The Kook Aunty Guide to the Coastal Trail Loop in Marin
The low afternoon light in my office was making me sleepy. It’s always this way at around one o’clock or two. In the morning, sunlight streams in through the large glass windows that I position myself in front of, but come afternoon? It’s dim, and the air conditioning whirrs like a lullaby.
I knew I had to distract myself with plans for an activity that weekend, so I texted two of my friends to make sure we were still on for a hike that Sunday.
“Yes, but remember, I’m not much of a hiker,” came in the first reply.
“Yes, buuuut I forgot that I am dog sitting, so have to be back in time for the dog to pee,” came in the second.
Ah, the “yes, buts”—but don’t think this would stop me from getting us outside for at least a couple of hours (both on the trail and for lunch). I had my own “yes, but” – “yes, I want to hike but I really want to make sure we have time to grab great food after.”
So, I pulled out AllTrails and started a quick search. Originally, we were planning to try out a hike somewhere in Santa Cruz, but I shifted the location to nearby Marin County and easily discovered a few different trails.
I created a list, then sent them all over in the group chat.
We collectively decided that the Coastal Trail options sounded the prettiest. I wanted a hike that felt as though we’d at least done something that day, so I chose the slightly longer trail and downloaded the map.
Then I finished the rest of the workday through a series of yawns and managed to get through the work week.
When Sunday rolled around, I was embarrassed to admit that I was feeling tired (or was it hungover) from Saturday enjoying the rolling hills of wine country.
Still, I pulled on some clothes that I could sweat in, a backpack, and my wallet then jogged over to my friend’s house (she was driving). We packed into the car and drove to the trailhead alongside the beach where our other friend was meeting us.
The path started paved up and out from a parking lot. It was a slight incline up the mountain along the shoreline. The beach was to our left and we could see surfers paddling into a lineup, sitting, and then catching nice-sized waves. Wildflowers peeked out from the grasses to either side, and the sun was a nice warmth while the breeze kept us cool.
We were following a group of older friends with a tiny white dog, and made up our way along, catching up. It had been a while since we’d all chatted and the hike was a great way to fill each other in on everything that was going on.
At a fork in the trails, the older group turned left and went up the hill some more. My own map suggested that we turn right to make the loop and I realized I’d downloaded the wrong one. This one was a short 2.55 mile loop.
However, we debated for less than fifteen minutes and decided to go along the shorter path rather than head up with the rest of the group because:
My friend had broken her foot months ago and was still getting used to walking on it for longer distances
My other friend diiiid need to get back to the dog she was dog sitting
So, we looped around.
The trail is nice and as you ascend, you have beautiful views of the water, sparkling around you. Your descent is surrounded by greenery along a dirt trail that then shoots you out onto a small path along the road. This leads you back to the beach were you can cross a bridge to walk out to the sandy shore or you can continue on to your right (toward the parking lot).
The trail took us just under and hour and we had time to stop and watch the rolling ocean waves before heading to what we were all really looking forward to: pizza, beer, and ice cream in Mill Valley.
