very experienced. All park rivers are open to floatation devices with the exception of the South Fork Kings River through the Cedar Grove area of Kings Canyon National Park.

Rock climbing is another great activity in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The rock here is similar to Yosemite in quality. One can enjoy an endless variety of climbs from easy to extremely challenging; without the crowds and pressure of more famous climbing areas. Outstanding routes include the Obelisk, Grand Sentinel, and Chimney Rock. Most climbs require at least a day’s hike in. In Kings Canyon a good place to look for climbs is along Bubbs Creek. On the north side of the Bubbs Creek Trail, just before it crosses Charlotte Creek, are Charlito Dome and Charlotte Dome. The hike in is about 8 miles, but the multi-pitch possibilities are worth the haul.

In the Sequoia’s the easiest site to access is Moro Rock, just off the Generals Highway near Giant Forest. The west face offers 1,000 vertical feet of cracks and knobs. For a more remote climb, hike the High Sierra Trail to Angel Wings. At roughly 2,000 feet, this is one of the park’s biggest walls. It’s an 18-mile hike from Crescent Meadow. Other Sequoia highlights: Little Baldy and the quartzite Hospital Rock, both off the Generals Highway.

Want to come and do some hiking? There are year-round foothill trails that are accessible. The fall season brings cooler temperatures for hiking in this diverse environment. In winter and spring, the foothills are clothed in a glorious array of wildflowers. Late March through late May is especially colorful. As summer approaches the temperature rise, and so do the rivers. Avoid the dangerous rivers during this time.

If you have only a few hours, stop in Ash Mountain at the Foothills Visitor Center to learn about California’s fascinating and diverse oak chaparral ecology. Stop at Giant Forest Museum. From the main parking lot, walk down to the General Sherman Tree, the largest, single-trunked living tree on earth. Allow 20 minutes each way for the walk to the tree plus your time there. Or come by the Grant Grove Village at the newly-redesigned Kings Canyon Visitor Center and see the orientation film. See the General Grant Tree in Grant Grove (allow 20 minutes to walk the loop).

If you only have a day, visit The Ash Mountain at the Foothills Visitor Center and buy your ticket for a Crystal Cave Tour. Allow at least 3 1/2 hours for the cave tour.

If you prefer to stay outside go on a ranger walk. In Giant Forest, stand among the giant sequoias on the Big Trees Trail. Or in Lodgepole Village, walk up to Tokopah Falls. If you’re hankering for more, in Giant Forest look for wildlife big and small around Crescent Meadow and climb Moro Rock or hike out to Eagle View.

If you have a couple of days come see the General Sherman Tree and the Giant Forest Museum, stop at Hospital Rock to see the Native American pictographs and grinding stones. Have a picnic in Grant Grove Village at Big Stump. Hike into Redwood Canyon, home to the world’s largest grove of sequoias. Visit Converse Basin where a ghostly forest of sequoia stumps surrounds the massive Boole Tree. Stand in awe of gigantic Kings Canyon.

If you have a week or more spend a few days exploring one of the more remote parts of these spectacular parks. Come take a stunning mountain drive and visit Cedar Grove Village. From Grant Grove Village to the Kings Canyon, allow 1 1/2 hours each way plus however long you stay. Better yet, stop at one of the visitor centers for a wilderness trek into the splendid High Sierra.

With mild temperatures, calm rivers, and few bugs, fall is a delightful time for activities in the parks. But note that snow can occur down to mid-elevations as early as Halloween. Winter is a great time for snow play or to find plenty of solitude in the parks.

Among Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks’ rich diversity of plants and animals are other elements that are not as obvious but equally important. Air flow circles around the neighboring San Joaquin Valley and carries air pollution from human activity and industry into the parks. This affects visibility, the health of people and natural resources in the parks. Air quality monitoring in the parks is making a difference by providing important data to notify the public of health hazards on “bad air” days and to help both state and federal agencies in their efforts to improve air quality.

In the past the landscapes of these parks were regularly shaped by fire. The positive results benefited both plants and animals, such as encouraging the regeneration of plants, which in turn can benefit wildlife. After decades of fire suppression the landscape has severely changed, but efforts have been made to once again allow fire to return to its place as part of the natural cycle in the Sierra Nevada.

As the population of the state continues to increase and urban areas grow, so does the use of outdoor lighting. This has an environmental impact on dark skies. Once where dark skies provided the perfect backdrop to distant stars and planets, they now glow more from the lights of urban areas. By recording these changes and providing education, park staff can increase appreciation of the night skies and suggest ways that we all can take a more active role returning a natural glow to our night skies.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks periodically experience some of the worst air quality in the National Park Service. The Clean Air Act and the National Park Service Organic Act mandate that SEKI protect air-quality-related values and resources within the parks from adverse impacts of air pollution.

The SEKI Air Resources program has been involved in air quality monitoring for over 20 years, one of the longest running air programs in the National Park Service. An emphasis is placed on knowing the abundance of pollutants that are atmospherically transported into these parks, their health effects on employees and visitors, and their effects on the natural resources that we are charged to protect.

Ozone is made of three joined oxygen atoms, and it is found both in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be helpful or harmful, depending on where it is found.

The Ozone may be the most damaging pollutant here. Compared to ozone-resistant individuals, ozone-sensitive pines have lower photosynthetic rates, lose their needles earlier, and have diminished annual ring growth. In contrast to pines, mature giant sequoias seem to be relatively resistant to present ozone levels. However, newly emerged sequoia seedlings are suspected to be more vulnerable to ozone injury.

Since the 1970s, ozone high in the atmosphere has been decreasing. This allows more UV solar radiation to reach the earth’s surface. The effects of increased UV radiation are not well understood. Several agencies and universities are studying links between UV radiation exposure and skin cancer and eye disorders in humans. UV radiation also has negative effects on plants and aquatic ecosystems.

UV radiation may also influence air quality in the parks. The smog obscuring park views is the result of chemical reactions that take place in the presence of sunlight. More UV radiation may speed up these chemical reactions and could increase the amount of smog and low-altitude ozone present.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are downwind of one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world, the San Joaquin Valley. Every year, tons of pesticides are applied to these crops, over 45,000 tons in 1994 alone. Pesticides that become volatilized are suspended in the atmosphere as particulates and drift into the Parks on prevailing winds. Consequently, organophosphates from fertilizer are found in precipitation as high as 6,300 ft. in Sequoia National Park. Other synthetic chemicals, are also finding their way into the parks such as PCBs. PCBs are found in a variety of industrial and consumer products such as cooling compounds, electronics, paints, varnishes, plastics, inks and pesticides. Some PCBs have negative effects on animals by imitating specific hormones in concentrations as small as parts per trillion. They can cause changes in wildlife reproductive capacity, longevity, intelligence, and behavior, or can lead to cancer or mutations. They are inconspicuous, but potentially dangerous.

While studies have not yet been conducted to establish cause-and-effect links between synthetic chemical drift into the parks and effects on park ecosystems, circumstantial evidence suggests that impacts to park wildlife may be occurring.

Another important area of work in park caves is restoration. While restoration in a national park seems surprising, past visitors and employees in the parks have made reversible mistakes that damaged and altered caves. In some cases, caves can restore themselves through natural processes that remove or cover dirt, graffiti, paint and soot. This process is happening right now in Clough and Crystal caves. Crystal Cave has also seen restoration projects that removed tons of blast rubble dumped into the cave during trail construction in the 1930s. Work in the cave has removed damaging lint and dirt from formerly pristine walls. In 1998 a workroom built into the cave was partially restored in the hope that this would provide more habitat for Pimoa spiders that live only near the cave’s four entrances.

Cave enthusiasts first explored Soldiers Cave in 1949 and 1950. Since then it has remained a popular cave with recreational cavers. Unfortunately the cave combines muddy areas with passages that have beautiful white walls and delicate formations. Through the 50 years that the cave has been open for caving trips, hundreds of square feet of the cave’s walls were muddied and damaged. In 1994 and 1995 water from a nearby surface stream was diverted for a few days through hoses that led into the cave’s damaged passages. This water was used to clean these surfaces and restore the cave to its original appearance and character.

Water determines the distribution and abundance of many plants and animals throughout the Sierra Nevada by shaping and providing habitat. Lakes and streams support rich communities of native organisms both in the water and in adjoining riparian areas. Water is also a powerful attractant to human visitors to these parks, as is evident from the popularity of rivers, streams and lakes as destinations for picnickers, hikers, campers and anglers. Introduced animals, human use of rivers and lakes, runoff and effluent from park developed areas and ecosystem-level, human-caused changes have had negative impacts on SEKI water resources. Park research, inventory and monitoring are critical in identifying changes in water quality and quantity and declines in native plant and animal populations that can result from human-caused impacts to aquatic systems.

Because of the rapid flow and lack of filtering in karst water systems, these areas are very susceptible to pollution. Millions of people and many unique species of animals depend on clean water in karst areas for drinking and for aquatic homes. In the Eastern United States where karst has developed across thousands of square miles, ground water pollution is a big concern. Accidents, such as trains or trucks spilling toxic chemicals, may result in ground water pollution across a large area, ruining wells and destroying wildlife habitat. In the Sierra Nevada karst areas are limited in their extent. But maintaining good water quality in these areas is still very important. Karst waters in Sequoia and Kings Canyon support unique animals and are a part of watersheds that supply thousands of people with water for drinking and irrigation.

There is a growing concern over the effects of air pollution and air toxins on human health. While research continues to better understand these links, there is already solid evidence of health concerns with higher levels of ozone and particulate matter.

Visitors to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are made aware of daily quality by the air advisory program. Predicted levels of ozone are translated into an air quality index which alerts the public to unhealthy air quality. This information is widely distributed to employees and is posted at the three largest visitor centers in the parks.

The National Park Service is moving to define and resolve a set of problems involved in protecting and restoring an overlooked and often abused resource: the soundscape. One aspect of the noise pollution issue in parks is air tour over flights which have been a focus of the National Park Service since 1975. However, the deterioration of the soundscape due to all sources of human-caused noise is just starting to be addressed.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are participating in a larger study that may point the way to the future of noise management in the national park system through the lessons learned and the techniques developed in those parks.

For the past few years, these parks have been the subject of noise monitoring and analysis. A combination of unattended monitoring and targeted monitoring to establish daily and seasonal noise variations, and to identify the nature and levels of intrusive noise, is proving to be a promising strategy. The National Park Service is drafting a manual describing this method and plans to define a credible process for describing a park’s soundscape based on disparate data.

Of the over 1400 vascular plants known to occur in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, 40 have been identified as ‘sensitive’. The term sensitive is applied generally here to include those species that are state or federally listed, are rare or endemic in California, are at the limit of their range, or have a limited distribution. Little is known about the status and habitat requirements of most sensitive species within the two parks. There are comprehensive lists of the sensitive plants either known or suspected to occur within Kings Canyon, Sequoia. These lists will allow us to develop more effective survey strategies for detecting and describing the distribution of sensitive plants within the parks. Of specific interest are those that may be affected by disturbances such as fire suppression, prescribed burning, construction or road building, or long-term climate change.

Nearly one in eight plant species in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is non-native. Many of these species appear to have a fairly small impact on the parks, but many others are drastically changing ecosystem structure and processes.

Non-native plant species are those that are introduced to an area by humans either intentionally or unintentionally. These plants are also known as alien, exotic, introduced, and non-indigenous. They are an enormous concern for the National Park Service; recent information indicates that non-native plants are infesting 4600 new acres of federal land each day. Yellow star thistle is highly invasive and has been widely dispersed throughout California as a result of human presence.

Non-native species reduce biodiversity, jeopardize endangered plants and animals and degrade habitats. Some species, such as giant reed, can completely dominate vast areas of land, excluding virtually all vegetation and dramatically altering water and fire cycles. Non-natives are also known to hybridize with native species, altering native genetic diversity and integrity.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have a well-researched non-native plant management plan in place. Early efforts have already eradicated at least one highly invasive non-native plant species (yellow star thistle), and have identified several other infestations that are yet in their very early stages. The year 2002 marked a major increase in eradication efforts, with numerous non-native plants removed from the parks by the end of the year. These efforts continue and we look forward to healthy, less-impacted ecosystems in the years ahead.

The introduction of fish has had many unintended effects – the most dramatic being the resulting decline in the mountain yellow-legged frog populations due to predation. When fish are present, they eat frogs, force frogs into marginal habitat, and fragment the population, the latter of which hinders re-colonization.

In order to monitor the density, distribution, and species composition of native and exotic fish, counts are regularly conducted along set transects. Transects of western pond turtles in low elevation rivers and streams are another important monitoring project. These turtles are impacted negatively by non-native bullfrogs that eat the young. Many species of amphibians are of limited distribution and thus vulnerable to human disturbance.

Exotics pose many unique management problems including competition, direct displacement, and direct competition. Exotic beavers alter the riparian habitat and are therefore monitored regularly. Feral cats kill native species, pigs tear up the soil, and cattle graze and trample native vegetation and thus must be excluded from the parks. In 2001, cattle fencing will be installed along more of the parks’ boundary.

Habitat fragmentation affects many species, but ones with large home ranges, and those that are migratory in nature. Some of the park species, such as the Pacific fisher (under consideration for listing as federally endangered or threatened), are now isolated from populations north of the parks. Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep are currently listed as endangered under both federal and state law. Their numbers are greatly reduced due to effects of mountain lion predation. Mountain lion predation of sheep at lower elevations has restricted sheep from using important portions of their winter range. The result is reduced winter forage and poorer nutrition for both adults and young sheep. There is also sustained risk of disease transmission from domestic sheep. The California Department of Fish and Game is working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to prepare a recovery plan. Continued protection of fisher, bighorn sheep, and other species and populations within the parks and across agency boundaries holds great significance for their future survival.

During the spring, the marmots regularly take apart the under-side of numerous vehicles to go after anti-freeze. The result is disabled vehicles, cabins with holes chewed through them, and marmots consuming potentially harmful chemicals. After extensive monitoring, biologists found that in a single year, several hundred marmots have been involved. Some marmots have even exited the park when vehicles were driven away with an unsuspecting marmot hidden under the hood. The distance record to date is when one marmot caught a ride to Santa Monica, CA. The current solution to the problem is chicken wire around vehicles in the spring – another alternative would be to eliminate the parking lot.

Pack and saddle stock have been used in the southern Sierra Nevada since the mid-nineteenth century, first for exploration and then in conjunction with sheep and cattle grazing and mining. In the late nineteenth century and progressively into the twentieth century, pack and saddle stocks were used for access to mountains of the region for recreational purposes. The numbers of pack and saddle stock used for recreational trips increased and peaked in the 1930s, dropped in the 1940s, increased again in the 1950s, and have since declined. In addition, pack stock are used extensively to support trail building and maintenance activities in the wilderness.

Some disruption of natural ecosystems and processes by pack and saddle stock is expected and considered acceptable as a consequence of a form of backcountry use that is appropriate in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The impacts of stock use, however, are potentially significant enough to require a management program for its regulation. Unlike many western national parks, pack stock are allowed to graze in many of the wilderness meadows within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The stock use and meadow management program uses an interdisciplinary approach to assessing the effect of pack stock on park resources, develops and distributes information on regulations and minimum impact stock practices, and works with park wilderness staff to monitor meadow conditions in popular areas. Information on trip planning for recreational pack stock users can be found at the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

Finally, direct human disturbance to wildlife in the parks comprises a major part of the parks’ work. Beyond the effects of visitation that one would expect (automobile traffic, trails, etc.); there are two other unusual circumstances. One is the effect developed areas have on marmots. In Mineral King, parking lots and cabins were built in an area occupied by marmots, creating attractants for their desire for cover and new opportunities for their chewing habits and quest for minerals.

Because these parks vary from low to very high elevations, you can find a variety of climates here and all on the same day. Be prepared with layers of clothing. Temperature varies by elevation. Because these parks range from 1500 feet to 14,494 feet in elevation, conditions change drastically depending on where you are. Lower elevations are characterized by mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. This would be anything below 4000 ft. Precipitation usually occurs from January to mid-May; rain in the summer is rare. Average rainfall is about 26″. During the winter, low-hanging clouds often drift in from the west, obscuring the countryside for several days at a time.

Summer generally runs from late June to early September. The forested areas of the parks offer warm days and cool evenings. These middle elevations receive an average of 40-45″ of precipitation annually. Much of this falls during the winter, resulting in a deep blanket of snow from December to May. Sub-zero temperatures, however, are rare. In the summer, occasional afternoon thundershowers may occur. The foothills chaparral is hot and dry, but the mid-elevation sequoia groves offer warm days and pleasant nights. Temperatures in Cedar Grove are generally hotter than the average for the middle elevations, and cooler than the foothills. Temperatures in mid-summer may reach the 90′s. Cedar Grove is closed in the winter due to common rock falls on the road.

In fall and winter, Lodgepole Campground is generally 10-15 degrees F colder than the average middle-elevation temperature. Cooler temperatures arrive to all elevations. In some areas, fall adds a touch of color to the landscape. Sudden storms can dust everything with snow before quickly melting. Fall here generally lasts from mid-September through November. Autumn is a great, uncrowded time to visit the parks.

Winter here generally lasts from November until mid-April. This is a great time to explore lower elevations in the parks and the sequoia groves are covered in snow. A few campgrounds are open. The roads to Cedar Grove and Mineral King are closed. Pacific rains turn foothills grasses green and bring deep snowy silence to higher elevations. Come prepared for winter driving on snowy or icy roads. Some facilities shut down for winter.

Spring is a moveable feast here, beginning in late January or early February in the lower Foothills and lasting until July in the High Sierra. By May, the Foothills are rapidly moving into summer but stay out of the dangerous, cold and swift waters of the high running rivers. Deep snow makes trails in the High Sierra a challenge best left to the experienced. The road to Cedar Grove usually opens in mid-April and the Mineral King Road by Memorial Day; weather permitting.

Current Weather

Natural wonders present hazards. Rocks roll, trees topple, and limbs drop without warning. Wild animals, uneven ground, and changing weather can pose dangers. People may create hazards through campfires, traffic, snow play, and poor decisions. Most park deaths result from drowning in rivers.

Remember you are visiting two different areas; a National Park and a National Forest. Some activities may be illegal in the Park but legal in the Forest. Be sure to keep track of where you are.

The Park Service works hard to reduce risks and provide you with the best information, but in the end you are responsible for your safety. Keep alert. Know about the hazards where you are going and what you are doing. Read warnings and ask a ranger for advice.

Water is the main cause of death in the Sequoia’s. Rocks are smooth and slippery. Stay away from the water’s edge. Many drowning victims were walking or climbing near rivers and unexpectedly fell in. Spring runoff is particularly dangerous in rivers. Climbing on rocks and boulders near rivers can be very unsafe as they may shift suddenly, spilling you into the rapids.

When driving Mountain Roads brakes burn out and they can overheat causing them to fail. Remember to drive slow and safe. Make sure your vehicle is up to date with all maintenance. To avoid your brakes overheating always downshift (in automatic vehicles, put the gearshift on 1, 2, or L). The engine gets louder but it will save your brakes. Let others pass you if you’re worried that you’re holding up traffic. Slower vehicles must use paved turnouts to let vehicles behind them pass. Do this even if you are going the speed limit. Extreme elevation changes over short distances mean park roads are steep, narrow, and winding — but filled with breathtaking vistas. So take your time!

Please observe that there is a vehicle length advisory. Sixteen miles from Ash Mountain to Giant Forest includes 130 curves and 12 switchbacks. There is a vehicle-length advisory for the 12 steepest miles within that stretch. From Potwisha Campground to the Giant Forest Museum, the advised maximum vehicle length is 22 feet. The alternative: take Highway 180 from Fresno to Grant Grove, then turn south on the Generals Highway.

The maximum vehicle length limits on the Generals Highway are 40 feet (12 m) for single vehicles or 50 feet (15 m) for vehicles plus a towed unit. If you are towing a smaller vehicle, consider camping in the foothills and using the smaller car to explore.

Bicyclers ride only on roads (not trails), single file with traffic, and wear light colors after dark. People under 18 must wear a helmet.

Gasoline is not sold within park boundaries. Be sure to fill up in one of the towns near the park entrance OR at one of three locations in the national forest bordering part of the park: year-round at Hume Lake (near Grant Grove), and late spring into fall at Stony Creek (between Giant Forest and Grant Grove) or Kings Canyon Lodge (between Grant Grove and Cedar Grove).

Please remember to slow down! Wildlife has the right of way. Everything from tarantulas and snakes to deer and bears need to cross these roads safely.

Store all food and related supplies properly, including ice chests. Dispose of all garbage properly. Store all food and anything with a scent (even if you don’t consider it food). This includes garbage, recyclables, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, sunscreen, first-aid kits, baby wipes, lotion, hairspray, scented tissue, air freshener, pet food, insect repellent, tobacco products, baby car-seats, and window cleaner. Bears recognize ice chests, cans, bottles, and grocery bags so store them also. Never leave food unattended.

In all campgrounds, store all food and related supplies in the metal storage boxes. Only when camping where there are no metal boxes, store food and related supplies out of sight inside a vehicle. Never leave camp unattended if food is not stored. Take infant car seats out of vehicles when parked overnight. Bears may enter campsites during the day, even if people are there. Keep a clean camp. Put trash in bear-proof cans and dumpsters regularly.

Dehydration is another safety factor to always be aware of. Park air is usually dry and the sun is strong. Many people are mildly dehydrated all the time. If you stop urinating or have very yellow urine, you need to drink immediately. Other symptoms of dehydration are paleness, fatigue, headache, nausea, light-headedness, vomiting, increased body temperature, or an inability to concentrate. Drink plenty of fluids. Drink frequently. Sports drinks help supply electrolytes lost through sweat. The most important thing is to keep enough water in your body.

Do not drink water from streams, rivers, creeks, or lakes. Giardia is present in all natural water sources in the park and can cause serious illness. Each of the parks’ 13 water systems is tested regularly to ensure meeting state and federal standards. Annual Consumer Confidence Reports are available at visitor centers or by calling 559-565-3341.

Hypothermia is a life-threatening condition which can occur year-round and in temperatures as high as the 60s. Stay dry and snack often. If others don’t respond to the need for warmer clothes or are stumbling, forgetful, or extremely tired and drowsy, get warm sugary drinks into them immediately. Get them into dry clothing, sleeping bags, and shelter. If symptoms continue or worsen, seek medical help immediately.

Sunlight contains UV radiation that can quickly burn skin and eyes — especially at higher altitudes. Use protective clothing, hats, and sunscreen. On hikes, carry extra sunscreen with you. Be especially careful around water as UV rays are reflected upward burning unexpected areas and doubling your exposure.

Always take into affect that the weather can change at anytime during the warmer months. As soon as you see dark clouds or lightening or hear thunder, get inside a large building or a vehicle. Otherwise crouch down on the ground (don’t lie down). Don’t stand near large solitary trees. Avoid projecting above the surrounding landscape such as standing on a ridge, on Moro Rock, or in meadows. Stay away from open water, wire fences, and metal railings which can carry lightning from a distance. Be aware that lightning can strike ahead of a coming storm — even when there is blue sky overhead.

Poison oak is common in the foothills up to 5,000 feet. Red in the fall with whitish berries, bare in the winter, in spring it has shiny green leaves in groups of three. If you touch poison oak, wash skin and cloths thoroughly as soon as possible.

Cell phones generally don’t work in the parks because of the great distance to cell towers and the rugged terrain. Don’t count on cell phones working here. Note where pay phones are available or ask a ranger.

For you and your neighbors to see and appreciate wildlife, please note that pets are not permitted on any of the trails in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In campgrounds and picnic areas, pets must be kept on a leash at all times. The leash must be less than 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. For your pet’s safety, please don’t leave pets in hot cars. Pets cannot be left tied and unattended at any time.

Remember that the rock here is an integral part of a larger ecosystem. Like the rest of the parks, it is protected as wilderness for people to enjoy in a natural state that preserves it intact for future generations of climbers. Climb clean.

Fishing is permitted in most parts of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and in adjacent national forests. Persons 16 years of age or older are required to have a California State Fishing license. Get park-specific regulations at any visitor center.

In the National Forest, pets are allowed on trails. But the leash must be less than 6 feet long. See map below for locations of national forest areas adjoining Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Giant Sequoia National Monument is administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

Here are some top tips for taking the shuttle:

Park only at larger lots: Sherman Tree Parking and Trail, Lodge pole Campground Parking Area (go through the campground entrance kiosk), Giant Forest Museum, or Wuksachi. If you plan to use the Giant Forest Route along the Generals Highway, avoid using the Giant Forest Museum lot on holiday weekends. If you have an RV, use RV spaces where available.

Before leaving your vehicle take a small backpack with what you need for the day. Pack a newspaper and map, snacks, water, jacket, wallet. Take all other food and items with a scent out of your car or campsite and store them in a bear-proof box. Learn more about bears and required food storage.

Here are some shuttle logistics: Panels at each stop give details about the shuttles, what time the last bus of the day leaves that stop, and what there is to see at that location.
Stop at Lodge pole Visitor Center or the Giant Forest Museum for more information and trip-planning ideas. Check signs or ask the driver if the shuttle is going your way (shuttles traveling in both directions go to each shuttle stop). Keep track of time in the late afternoon so as not to miss the last shuttle (times vary from stop to stop). If you need to ride a shuttle from Giant Forest Museum to get back to your car, be sure to get back there before the last shuttle leaves the museum. Not every shuttle on the Giant Forest Route goes to Wuksachi Lodge. If you are headed there, ask the shuttle drivers if their shuttle goes that far. Allow people to exit the bus before you board.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks support a wide diversity of animal species, reflecting the range in elevation, climate, and habitat variety here. Over 260 native vertebrate species are in the parks; numerous additional species may be present but have not been confirmed. Of the native vertebrates, five species are extirpated (extinct here), and over 150 are rare or uncommon.

There have been some studies of invertebrates here, but there is not enough information to know how many species occur in the parks. Many of the parks’ caves contain invertebrates, some of which occur only in one cave and are known nowhere else in the world.

A number of animals live in the area year-round; some breed here, while others winter here. Local species include the gray fox, bobcat, striped and spotted skunks, black bear, woodrat, pocket gopher, white-footed mouse, California quail, scrub jay, lesser goldfinch, wren-tit, acorn woodpecker, gopher snake, California king snake, striped racer, western whiptail lizard, and the California newt.

Winters in this region bring snow, sometimes to depths of 6 to 15 feet. Year-round and seasonal residents include the chickaree, gray squirrel, golden-mantled ground squirrel, mule deer, black bear, mountain lion, and migratory and a variety of resident birds (western tanager, violet-green swallow, white-throated swift, Wilson’s warbler, olive-sided flycatcher, hermit thrush, western bluebird, and pileated woodpecker). Reptiles are not common, but the mountain king snake, rubber boa, western fence lizard, and alligator lizard are occasionally seen.

The high country is a land of lakes, meadows, some open forest, and miles of granite. Mammals are less common here, and food is scarce. It is only here that you will find the elusive Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. Other mammals include the marmot, pika, and white-tailed jack rabbit. Birds include the Clark’s nutcracker, mountain bluebird, and gray-crowned rosy finch. In this region, you may also be lucky enough to find a mountain yellow-legged frog, a declining species for which recovery efforts are now underway.

Black bears are an integral part of the Sierra ecosystem and one of the many wildlife species the National Park Service is mandated to protect. Black bears range throughout both Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks – where they forage for natural foods – digging up roots in meadows, ripping apart logs, and peering into tree cavities for food. Unfortunately, when human food becomes available, they learn to forage for human food in place of natural food – digging up your backseat to get the cooler in the trunk, ripping apart trailer doors, and peering into your car for food.

This change in foraging behavior also leads to changes in other behaviors such as the time bears are active, the range in elevation and habitat types where bears occur, and their behavior toward humans. Ensuing conflicts between bears and humans result in damaged property, personal injuries, and the destruction of some bears. The unnatural behavior and resultant losses are unacceptable. As a result, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have a long-standing human-bear management program.

Amphibians, reptiles, and fish are found at all elevations within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and certain species may be found at all times of the year. Their occurrence ranges from common western fence lizards to extirpated locally extinct yellow-legged frogs. The parks also have numerous species of exotics such as the bullfrog and many species of fish, which were brought into naturally fishless lakes to make the area more attractive to anglers.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks’ provide habitat for over 200 species of birds, including many neo-tropical migrants. Park biologists monitor birds to obtain more information about individual species and also because they are indicator species of local and regional change for the larger ecosystem. Documented effects of DDT on peregrine falcons and brown-headed cowbird nest parasitism on songbirds have alerted us to the dangers of pesticides and over-development. In the Sierra Nevada, these factors are implicated in the precipitous decline of the willow flycatcher.

Ticks are common in foothill grasses. Check yourself after a walk. Their bite is painless, but small percentages carry Lyme disease. Remove ticks carefully with tweezers. Seek a ranger’s and/or doctor’s advice. Fleas on rodents can carry plague. Deer mice feces can carry Hantavirus. Please do not feed or touch ANY park animals. Mosquitoes can carry the West Nile virus. The chance of infection is low and human illness unusual. Still, try to avoid mosquito bites. In mosquito areas, wear protective clothing or use repellant.

Although rattlesnakes and cougars live here, they are shy and will try to avoid you if given a chance. Always watch where you put your hands and feet, especially when climbing on warm rocks. Most snake bites here result from teasing or handling. Very few people die from bites, but tissue damage can be severe. If bitten, avoid panic. Call a ranger or 911.

Chances of seeing a cougar (also called a mountain lion) are very small. But on rare occasions, cougars have attacked people and pets. If you see a cougar, your goal is to convince it that you do not want trouble but may be dangerous. Don’t run or turn your back. Instead look as large as possible by raising your arms over your head. Pick up children. Wave your hands and shout. If attacked, fight back. Report any cougar sightings to a ranger.

Never approach any bear, regardless of its size. If you encounter a bear, act immediately. Throw objects at it from a safe distance. Yell, clap your hands, and bang pots together. If there is more than one person, stand together to present a more intimidating figure, but do not surround the bear. Use caution if you see cubs, as the mother may act aggressively to defend them. When done together, these actions have been successful in scaring bears away. Never try to directly retrieve anything once a bear has it. Please report all incidents and sightings to a ranger. See the Wildlife Precautions page for further safety tips. Please, never feed the wild life.

Part of your entrance and camping fees stay in the park to improve the experience here — repairing roads, campgrounds, trails, picnic areas, and restrooms. Fees have also funded updated exhibits, improved visitor centers, and better naturalist slide programs.

7-day pass :
$20 per vehicle or $10 per person on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, or bus.

Annual pass:
$30 admits all passengers in a private vehicle for one year from month of purchase.

Groups:

Non-commercial groups entering the park in a bus or vehicle with a capacity of 15 persons or more will be charged $10 for each person on board. Exceptions:

•Anyone who is 15 or younger is exempt from paying an entrance fee.

•Passes may be used for entry as defined on the back of the pass.

•In many cases the driver will have been hired for transportation only and is exempt from paying the entrance fee.

•The total fee charged will not exceed the equivalent commercial fee for that type of vehicle.

Wilderness permits are required for all overnight camping outside designated campgrounds. There is an overnight camping fee of $15 per trip for permits issued by these parks.

Permits are not required for day hikes, except in the Mt Whitney area. All hikers (even day hikers) to Mt. Whitney are required to obtain a permit from the Inyo National Forest.

Anyone wishing to visit Crystal Cave must be part of a guided tour. Tour tickets are not sold at the cave entrance. They must be purchased in person at Foothills or Lodgepole visitor centers in Sequoia National Park. After purchasing tickets allow at least 1½ hours to arrive at the cave.

Special use permits are available for certain activities in the park, such as weddings and scattering of ashes. Please call 559-565-3153.

The parks offer 14 campgrounds with over 800 established campsites. Fees vary depending on location. There is a camping limit of 14 days during the period from June 14-September 15 with a total of 30 days per year.

Only three campgrounds are open year-round: Lodgepole, Azalea, and Potwisha. Four campgrounds do not permit trailers and RVs: Buckeye Flat, Canyon View, Atwell Mill, and Cold Springs. In other campgrounds, site size varies and many sites are not suitable f

or very long RVs.

All but two campgrounds are first-come, first-served; Lodgepole and Dorst take reservations for summer visits.

All park campgrounds often fill up on Saturday nights in July and August. However, chances of finding a campsite from Sunday afternoons through Friday afternoons are very good.

All campgrounds in these parks may be visited by black bears. With their excellent intelligence and sense of smell, they easily learn to seek human food. Then these usually shy animals may damage cars, coolers, and tents to get at it. If a bear gets very destructive, it must be killed.

Campgrounds offer metal bear-proof storage boxes (box sizes are listed for each campground; avoid bringing coolers that won’t fit). Check park bulletin boards for instructions when you arrive. While black bears can be dangerous, it’s our food, not us, which they are after. There are no grizzly bears in these parks.

Buckeye Flat Campground is open late spring to early September (through the end of Labor Day weekend). It is located in the foothills along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River, 4 miles from Sequoia Park entrance & 12 miles from Giant Forest. There are no reservations it’s a first come, first served basis. There are 28 sites and 1 handicap site. It is tents only and there flush toilets. There are two bear-proof food-storage boxes provided at each campsite: one is 47″ long x 17″ deep x 17-3/4″ high, the other is 47-3/4″ long x 34″ deep x 22″ high. There are several additional boxes for sites to share. The fee is $18 per night.

Cold Springs Campground is open late May through October 31. It is located in the Mineral King area, 23 miles up the steep, winding Mineral King Road from Highway 198. RVs & trailers are not permitted. There are no reservations it is a first come, first served basis. There are 31 sites & 9 walk-in sites, pit toilets, pay phones and ranger programs in July & August. They are 2-1/2 miles from Silver City Resort’s restaurant, gifts, limited supplies, & showers (no gasoline). Water is turned off in mid-October. One metal, bear-proof food-storage box provided at each campsite: 47″ long x 17″ deep x 17-3/4″ high. The fee is $12 per night.

Dorst Creek Campground is open late May through Labor Day (early September).
They are located 10 miles from Giant Forest, under open stands of evergreen trees. There are 204 sites. Reservations are available during late May through Labor Day (early September). They may be made starting 6 months in advance of the date you would like to camp. Call Reserve America toll free: 877-444-6777 (TDD 877-833-6777) from 10 am – midnight EST March 1- October 31 or 10am – 10pm EST November 1 through February OR go online (www.recreation.gov). Customer Service: 888-448-1474.
They have RV dump and fill stations, flush toilets, pay phones and group sites. They are 8 miles from Lodgepole Market, deli, showers & laundry (summer only), & post office; 6 miles from Wuksachi Lodge, restaurant, and gift shop. They offer Ranger programs in summer. One metal, bear-proof food-storage box provided at each campsite; sizes vary. Smallest boxes are 47″ long x 17″ deep x 17-3/4″ high. There are several additional boxes for sites to share. The fee is $20 per night.

Group Campsites:

Lodgepole Campground is open all year. They are location along the Marble Fork of the Kaweah River, 2 miles, from the Giant Forest sequoia grove; 21 miles from Sequoia Park entrance. Reservations are available from late May through mid-September. You may make them starting 6 months in advance of the date you would like to camp. Call Reserve America toll free: 877-444-6777 (TDD 877-833-6777) from 10 am – midnight EST March 1- October 31 or 10am – 10pm EST November 1 through February or go online: www.recreation.gov. Customer Service: 888-448-1474. There is one metal, bear-proof food-storage box provided at each campsite: 47″ long x 17″ deep x 17-3/4″ high. There are several additional boxes for sites to share. SUMMER: 214 tent & RV sites, flush toilets, RV disposal station, summer ranger programs, pay phone. They are within 1/4-mile of Lodgepole market, restaurant, and gift shop. In summer showers & laundry are available. Reservations are recommended. FALL/WINTER/SPRING: 25 walk-in tent sites, RV availability limited by snow on a first-come, first-served basis. One set of flush toilets, and pay phones. The fee during the summer is $20per night (or half price with Golden Age or Golden Access Passports). FALL/WINTER/SPRING: The fee is $18 until heavy snows; then fee is $10 (or half price with Golden Age or Golden Access Passports)

South Fork Campground is open all year. They are located in the foothills on the South Fork of the Kaweah River. On South Fork drive 13 miles from Highway 198. There are no reservations it is a first come, first served basis. There are 10 sites, NO drinking water and pit toilets. The last miles of the road to this campground are unpaved, and may be slippery when wet. One metal, bear-proof food-storage box provided at each campsite: 47″ long x 17″ deep x 17-3/4″ high. The fee is $12 per night May thru October then no fee.

Reservations may be made up to 6 months in advance of the date you wish to start camping there. For example, you can make a reservation for July 4 beginning on January 4.

Reservations by phone are available toll free: 10am-midnight (EST). from March 1 – October 31 and 10am – 10pm (EST) from November 1 through February: 1-877-444-6777 (TDD 1-877-833-6777).

Just north of Grant Grove Village in Kings Canyon National Park on Hwy 180 is Hume Lake. The lake offers camping, swimming, and picnicking.

West Side of the Parks:
There is Sequoia National Forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument, Hume Lake, Jennie Lakes Wilderness, Monarch Wilderness, Sierra National Forest, Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, John Muir Wilderness, Wishon Reservoir, Cartwright Reservoir, Florence Lake, Lake Thomas Edison, Yosemite National Park, Kern National Wildlife Refuge, Mountain Home Demonstration State Forest and Kaweah Oaks Preserve.

East Side of the Parks:
There is Devils Postpile National Monument, Inyo National Forest, Golden Trout Wilderness, South Sierra Wilderness, Domeland Wilderness, California Bighorn Sheep Zoological Area, South Lake, Lake Sabrina
Manzanar National Historical Site, Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve.

Both roads leading to these parks approach from the west. They are open all day, every day, depending on weather. No roads cross these parks. From the east, no roads reach the park boundary. To find out recent park road conditions and other information call: 1-559-565-3341.

To enter Sequoia Park from highways 65 or 99, go east on Highway 198 to the park entrance.

To enter Kings Canyon National Park from Highway 99, go east on Highway 180 to the park entrance.

The main park road, the Generals Highway, connects these two entrances.

There is a new shuttle available only during the summer. For a small fee you can now ride a shuttle from the city of Visalia to the Giant Forest Museum. Once at the museum explore the Giant Forest area on the free park shuttle.

Many park roads have very tight curves, so vehicle-length advisories are in effect. Generals Highway for 16 miles between Sequoia’s foothills and the Giant Forest, the advised maximum vehicle length is 22 feet. To take the alternative route take highway 180 from Fresno to Grant Grove. Mineral King Road is not recommended for RVs or trailers (RVs and trailers are not permitted in the campgrounds there). Crystal Cave Road has a maximum vehicle length of 22 feet. No trailers permitted. As for Moro Rock/Crescent Meadow road, RVs and trailers are not recommended.

The closest commercial airports are in Fresno & Visalia. Fresno Air Terminal (or “Fresno Yosemite International”) is 1¼ hours from the Kings Canyon National Park entrance on Hwy 180 and 1¾ hours from the Sequoia National Park entrance on Hwy 198.

Visalia Airport is 1 hour from the Sequoia National Park entrance on Hwy 198 and 1½ hours from Kings Canyon National Park entrance on Hwy 180.

Amtrak serves Visalia twice daily via motor coach. These buses connect trains stopping in Hanford with the same Transit Center in Visalia served by the Sequoia Park Shuttle. (Hanford is about 30 miles west of Visalia, 1¼ hours from the Sequoia National Park entrance on Hwy 198.)

There is also an Amtrak station in Fresno (1¾ hours from Kings Canyon National Park entrance on Hwy 180).

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Sequoia National Park:

By Car:

San Jose, CA – 226.94 miles

Bakersfield, CA – 113.10 miles

Los Angeles, CA – 224.31 miles

San Miguel, CA – 148.71 miles

Death Valley, CA – 339.90 miles

Las Vegas, NV – 399.38 miles

By Plane:

Fresno Yosemite International Airport – 82.65 miles

Visalia Municipal Airport – 40.57 miles

By Mail:

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

47050 Generals Highway

Three Rivers, California 93271-9700

By Phone:
1-559-565-3341 for recorded information or access to park staff

By Fax:
1-559-565-3730

Map

The visitor center is located in American Fork Canyon on Highway 92 just 10 miles east from Interstate 15 and 17.2 miles from U.S. 189; approximately 40 miles from Salt Lake City. An Information desk, exhibits, theater with orientation film and brochures can be found here. Expanded (Summer) hours are: May through Labor Day, 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Cave tours are available through the day. First hike time to the caves is at 7:30 a.m., last hike time to the caves is at 4:30 pm. Fall hours are: after Labor Day until closing in mid October, 8 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. First hike time to the caves is at 8:00 a.m., last hike time to the caves is at 3:30 p.m. The visitor center is closed for the winter after October 14 until May. The busiest season is Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Western National Parks Association Bookstore is located in the visitor center. It is open during the summer season (May to October). Call (801) 756-5238 for more information. Timpanogos Cave Snack Bar and Gift Shop is located adjacent to the visitor center. It is open daily during the summer season. Call (801) 756-5702 for more information. Restrooms and pay phones are available at the visitor center. Due to the steep grade of the cave trail and the narrow passages and stairs in the caves, the caves and cave trail are not wheel chair accessible. A full length cave tour is available to view at the wheelchair accessible visitor center.

The cave is located 1,065 feet above the visitor center, on the same side of the canyon, but cannot be seen from the visitor center. The entrance shelter can be seen from various points along Highway 92.

On October 14, 1922 Timpanogos Cave was made a national monument by President Warren G. Harding. Timpanogos Cave was established as a National Monument to preserve its features of unusual scientific interest and importance – features like its abundance of helictites, its coloration in its formations, its display of fault-controlled passages, and its alpine surroundings.

American Fork Canyon includes two wilderness areas-Lone Peak Wilderness on the north side of the canyon and mount Timpanogos Wilderness to the south. Lone Peak was established in 1977 and Mount Timpanogos in 1984.

More than 100 years ago no one knew that there were caves hidden in American Fork Canyon. Then on a fall day in 1887, 40-year old Martin Hansen, a Mormon settler from American Fork, Utah, accidentally discovered the first cave. Hansen was cutting timber high on the canyon’s south slopes when, according to one popular version of the story, he came across the tracks of a mountain lion. Following the tracks to a high ledge, he found an opening in the rock-the entrance to the small cave that would be named after him.

Hansen did not enter the cave that day, but he returned later to explore. To allow others to get a firsthand look at the cave, Hansen and others hacked out a rough and hazardous trail straight up the mountainside. By all accounts, the first visitors found the cave exceptionally decorated with colorful deposits of flowstone and other formations. Within only a few years, however, souvenir hunters and miners had damaged the cave, selling much of their treasures to museums and universities and to commercial enterprises who made decorative objects from the cave deposits.

Not until 1915 was a second cave discovered. That summer a group of families from Lehi, Utah, came to American Fork Canyon for a day’s outing. While the rest of the group explored Hansen Cave, teenagers James W. Gough and Frank Johnson climbed around the rocky slope outside. By chance they stumbled across a hole not far from the entrance to Hansen Cave. It was the entrance to Timpanogos Cave. Many people explored the cave, seeing its exquisite formations, including the Great Heart of Timpanogos, but for some reason knowledge of the cave and its whereabouts faded.

Then on August 14, 1921, Timpanogos Cave was rediscovered. An outdoor club from Payson, Utah, had come to see Hansen Cave and investigate rumors of a second cave. It was Veral J. Manwill, a member of the club who confirmed the rumors by rediscovering Timpanogos Cave. The group explored the cave and decided to keep the find a secret and come back in two weeks to explore some more. That very night, “by the light of campfire, [we] discussed our find,” Manwill wrote, “and talked about ways and means to preserve its beauty for posterity instead of allowing it to be vandalized as Hansen’s Cave had been.” The people around that fire dedicated themselves to the cave’s preservation.

Even as this group was organizing, the Forest service was conducting their own search to discover the mysterious cave. When the Payson Alpine Club returned two weeks later, Forest Rangers Walter Mann and Vivian West followed their path up the steep canyon slopes and met them at the entrance to the cave. The club shared their discovery with the rangers and expressed their desire to protect it from vandals and mining operations. Their visit allowed the Forest Service to declare the cave to be a Public Service Site that granted the cave a small amount of protection from miners and treasure seekers.

The beautiful cave was named Timpanogos Cave, and the fame of the cave spread throughout the state and beyond. The local Forest Service wanted to protect the cave but also enable people to see it. A trail was constructed, lights were strung through the cave, and tours began. Its success was immediate. People traveled from throughout the United States to see the magnificent cave. Despite the growing attraction, there were many that also wished to mine the cave and remove the fragile cave formations.

The excitement of rediscovering the natural wonders of Timpanogos Cave had not died down when a third cave-Middle Cave-was found that fall in 1921. George Heber Hansen and Wayne E. Hansen, son and grandson of Martin Hansen, were in American Fork Canyon hunting deer. As they looked through binoculars at the south slope of the canyon from the opposite side, they spotted an opening near the other two cave entrances. Within days they returned to this new cave-Middle Cave-with a large exploring party equipped with ropes, flashlights, and candles. In the party was pioneer cave-finder Martin Hansen, by then 74 years old.

In 1922 the caves were declared a national monument to protect them forever for their scientific importance and for the enjoyment of people. As more visitors came to tour the caves, the Forest Service reinforced their efforts to protect the caves and educate the public about this unique and fragile resource. In 1933, management of Timpanogos Cave National Monument was transferred from the Forest Service to the National Park Service, who has continued to preserve the cave ever since.

The monument is found nestled within the steeply-walled American Fork Canyon. The elevation ranges from 5,000 feet to 9,500 feet. At an elevation of 11,750 ft, Mt. Timpanogos is the 2nd highest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Range. The word Timpanogos (tim´p?­no´gas) comes from the Timpanogots Ute tribe who lived in the surrounding valleys from A.D. 1400. The name translates as rock (tumpi-), and water mouth or canyon (panogos). In the center of the monument flows the American Fork River.

Some of the Earth’s most powerful and delicate forces combined to create the wonders of Hansen, Middle and Timpanogos caves, beginning when the Wasatch Range was building. Tremendous mountain-building forces slowly uplifted and fractured the sedimentary rock.

The caves were dissolved later along fractures now called Hansen, Middle and Timpanogos faults in the Desert limestone. Apparently rising hot water and descending cold water were important factors in the cave’s origins. Natural weak carbonic acid dissolved the rock to form the caves, which were created at the level of an ancient water table and later invaded by a stream for a short time.

Then a change occurred. Water that filled or partially filled the caves drained. As more water seeped into the air-filled caves, it decorated them with fantastic formations. Water trickling through the limestone overlying the caves dissolved calcite and other minerals from the rock. Then, upon entering an underground chamber, the water deposited its mineral load as a tiny crystal on a cave ceiling, wall, or floor.

Over thousands of years, as countless crystals were deposited, a variety of cave formations took shape-stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, helictites, and others. Each had its own shape and size, determined by how and where the water entered the cave, how long it flowed, and other factors.

Today, the caves are still changing: new formations are being created, and existing ones are growing where mineral-laden water continues to enter. In Timpanogos Cave a stalactite- stalagmite pair are growing closer year by year; today they are only ¾ inch apart, and if growth continues at the current rate, they will probably join in about 200 years. As long as water-the master architect and interior decorator-continues to trickle into the caves, creation will continue.

The Timpanogos Cave System is uniquely known for its high abundance of helictites, its coloration in its formations, its display of fault-controlled passages, and its alpine surroundings. Helictites are a spiraling cave formation that seems to defy gravity. They are as fragile as hand-blown glass. Helictites are formed when calcite crystals and dissolved impurities are forced out of a tiny central canal in the helictite by hydrostatic pressure. In simpler words water is pushed and pulled through a small opening where the forces of capillarity attraction and hydrostatic pressure are greater than the force of gravity. Timpanogos Cave’s abundance in helictites is thought to be caused by the large amounts of wall coatings and the small amount of fault movement that creates many small openings suitable for helictites.

In the Chime Chamber in Timpanogos Cave, there are hundreds of 6 to 10 inch long helictites, where they are usually only a few inches long. Timpanogos Cave contains formations displaying colors of green and yellow. X-ray analysis shows this rare green and yellow coloring to be from nickel being incorporated into the crystal structure.

Many different types of cave formations have been created by water simply dripping or flowing into the caves. Perhaps the most well-known of these are stalactites and stalagmites, which can be seen through-out the cave. Stalactites, which hang like icicles from the ceiling, form as drop after drop of water slowly trickles down through the cave roof. The smallest stalactites may be hallow, thin, and straight, and are so called soda straw stalactites. Others may be massive: The Great Heart of Timpanogos Cave-5 ½ feet long, three feet wide, 4,000 pounds-is composed of three, or possibly more tremendous stalactites that have grown together. The many colors of stalactites-and indeed all of the formations in the caves-are caused by traces of iron, nickel, manganese, and organics.

Stalagmites are formed when mineral-laden water strikes the floor. The tallest stalagmite is about 6 feet high in Timpanogos Cave; most are smaller. Occasionally stalactites and stalagmites merge, forming a floor-to-ceiling column. The cave’s largest column, 13 feet high, is found in Hansen Cave.

Another common formation, draperies, is created when water trickles down an inclined ceiling. A spectacular example of such a formation is the Frozen Sunbeam, a thin translucent sheet of orange-colored calcite in Timpanogos Cave. Draperies in these caves are seldom more than one inch think.

The Cascade of Energy and the Chocolate Fountain, both in Timpanogos Cave, are examples of another type of formation-flowstone. As its name implies, the smooth coatings or sculpted terraces of flowstone are created when water flows down a wall or across a floor. A particularly impressive specimen decorates a wall in the Big Room of Middle Cave.

Frostwork, like its name depicts, resembles hoarfrost growing outside on a foggy winter day. Most frostwork found in Timpanogos Cave is formed from aragonite, an unstable form of calcite. The delicate nature of these tiny crystals makes them particularly susceptible to damage and vandalism.

Still another, not quite so common, type of formation found in the caves is cave popcorn. Popcorn occurs where water seeps slowly through pores in the rock or in thin films down rock walls. These knobby limps are particularly abundant in Timpanogos Cave, where they are mixed with helictites.

The caves’ natural world offers many features besides unusual crystal formations. Small, clear pools occur where water has collected; mirror-like, they reflect their other-worldly surroundings. There are 30 such pools and lakes in the Timpanogos Cave system. One pool, Hidden Lake, can be seen in Timpanogos Cave. In some pools, small wall-like formations made of calcite form rimstone dams.

The passages in Timpanogos Cave are greatly controlled by faulting. Looking at a map of Timpanogos Cave, one sees many paralleling passages following the fault trends. Along the cave tour, visitors can see these fault lines running along the passages. The initial pathways that water followed were these faults. In some areas of the cave like the Imagination Room, passages dip along the bedding planes and follow the direction of the fault lines. Looking at the map of the cave, one wonders if other cave passages exist following similar fault lines.

Timpanogos Cave is surrounding by an Alpine environment. The cave trail adds to the remoteness of the cave and offering spectacular views of the geology. Unlike other tourist caves, this alpine remoteness is unique. Because of this remoteness, the cave escapes the polluted air and contaminated watersheds.

The cave is closed for 6 months due to heavy snowfalls. Even though temperatures can be below freezing in the winter, the caves keep a fairly constant temperature of 46 degrees F and 100% humidity. In years of heavy snowfall, snow is shoveled off the cave trail in preparation for opening the caves and cave trail in the spring.

A very long time ago, a shallow warm sea covered most parts of the state of Utah. As small marine animals died, their skeletons settled in the sediments. Under immense heat and pressure, the sediments hardened into limestone rock. Upon close inspection, the fossils of these ancient marine animals can be seen in the layers of rock. These fossils can be seen near or inside the cave. The most common types of fossils are Horn Corals, Crinoids, and Brachiopods. These oddly shaped, white deposits in the rock serve as evidence of a constantly changing planet.

A wonderful variety of grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and trees are found within Timpanogos Cave National Monument. The park’s elevation ranges from 5000 feet to 9500 feet creating many different plant communities. Plants with similar condition requirements (elevation, rainfall, soil type) are found growing together within the same community. The Monument has 4 main plant communities: riparian, coniferous, mountain-brush, and sub-alpine.

The riparian community, an environment influenced by a river, is easy to recognize and can be found on the canyon floor. Within the dark and fertile soil, Cottonwoods, Box Elder Maples and water loving grasses hug the shore of the American Fork River. The plants are dependent on the high quantities of water found within the community.

On the sunny north side of the canyon, the Mountain-Brush community is found. Scrub Oak, Big Tooth Maple, Rabbitbrush, and Mexican Cliffrose are just a few of the shrubs and trees that can be found in this area. All these plants require little water and high intensity sunlight.

On the shadier south side of the American Fork Canyon, the majority of the coniferous community reaches high into the sky. Douglas and White Fir grow tall and strong, creating winter shelter for the canyon animals.

Above the cave on the south side of the canyon exists a sub-alpine community. This plant community is known for its Quaking Aspen and fields of wildflowers. Flowers such as Mountain Bluebells, Penstemons, and Wild Onion create a beautiful scene for any hiker. Unfortunately, the sub-alpine community cannot be reached within the monument. However the back side of Timpanogos Mountain has a wonderful example of this community. If you would like to take this trip, ask for directions at the Timpanogos Cave Visitor Center.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument is unique to most of Utah national park’s because its climate supports forests. The Monument has many wonderful trees that provide food for animals and shade the cave trail providing visitors with a cool and attractive hike. The Monument has three different forest types: Montane Chaparral/Shrub, Mixed-Conifer Forest, and Quaking Aspen Forest.

The Montane Chaparral/Shrub forest is found mostly on the south-facing slope of the park where the soil is poor and dry. Composed primarily of Gambel oak and Bigtooth maple, Montane Chaparral/Shrub communities also contain Curleaf mountain mahogany, Rubber rabbitbrush, and Cliff rose. The Gambel Oak often appears shrubby and is therefore commonly known as Shrub Oak. Its leaves are lobed and deeply divided. Gambel Oak is often found in groups of at least a dozen trees. These groups are clones usually produced after a fire by one tree’s root system. In the summer and fall, Gambel Oak’s acorns are an important source of food for mule deer and elk. This tree was also used by Native Americans for food and wood. The Big Tooth Maple is often shrub-like in appearance with leaves that have 3 to 5 tooth-like lobes. It evolved from its eastern cousin the Sugar Maple. This causes scientists to argue whether Big Tooth Maple should be considered its own species or a variation of the Sugar Maple. In the fall it paints the canyon with brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows making it a favorite among campers and hikers. In the winter, Mule deer depend heavily on this vegetation type for food.

The Mixed-Conifer Forest, found along the cave trail, consists mostly of Douglas-fir, and white fir. The White Fir grows 60 to 100 feet tall and can live up to 300 years. Its needles are silvery blue to silvery green and are relatively flat curving up from the stem. The trunk has a whitish grayish color and is used for lumber. In the winter White Fir is often used for Christmas trees by humans and for food by squirrels. The rich, moist soils allow for the development of a diverse understory of forbs, grasses, and shrubs. Mixed-Conifer Forests historically have burnt every 10 years; however, with fire suppression, this no longer occurs. In absence of fire, these forests have undergone major changes in structure and species composition.

At the top of the monument on the north facing slope, communities of Quaking Aspen can be found. Here, large amounts of sunlight and favorable soil conditions create a rich understory of grasses, forbs, and shrubs. Aspens reproduce by cloning: creating forests of trees that are all genetically identical.

There are many people who don’t understand the difference between a shrub and a tree. Unlike trees which have one woody stem called the trunk, shrubs are plants that have many woody stems. Shrubs are valuable for a number of reasons such as, food for humans and animals, fuel, soil stabilization, and beauty. Timpanogos Cave National Monument has a great diversity of shrubs. Some of the more common ones found are: Mexican Cliffrose, Rubber Rabbitbrush, and Woods Rose.

Mexican Cliffrose has a creamy yellow flower, light red bark, and feathery fruits. It is found on sunny hillsides, and is used by wildlife in the winter as a source of food and by humans to make tea. The Native Americans have used the plant’s bark for making baskets and the wood for constructing arrows.

Rubber Rabbitbrush is a large shrub with linear, grayish blue leaves and clusters of yellow flowers. This plant likes to establish itself in disturbed sites and is found on sunny hillsides. It is a unique shrub because it has small amounts of rubber and resin (used to make plastic) found within its branches.

Woods Rose is a small shrub with rose-like leaves and small flowers with five pink petals. It is found in areas that receive more water than surrounding arid environments. The petals of the Woods Rose are used for potpourri and the pollen is used by honey bees. The hips can be used to make tea, fruitcakes, jellies, and puddings.

Wildflowers make Timpanogos Cave National Monument absolutely gorgeous in the spring and summer by bringing a diversity of color to the canyon. Flowers are also the food source to many small animals in the canyon such as chipmunks, squirrels, and birds. Within the Monument, there are wildflowers that bloom in the spring, early summer, and mid-summer. Some of these flowers include: Alum Root, Miner’s Lettuce, Firecracker Penstemon, and Blazing Star.

Alum Root is a perennial found flowering in the spring on rocky cliffs both near and on the trail. It hugs the ground with small, dark green leaves and short stems (under 1”) with white to pink flowers. The spring leaves are edible boiled or steamed and the root eaten raw will usually cure diarrhea.

Miner’s Lettuce typically grows in shady moist areas along the cave trail in the spring. Leaves at the ends of the stalks are green and circular (up to 2” in diameter) with a small, white flower growing from its center. Miner’s Lettuce was used by pioneers and Native Americans as an herb and for salads.

Firecracker Penstemon is a gorgeous perennial that produces stocks of tubular scarlet flowers in early summer. Its leaves are a shiny dark green. It can be found in many environments and along the cave trail. Hummingbirds will stake territories over Firecracker Penstemon patches and risk all to defend their prime nectar source.

Blazing Star is a short-lived perennial herb that blooms in mid-summer and can at times behave as an annual. Its leaves may appear weedy, but its cream-yellow flower is very showy. They are often called “Stick-leaf” because of the barbed leaves that easily cling to clothing. The seeds are edible when parched and ground.

The Monument also has many beautiful grasses. Some examples of grasses found within the monument are: Bluebunch Wheatgrass, Muttongrass, and Indian Ricegrass.

Bluebunch Wheatgrass is a blue-green grass that grows in bunches sending off long stalks with rows of seeds. It grows on dry hillsides where it gets plenty of sun. Ranchers have historically fed their cattle on Bluebunch Wheatgrass and it is a great source of food for wildlife too.

Muttongrass is a shorter grass that has clusters of small silvery pink flowers. It grows along the entire trail leading to the cave. This grass has also been traditionally used for grazing. The name shows the value shepherds place on this grass for sheep feed.

Indian Ricegrass is a delicate, airy, grass that has been slowly disappearing from the west due to overgrazing. This grass was once used by Native Americans to make bread, especially when the corn crop failed. Today it is found in dry harsh environments along the cave trail that have not been overly disturbed by human contact. Indian Ricegrass is Utah’s state grass.

On the trail leading to the cave, crusty red, green, grey, and orange lichens can be seen growing on bare rock. As you see them, please do not attempt to remove them because they grow at extremely slow rates. On average, they will enlarge 0.1 to 1 millimeter a year. Lichens are composed of both fungus and algae that live together in a beneficial relationship. The alga provides food for the fungus, and the fungus retains water for the algae. By helping each other out they form lichens that can live in extreme environments. Lichens are useful in many ways. Humans use them to create color dyes and perfumes. Small insects create shelters and nests within them. Lichens are also partially responsible for the initial soil break down after disasters such as mass wasting.

There are many special programs to choose from. Cave tours are offered daily during the summer and fall season. Evening programs are offered every Friday, Saturday and Monday from Memorial Day until Labor Day. Junior Ranger programs are offered on Saturdays, Memorial Day until Labor Day.

Ranger programs are a great way to expand your exploration of Timpanogos Cave National Monument and American Fork Canyon. Spend a few minutes or a few hours with them as they share information, stories, and their own discoveries. A variety of interpretive ranger programs are offered during the summer months (May through September).

Join a park ranger for an in-depth look at some of the compelling stories and interesting resources at Timpanogos Cave National Monument and American Fork Canyon. From snakes to birds of prey, from fire ecology to campfire sing-a-longs, there is something for everyone, at any age. These are offered Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings, Memorial Day until Labor Day and last about 1 hour.

The Junior Ranger Program teaches children about the natural and cultural history of the monument and canyon. Junior Ranger patio talks are given Saturday mornings and on holidays at the visitor center, Memorial Day until Labor Day. These ranger presented programs cover a variety of interesting topics for kids of all ages. Children may become a “Junior Ranger” at anytime by participating in the program and earning a Junior Ranger badge or patch and certificate. Requirements to become a Junior Ranger include completing the free Jr. Ranger booklet, going on a cave tour, or attending an evening program, and helping to pick up litter. Once the kids have completed these requirements they can return to the visitor center and receive a Junior Ranger badge or patch and certificate certifying their status as a Timpanogos Cave Junior Ranger. Junior Ranger booklets are available at the visitor center.

Explore a world underground, deep inside the mountain, along the 3/4-mile tour. Timpanogos Caves may only be entered with a guided tour. Highly decorated caves with gravity defying helictites, fragile anthodite crystals and flowing cave drapery are among the many formations that adorn the caves and winding passages. These unique formations and the fascinating human history are a few of the things that make the caves such a special place. Before you begin your hike to the caves, be sure to buy your tickets at the visitor center. Cave tours are offered daily throughout the summer season and are led by park rangers. Cave tours are 45-60 minutes long and are limited to 20 people per tour. The only access to the cave system is by walking a strenuous 1 1/2-mile-paved trail, which rises 1,065 ft to an elevation of 6,730 feet above sea level. The round-trip hike and tour of the cave system takes about three hours.

The 1-1/2 miles long paved trail to the cave is also a popular attraction. The trail provides spectacular views of the geology of the American Fork Canyon and the expanding cities of the Utah Valley. The Canyon Nature Trail, a ¼ mile walk, is across the street at the pedestrian bridge. Two picnic areas are also located in the monument: across the street from the visitor center and Swinging Bridge Picnic area is located ¼ mile down the canyon on the north side of the road.

Over 200 miles of hiking trails in the canyon range from level and easy to steep and arduous. Stop and ask a Ranger at the Timpanogos Cave Visitor Center or Pleasant Grove District Office for recommended hikes, maps and guides. Enjoy the multiple use trails available in the Uinta National Forest and take a bike ride or horseback ride where no cars can go.

The 20-mile Alpine Scenic Drive winds through rugged canyons of the Wasatch Range offering stupendous views of Mt. Timpanogos and other glacier-carved peaks. The route follows Utah 92 up American Fork Canyon and continues through Uinta National Forest into Provo Canyon on U.S. 189. Along the way, about 7.5 miles off the Alpine Loop, on Road 114, you can see Cascade Springs. This beautiful site consists of boardwalks over springs cascading down the mountain slope in a series of limestone terraces and pools.

Take the time to camp under the stars for a night or a week. American Fork Canyon has four developed campgrounds. Each site offers a table, grill, and access to water and restrooms during the summer.

Fishing is allowed in the Monument with a valid fishing license. Fish for Brown, Rainbow, and Cutthroat trout while there.

Some areas of the Canyon can be used for ATV’s, four-wheel drives and motorcycles. Be sure to stay on the paths and do not destroy plants.

During the winter you can enjoy winter camping, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling in nearby Uinta National Forest.

Many environmental factors or issues affect the condition of the park’s resources. These can include nonnative species, pests, water quality, and weather conditions.

The National Park Service defines nonnative and exotic species as “those occurring outside their native ranges in a given place as a result of actions by humans.” Many nonnative species exist in apparent harmony in the environments where they are introduced. The most important aspect of an alien species is how it responds to a new environment. These nonnative species can be considered “invasive” species if it displays rapid growth and spread, establishes over large areas, and persists. This rapid establishment disturbs its surrounding ecosystem that has slowly evolved over the centuries.

The Park Service attempts to control these invasive species because of their impact on the native animal and plant communities that belong within the park. This effort can be very difficult and at times controversial. Some biologist think that introduced invasive species could be the greatest threat to the park’s natural ecosystems. Some of these species that are not native to the park are: Downy Brome, Brown Trout, and Rocky Mountain Goat.

Downy Brome, also called “Cheatgrass”, was introduced to North America from the Mediterranean area of Europe sometime before 1861. Its first recorded appearance was in wheat fields in Washington, Utah, and British Columbia. It has now spread over the entire United States of America. This grass has a tendency to take over and eliminate fields of native grasses. In mid summer Downy Brome dries out, creating large flammable spaces in the foothills of Utah. Many fires in Utah are started in carpets of Cheatgrass. In the monument, it is controlled by pulling the plant out and planting native grasses, forbs, and shrubs in its place.

The Brown Trout is native to Europe and western Asia. During the past 100 years, the species has been established in many of the cool and cold water areas of Utah including American Fork Canyon, where it is now one of the most popular sport fish in the state. Brown Trout have a tendency to eat other fish and by doing so, can have a negative impact on other fish species. Measures are now being taken in order to protect the existing native Cutthroat Trout fish populations.

The Rocky Mountain Goat naturally occurs in southeastern Alaska, western Canada, and in parts of northern Idaho, Montana, and Washington. It was not found in Utah until the 1960’s when it was introduced into Little Cottonwood Canyon. Although some scientists believe that it may once have existed in Utah, there is no physical evidence such as bones from archaeological digs that may indicate that it belongs here. For this reason, it is considered a nonnative species.

Lichens are indicator species, meaning that they indicate whether or not the environment is healthy. They are extremely sensitive to air pollution and will not grow where there are too many pollutants in the air. For this reason, scientists use lichens to measure the degree of health in many different environments. As you see them, please do not attempt to remove them because they grow at extremely slow rates. On average, they will enlarge 0.1 to 1 millimeter a year.

In the cave, water flow and quality is a high concern. The water in the cave is the “life” of formations and the cave’s ecosystem. Changes in the water quantity or quality may have irreversible affects on the entire cave system. Water quality and quantity can be affected by use of the land in and adjacent to the monument. The park tries to properly manage the uses within the cave’s watershed. Grazing, off-road vehicle use, camping, fires, and outhouses can alter hydrologic processes and affect the water quality.

In 2003 and 2004, the park acquired funds to document the cave’s water quality. The project sampled for all possible contaminants that may exist now or in the future. The primary results show most of the contaminants tested were lower than the tests could detect. The park will continue to monitor the water quality. Hopefully, any contamination will be detected early and a solution will be performed before the water quality has irreversible affects on the cave.

The water quantity is studied in the cave by routinely recording the rates of formation’s drip and the water levels of the cave’s lakes. The drip rates are measured manually by recording the amount of the water obtained in graduated cylinders over time. Drip rates are also measured using tipping bucket rain gages. Through these techniques, the cave’s water recharge rates and climatic changes can be defined.

Microbes are the most numerous and diverse form of life on the planet. Many of these life forms could contain new antibiotics. Microbes play an important part in acid production which breaks down limestone caves over time. Introducing microbes from outside the cave environment can have a lasting impact on these organisms and destroy valuable information.

A survey of microbial organisms in the Timpanogos Cave System is being performed at the Crandall Lab at Brigham Young University to understand their role in the cave’s ecology. Being on the bottom of the food chain, microbial communities are the first to respond to ecologic threats such as introduced contaminates and chemical changes. The microbe studies will produce a method of early detection to respond to ecosystem threats before irreparable harm occurs.

Samples were collected from both “pristine” and “disturbed” sites throughout the cave. The pristine sites are locations with very little visitation or human disturbance. The disturbed sites are locations near the tourist trail that are introduced to outside debris. By comparing the results from the pristine and disturbed sites, we hope to learn how the microbial communities are affected by visitation and trail development so we can restore these environments to a their more pristine conditions.

Weather at Timpanogos Cave National Monument greatly varies throughout the seasons. In winter, the canyon is often covered in a blanket of white snow. Temperatures can be very cold nearing 0° F (-18° C). In spring the temperature warms up allowing the snow to melt and it begins to rain significantly more. During the summer, weather in northern Utah is generally sunny with high temperatures reaching around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. At times the weather in the canyon can be unpredictable and visitors should be ready for all conditions throughout the year. Elevation at the visitor center is 5,500 feet; 6,700 feet at the cave entrance. In the summer, fierce afternoon thunderstorms are not uncommon. Humidity and moisture during the summer are very low. During fall, the temperature cools considerably and begins to occasionally rain. The Visitor Center has an average of 90 inches of snow a year and 25 inches of rain a year.

Current Park Weather

Mid-summer temperatures on the trail can reach 100 degrees F. However, temperatures in the caves average 45 degrees, so a sweater or light jacket is recommended. Hiking shoes, water, flashlights and sunscreen will make your visit safe and enjoyable.

Because of the steepness and incline of the cave trail, strollers and other wheeled vehicles are not allowed. Visitors may bring a baby backpack or carrier for hiking to the caves, but they will be asked to leave their baby carriers outside while they tour the caves with infants in arms. No pets are allowed on the cave trail or in the caves. Cameras are allowed, but a flash is needed. Camera tripods are not allowed in the caves. Visitors are welcome to bring snacks and eat along the trail. Food, drink, and walking sticks are not permitted in the cave.

Due to the steep grade of the cave trail and the narrow passages and stairs in the caves, the caves and cave trail are not wheel chair accessible. A full length cave tour is available to view at the wheelchair accessible visitor center.

There is little soil cover on the precipitous slopes of American Fork Canyon, and bare rock ledges are common. The highly fractured, exposed limestones are subject to extreme weathering conditions, thereby increasing the possibility of rockfall throughout the canyon. Be aware of the increased potential of rockfall on windy or rainy days, or during spring snow melt off. Kicking loose rocks off the trail may cause injuries to people below you.

Slip/fall hazards are present on many trails within the canyon, especially during cooler weather when trails are moist. Watch your children. Your hand and voice may be too far away once your child leaves your side. Use extra care around waterfalls, ridges, overlooks and wildlife.

Flash floods and snow avalanches occasionally occur in American Fork Canyon. Avalanche release zones may be well above you and not within your site.

Be sure and use the Leave-No-Trace principles even when just hiking. Pack out all trash and be careful where you step. Remember to leave the land better than you found it and keep it pristine for future visitors.

The Wilderness areas are protected areas. No campfires are allowed in Mount Timpanogos Wilderness. Visitors should practice the Leave-No-Trace ethics, avoid cutting switchbacks, and limit group sizes to 15 persons or less. Use of motorized or mechanized equipment, including bikes, within the wilderness is prohibited.

Although the park is only 250 acres, it has a respectable diversity in wildlife. The park has sightings recorded for 55 mammal species, 2 fish species, 51 bird species, and 4 reptile species. The Monument is found nestled within the steeply-walled American Fork Canyon. The elevation ranges from 5,000 feet to 9,500 feet. In the center of the monument flows the American Fork River.

These extreme conditions create desirable habitats for large mammals such as Mountain Goats, Big Horn Sheep, Mountain Lions, Moose, Mule Deer, and Black Bears. The canyon also supports small mammals such as Ringtail Cats, Longtail Weasels, raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, packrats, and bats. Each species of mammal plays an important role in the park’s “circle of life.” Small mammals such as rodents and bats help control the population of insects; larger mammals, like ringtail cats, help control the population of rodents. Plant eating mammals help distribute seeds.

The Townsend’s Big-Eared Bat is known for its particularly large pink ears. Like many other bats it hunts at night and sleeps in caves. Every winter this bat must hibernate in an undisturbed cave. If disturbed, it will leave the warmth of the cave to battle winter conditions in attempts to find a peaceful, undisturbed home. At this time the Townsend Big-Eared Bat population is declining at a fast rate and is now listed as a threatened species. This bat uses Timpanogos Caves temporarily as a home but does not hibernate in Hansen, Middle or Timpanogos Cave.

The canyons hot 100° F (38° C) summers supports reptiles such as the Great Basin Rattlesnake, Gopher Snake, Rubber Boa, and Sage Lizard. This low diversity is most likely due to the extreme nature of the topography and terrain within the Monument. Because reptiles are cold-blooded or “ectothermic,” they must carefully choose their habitats. The Monument experiences extremes in weather ranging from over 100° F (38° C) in the summer to 5° F (-15° C) in the winter. These harsh conditions are unfavorable for producing a high diversity of reptiles.

Although common to the Timpanogos Cave area, the Rubber Boa Snake is rarely seen. This shy snake is nocturnal, awaking into activity long after most visitors have departed. Also known to be well adapted to digging, the rubber boa spends much of its time underground in rodent holes or under rocks and logs. Small in size, 14-33 inches, and uniform tan in color, the Rubber Boa resembles a large worm in appearance. The Gopher Snake, or Bull Snake, is much more common. This large, 48 to 100 inches, and powerfully built snake is common over much of Utah and throughout North America. Gopher Snakes can be found in a variety of habitats and are active during the day. They are yellowish or cream colored with dark blotches on their back and sides. When threatened, gopher snakes will hiss loudly, flatten their heads, vibrate their tails, and lunge at the intruder. Through their color patterns and behavior, they can be mistaken for Rattlesnakes.

The most commonly seen snake in the Monument is the Great Basin Rattlesnake. They are primarily found on the ground often in rocky cliff areas. They are typically light tan, yellowish, or light gray in color, with dark blotches on their backs. Like all pit vipers, they use heat-sensing pits between their eyes and nostrils for finding prey. Most Great Basin rattlesnakes will rattle their tails in warning before striking, but some do not rattle. They over winter together in communal den sites.

Also common to the cave trail is the Sagebrush Lizard. These lizards are medium, 5 to 6 inches in size, and are typically gray or brown with many stripes down the length of their bodies. Male sagebrush lizards have blue patches along the sides of their belly and blue speckles on their throat. They spend most of their time on the ground basking in the sun or searching for unsuspecting insect meals. Sagebrush lizards will hibernate through the cold winter months using rock piles or rodent burrows for cover.

The American Fork River supports 2 species of introduced fish, Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout. Only one species, the Bonneville Cutthroat Trout, is native to the area. Being pushed out by the more competitive exotic fish, Bonneville Cutthroat Trout only exists in the extreme upstream sections of the American Fork River.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument has a wide variety of birds that are representative of those found throughout the canyons of the Wasatch Front. The birds found along the riparian areas of the American Fork River often extend their habitats from streamside to high up the canyon walls foraging in the foliage and on the ground. The canyon supports commonly seen birds such as the American Dipper, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Canyon Wren, Orange-Crowned Warbler, Western Tanager, Violet-Green Swallow, and Steller’s Jays. Occasional visits are seen from large birds such as Red-Tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcon, and Golden Eagles.

Take a walk along the Swinging Bridge Nature Trail and look for American Dippers feeding along the river. While hiking the cave trail you are likely to encounter a variety of birds that inhabit both riparian and montane habitats such as the Steller’s Jay, Broad-Tailed and Black-Chinned Hummingbirds, Orange-Crowned and Virginia’s Warblers, Black-Headed Grosbeaks, Chipping Sparrows, and Dark-Eyed Juncos. During the spring and summer keep an eye out for the Western Tanager whose brilliant red, yellow, and black breeding plumage is a delight to even the most seasoned enthusiast. As you enjoy the scenery of the canyon from the cave entrance you may see Golden Eagles, Red-Tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, Violet Green Swallows, and Townsend’s Solitaires. You are sure to hear the descending trill of the Canyon Wren who often nests at the entrance to Hansen Cave.

Animals inhabit the caves, but they can be easily overlooked. Such barely noticeable creatures as cave spiders, centipedes, and crickets live here. An occasional bat roosts in the caves, but no large bat colony lives there. Occasionally a pack rat, mouse, or chipmunk visits. Without an underground stream or steady source of food, the caves are not well equipped to support a diversity of cave animals.

It is not uncommon for visitors to see a rattlesnake while hiking the trail to the caves. Be aware of their presence and be cautious. To avoid confrontation with a rattlesnake, always stay on the paved trail, don’t lean on the rock walls, and keep your eyes open around trash can areas. Notify a ranger as soon as possible with the locations of any snake sightings. See the Wildlife Precautions page for further safety tips.

Entrance into American Fork Canyon is necessary to reach Timpanogos Cave National Monument. The canyon is administered by the Uinta National Forest, and a fee of $3 per vehicle is required. The America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, Golden Age or Senior Pass, Golden Access or Access Pass are honored for entrance into the canyon. $10.00 for14 days and $25.00 for annual tickets can also be purchased.

Tour tickets may be purchased up to 30 days in advance with a major credit card To purchase advance cave tour tickets, call (801) 756-5238 during the hours of 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. A non-refundable .50 cent transaction fee is added to each ticket sold in advance over the phone. Please remember that anyone under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult. Tour tickets may also be purchased in person at the visitor center up to the day of the tour, if still available. Tickets must be purchased at the visitor center before hiking to the caves; tickets cannot be purchased at the cave entrance. Gift certificates are available.

Cave Tour Fees:

Adults (age 16 and older) – $7

Junior (age 6-15) – $5

Child (age 3-5) – $3

Infant (age 0-2) – Free!

Senior/Access (Golden Age/Access) pass holders – 1/2 price

NOTE – The America the Beautiful Interagency Pass does not cover recreation use fees, such as cave tours, camping, and parking fees.

Introduction to Caving Tour, (age 14 and up): $15 per person. This tour introduces visitors to the sport of caving and caving ethics. Although it is not a wild caving experience, the tour does require bending, crawling, and passage through tight spaces. The tour is limited to five people, age 14 and older. Please call the visitor center for more information and to purchase advance tickets, 801-756-5238.

Campgrounds are located in the Uinta National Forest further up the canyon. American Fork Canyon has four developed campgrounds. Each site offers a table, grill, and access to water and restrooms during the summer. Reservations can be made with Reserve USA at www.reserveusa.com or by calling 1-800-280-2267.

Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Wasatch Mountain State Park, Uinta National Forest, Lone Peak Wilderness, and Mount Timpanogos Wilderness all surround the Monument. Manti-La Sal National Forest, Ashley National Forest, Little Sahara B.L.M. Recreation Area, Utah Lake and the Great Salt Lake are nearby the Monument. Dinosaur National Monument, Golden Spike National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park are also nearby.

Timpanogos Cave National Monument is located in the Wasatch Mountains in Northern Utah. It is approximately 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

The closest major airport is Salt Lake City International Airport, 45 minutes away by automobile.

From I-15: If you are driving from the north or south on Interstate 15 take Exit 284 (Alpine-Highland exit), then turn east on State Highway 92 and proceed ten miles (16km) to the monument.

From U.S. 40 or U.S. 189: If you are driving from Heber City or Provo Canyon traveling on U.S. 40 or U.S. 189, take State Highway 92, passing by Sundance Resort and over the mountainous scenic route known as the Alpine Scenic Loop. Because of the narrow and winding road, buses and large vehicles over thirty feet are not allowed to travel on the Alpine Scenic Loop. The Alpine Scenic Loop is closed during the winter.

There is no public transportation to or in the monument. Utah Highway 92 runs east and west through the monument. Personal vehicles, bicycles, walking and hiking are means of transportation at the monument.

Approximate Mileage from the following major cities to Timpanogos Cave National Monument :

By Car:

Salt lake City, UT – 33.13 miles

Provo, UT – 16.03 miles

Orem, UT – 10.85 miles

Park City, UT – 55.95 miles

Timpanogos Cave National Monument, R.R. 3 Box 200 American Fork, Utah 84003

Visitor Center (801) 756-5238

Headquarters (801) 756-5239

Fax (801) 756-5661

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