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TRIP 13 Pine Mountain

Distance		4.7 miles, Out-and-back
Hiking Time		2 to 3 hours
Elevation Gain/Loss		±1000 feet
Difficulty		Moderate
Trail Use		Mountain biking allowed, Leashed dogs
Best Times		All year
Agency		MMWD
Recommended Map		Trail Map of Mt. Tamalpais and the Marin Headlands (Olmsted)

HIGHLIGHTS This out-and-back route, using Pine Mountain Road and a short trail atop Pine Mountain to its summit, takes you to one of the best vantage points in the Bay Area, where your efforts on a clear day will be rewarded by fantastic views. Pine Mountain’s name refers to a nearby grove of bishop pines — a coastal, two-needled species.

Along the way, plant lovers will stay busy identifying a variety of trees and shrubs, some found only on the locally prevalent serpentine soil. This area is also a favorite with mountain bikers.

DIRECTIONS From Highway 101 northbound, take the San Anselmo exit, also signed for San Quentin, Sir Francis Drake Blvd., and the Richmond Bridge. Stay in the left lane as you exit, toward San Anselmo, crossing over Highway 101. After 0.4 mile you join Sir Francis Drake Blvd., with traffic from Highway 101 southbound merging on your right. From here, it is 3.6 miles to a stoplight at the intersection with Red Hill Ave. From the intersection, stay on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. as it goes straight and then immediately bends left.

At 5.5 miles from Highway 101, in Fairfax, turn left at a stoplight onto Claus Dr., jog left onto Broadway and right onto Bolinas Road, which is heavily used by bicyclists. After 0.4 mile, you pass an intersection with Cascade Dr., where you bear left. (Bolinas Road soon becomes Fairfax – Bolinas Road.) At 3.9 miles, turn left into a gravel parking area. (Fairfax – Bolinas Road to the Azalea Hill parking area may be closed because of high fire danger.)

From Highway 101 southbound, take the Sir Francis Drake/Kentfield exit and follow the directions above.

FACILITIES/TRAILHEAD There are no facilities at the trailhead, which is on the west side of Fairfax–Bolinas Road, about 50 feet north of the parking area.

After carefully crossing Fairfax–Bolinas Road, you walk north about 50 feet from the parking area to a gated dirt road. This is Pine Mountain Road, which brings you, in about 2.3 miles, to within 100 yards or so of the mountain’s summit; a short, narrow trail covers the remaining ground. Passing an information board and an old wooden sign, right, you follow the dirt road as it climbs, bends right, and then follows a rolling course atop a broad ridge.

Serpentine Soil

The underlying rock in this area, serpentine, creates a soil that gives rise to a number of unusual plants. Among these are leather oak, a shrub, and Sargent cypress, an evergreen tree growing here in a stunted form. Leather oak grows in low clumps, its dull green, oval leaves curled under and often spiny. Sargent cypress, found farther up the road, has round, gray-brown cones, and angled strips of gray bark.

Now on rocky ground, you climb on a gentle and then moderate grade past a few pines, stands of manzanita, chinquapin, and chaparral pea, and a dense thicket of oak — some of the trees are the dwarf form of interior live oak, and others are a hybrid variety. The grade eases, and as you crest a high point, you can see The Saddle, a windy gap between Pine Mountain and an unnamed peak to its northeast.

Dropping slightly, you soon pass Oat Hill Road, left, at about 1 mile. Now on a moderate descent, you may just be able to make out the summit of Mt. St. Helena, perched on the border of Sonoma, Napa, and Lake counties, to the north. Gaining elevation once again, you begin to see a few Sargent cypress trees, the advance guard of a large forest that blankets a flat expanse to the north of Pine Mountain.

Now you reach a junction where Pine Mountain Road turns sharply left, and San Geronimo Ridge Road goes straight. (To extend the trip, follow San Geronimo Ridge Road northeast through a dwarf Sargent cypress forest to Gary Giacomini Open Space Preserve.)

Following Pine Mountain Road, here a rocky track, you begin a moderate ascent. As you near The Saddle, flattened grasses downhill and left attest to the wind’s power as it rushes through the gap. From The Saddle, the road swings left and rises on a moderate grade, which soon becomes steep.

Hikers returning to trailhead along Pine Mountain Road enjoy view of Mt. Tamalpais.

The rough and rocky road eventually levels, and now you find a single-track trail, right, signed PINE MOUNTAIN SUMMIT. Turning right, you begin the final push, hemmed in on both sides by chaparral shrubs, among them chamise and silk tassel. Passing a large boulder sporting a metal spike, right, you continue for another 100 feet or so, to where a jumble of rocks forms the summit of Pine Mountain.

From here, the 360-degree panorama may keep you busy for a while, identifying such landmarks as Mt. Tamalpais, Mt. Diablo, the East Bay hills, San Pablo Bay, Big Rock Ridge, Bolinas Ridge, Tomales Bay, and Kent Lake. Without a doubt, this is one of the best vantage points in the Bay Area. After you’ve enjoyed the scenery, retrace your route to the parking area.