Hiking the Estero Trail in Point Reyes | California

 

As I’m sure you can tell from the photos, the Point Reyes National Seashore is really gorgeous. But I’m sure you are also surprised  – as was I – to see so many cows along the coast. What I had envisioned was rocky cliffs and jagged landscapes. It was such a pleasant surprise to see so many lush rolling hills and livestock in this area.

On this day, Josh and I planned to do the Estero Trail to Drakes Head hike. The roundtrip total is 9.4 miles, though by the end of the day, our gamins showed us traveling  over 10 miles. The scenery was so gorgeous, we kept hiking all around to take photos. We started out our hike with blue skies and fluffy clouds. Then, about halfway through, a fog rolled in that lingered through the end of the day. We didn’t really mind the fog – the sun had been beating down a bit actually- and we love the sense of mystery it gives to the landscape. The cows really didn’t seem to mind either :)

The cows were everywhere. They would stand on the trial right in front of us like some sort of gate. We’d just keep walking along as they stared at us, and eventually they moved out of the way. For being along a major trail in Point Reyes, these cows really did not seem very comfortable around people. They moo-ed and stared at us the whole time we hiked, but never liked us getting too close. Some of them were reeeally big and those stare downs got uncomfortable at times. But we loved seeing all the different spots and colors they came in. They made excellent photo subjects.

When we finally hiked nearly 5 miles to Drakes Head, the fog was so thick we could hardly see anything. We could tell there were cliffs and water, but couldn’t make out much more than that. I’m sure the views are stunning on a clear day. We were getting hungry and wanted to make it back before it got too dark on the trail. By the time we made it back to the car it was a bit chilly. As we drove out of the parking lot we spotted a bobcat running across the road to hide in the bushes. I’m still kicking myself for not having my camera out, but we got to sit and have a really good look at it running off into the hills. A pretty exciting way to end a great hike!

Thanks for reading! Plenty more adventures in this beautiful landscape to come! ~ Shelley Hartman, California + North Carolina Wedding Photographer