Point Reyes National Seashore is located in Marin County, California, approximately 40 miles northwest of San Francisco. It was established by Congress on September 13, 1962 "to save and preserve, for the purpose of public recreation, benefit, and inspiration, a portion of the diminishing seashore of the United States that remains undeveloped" (PL 87-657). The Wilderness Act of 1976 (P.L. 95-544) established 25,370 acres of wilderness and 8,003 acres of potential wilderness in the Point Reyes National Seashore, thereby adding special protection. Today, nearly half of the Seashore is included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. Encompassing 71,046 acres of coastal dunes, coastal prairies, marine terraces, coastal scrub and forests, this geologically unique peninsula has appropriately been called an "Island in Time".

The Mediterranean climate produces heavy summer fog and moderate winter rains (average of 30 in/year). Fall tends to be hot and dry and is the period of highest fire danger when vegetation is desiccated. The year-round ambient temperatures are moderate, around 55oC; the difference in the monthly temperatures is only around 6.5 degrees C.