It’s Time to Take a Hike in San Francisco, California! The best way to experience San Francisco is by hiking it. Get outdoors with local author and hiking expert Jane Huber, with the full-color edition of 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Francisco. A perfect blend of popular trails and hidden gems, the selected hikes transport you to scenic overlooks, wildlife hot spots, and historical settings that renew your spirit and recharge your body. Take in the beautiful beaches of Point Reyes National Seashore. Explore the redwood canyons of Big Basin Redwoods State Park. Hike to the top of Mount Davidson. Enjoy the spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Batteries to Bluffs Trail. This guide offers stroller-friendly jaunts for the entire family, challenging treks for adventurous hikers, and everything in between. With Jane as your guide, you’ll learn about the area and experience nature through 60 of the city’s best hikes. Each hike description features key at-a-glance information on distance, difficulty, scenery, traffic, hiking time, and more, so you can quickly and easily learn about each trail. Detailed directions, GPS-based trail maps, and elevation profiles help to ensure that you know where you are and where you’re going. Tips on nearby activities further enhance your enjoyment of every outing. Whether you’re a local looking for new places to explore or a visitor to the area, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: San Francisco provides plenty of options for a couple hours or a full day of adventure, all within about an hour from San Francisco and the surrounding communities. Jane Huber grew up in Sussex County, New Jersey. She graduated from Boston University and lived in Brooklyn before moving to San Francisco in 1991. Huber has worked as a library page, Action Park lifeguard, waitress, editorial assistant, recipe tester, department store sales associate, cooking school office manager, barista, and bookstore clerk. An avid hiker since the mid-1990s, Huber created the Bay Area Hiker website in 1999. With photos and detailed narratives for more than 250 hikes, Bay Area Hiker was described by Jon Carroll in the San Francisco Chronicle as “an obsessively complete guide for hikers.” Huber lives with her husband and son in a San Francisco neighborhood where coyotes stroll the streets in the middle of day. POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE: Muddy Hollow Distance & Configuration: 7.4-mile loop with other options (see Nearby Activities, page 63) - Difficulty: Moderate - Scenery: Coastal scrub and ocean views - Exposure: Full sun except for a few pockets of shade - Trail Traffic: Light - Trail Surface: Dirt fire roads and trails - Hiking Time: 3 hours - Driving Distance: 39 miles from the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza - Access: Daily, sunrise–midnight. Muddy in winter; otherwise wonderful year-round. No fee. - Wheelchair Access: Not recommended for wheelchairs - Maps: Pick up the free official Point Reyes trail map at the Bear Valley Visitor Center, or download it at nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/upload/map_trailsnorth.pdf. - Facilities: None at this trailhead - Contact: 415-464-5100; nps.gov/pore - Location: Inverness, CA - Comments: No dogs allowed THE AREA AROUND Muddy Hollow offers exceptional wildlife-viewing. You may see tule elk, as some of the herd from Tomales Point have been relocated to this part of the seashore. Songbirds and hawks are common, and rabbits (and rabbit fur) may be glimpsed throughout the coastal scrub. Foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and even mountain lions also roam these lands. Berry enthusiasts hiking in summer may find themselves in purple-stained-finger heaven. Blackberry brambles sprawl across hillsides, thimbleberries hide in the shade on Estero Trail, and salmonberries―rare in the Bay Area―line Muddy Hollow Trail. Description Most Point Reyes visitors know that Limantour Road leads to the hostel and is a quick route to a gorgeous beach. A number of the seashore’s lesser-known and most primitive trailheads are reached from the Limantour area as well, like this loop from Muddy Hollow. From the parking area at the trailhead, start in front of the trail markers at the junction of Muddy Hollow Road and Muddy Hollow Trail. Walk north on Muddy Hollow Road (toward Bayview Trail), which is open to equestrians and hikers only. After a few steps on the wide trail, you’ll cross a creek then step into coastal scrub. At 0.1 mile Bayview Trail heads uphill to the right at a signed junction. Continue straight on Muddy Hollow Road. Some cypresses, bush lupines, ceanothus, and Bishop pines grow near the junction; coyote brush is the dominant trailside plant. Muddy Hollow Road climbs gently, with a forest of Bishop pines continuing to march across the hillsides burned in the Mount Vision fire of 1995. Look right for a rocky outcrop on the side of the hill. At 0.9 mile Muddy Hollow Road meets Bucklin Trail at a signed junction. Continue straight/left on Muddy Hollow Road. The trail bends right and begins to de