Bicycle Riding at Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes National Seashore provides a variety of off-road biking opportunities traversing diverse habitats and terrains. You can explore trails through evergreen forests, coastal scrub, or along estuaries and beach bluffs.

Visitor Centers offer a free map of the park's trails, indicating which trails are designated for bike travel. These maps are also available to download from our Maps page. Point Reyes permits biking only outside of wilderness areas along emergency access/dirt fire roads, paved roads and a few single-track trails.

Carry plenty of water!

Electric and motorized bicycles are prohibited.

Only human-powered bicycles are allowed on park trails where bicycles are permitted (see below). Electric and motorized bicycles are prohibited on all park trails, but are permitted on any road which is open to the public to drive their automobiles.

Yield to all other Users

Horseback riders have right-of-way on the trails with hikers coming second. Bicyclists must yield to both of these trail user groups. Be aware that many horses are easily spooked when approached from behind. Reduce your speed when approaching horses or hikers. When approaching from behind, announce your presence. Stop on the downhill side of the trail while horses pass. The speed limit on all trails, even when headed downhill, is 15 mph. Be courteous. If trails are dry and dusty, slow down even more so as not to leave hikers in a cloud of dust.

Yellow Jackets

In the summer and fall, reports of yellow jacket activity along trails increase. Park staff will post notices at appropriate trail junctions warning hikers of the presence of yellow jacket nests located in close proximity to the trail as nests are discovered and/or reported. Please use an alternate route if you are allergic, want to avoid any risk of yellow jacket stings, or are riding a horse. Please notify park dispatch at 415-464-5170 if you encounter a swarm of yellow jackets along a trail that has yet to be posted. Visit our Your Safety Around Yellow Jackets for more information.

Group Size Limits

The maximum number of bicyclists in any one group is 10. Larger groups of cyclists will have to divide into groups no larger than 10. This size restriction is necessary for the safety of cyclists using public roadways and authorized trails within the Park. These roadways and trails are narrow and winding and will not safely accommodate large numbers of bicyclists.

Trail Hazards

Caution: Loose dirt and gravel cover many of the trails. This slick surface can be difficult to maneuver in and can make for easy slide outs. The loose dirt can also hide potholes. These technical riding surfaces challenge even the most experienced bikers. We recommend always wearing a helmet, a long-sleeved shirt and long pants.

Cattle

If you plan to ride your bike on a trail that leads through cattle pasture, please read Understanding Working Rangelands: Sharing Open Space: What to Expect from Grazing Livestock (1,314 KB PDF). By understanding basic cattle behavior, you can give yourself a better chance to predict how cattle are likely to react to your presence and in response to your actions. This will help make your ride through these areas safer and more enjoyable.

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Trails Open to Bicycles

Within Point Reyes National Seashore, bicycles are only permitted on the following trails (listed from north and west to south and east):

• Kehoe Beach Trail
• Abbotts Lagoon Trail - on the first mile of the trail to the bridge
• Marshall Beach Trail
• Duck Cove Road
• Chimney Rock Trail
• Bull Point Trail
• Estero Trail - from the Estero Trailhead off of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the junction with the White Gate Trail
• Sunset Beach Trail
• Drakes Head Trail
• White Gate Trail
• Mount Vision Road from the locked gate to the FAA Station
• Inverness Ridge Trail
• Coast Trail - from the Coast Trail's northern trailhead near the Hostel to the Coast Campground
• Sky Trail - from the Sky Trailhead to the Sky Campground
• Morgan Trail - from the Bear Valley Trailhead west around the west side of the Morgan Horse Ranch and along the west side of Kule Loklo to the junction with the Bear Valley Road
• Bear Valley Trail - from the Bear Valley Trailhead to the junction with the Glen Trail
• Stewart Trail
• Glen Trail - from the junction with the Stewart Trail to the junction with the Glen Camp Spur Trail located 0.5 miles north of the Stewart Trail
• Glen Camp Spur Trail - from the junction with the Glen Trail located 0.5 miles north of the Stewart Trail to the Glen Campground
• Olema Valley Trail

Within the north unit of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, bicycles are permitted on the following trails (listed from north to south):

• Tomales Bay Trail
• Bolinas Ridge Trail
• Cross Marin Trail
• Jewell Trail
• Randall Trail
• McCurdy Trail

Trail Guide
Trail Advisories and Closures

Multimedia:

NPSWilderness has produced three videos entitled Wilderness Calling: Point Reyes, Wilderness Motion: Point Reyes, and Wilderness Visions: Point Reyes featuring images and sounds from the Phillip Burton Wilderness within Point Reyes National Seashore, in addition to two videos about NPS wilderness: America's Wilderness and Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics which bicyclists and other visitors to Point Reyes may find of interest.

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