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 positioned myself in front of, but come afternoon? It was dim, and the air conditioning whirred 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 the first reply.
“Yes, buuuut I forgot that I’m dog sitting, so I have to be back early to take him out to pee,” came the second.
Ah, the “yes, buts”. A classic response, and one that would not stop me from getting outside for at least a couple of hours. I had my own “yes, but” to consider for this Sunday hike: “yes, I want to hike, but I really want to make sure we have time to grab great food after.”
I pulled out AllTrails and did a quick search. Originally, we had planned to do a hike somewhere in Santa Cruz, but I shifted the location to nearby Marin County and found a few trail options.
I created a list, then sent it over to the group chat.
We collectively decided a coastal trail sounded the best. I wanted a hike that felt as though we’d at least done something that day, so I chose the slightly longer one that wound by the Pacific Ocean and downloaded the map.
I finished the rest of the workday with 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.
