Picnic Areas

 

 

Point Reyes National Seashore contains three picnic areas, plus a number of sites at various locations in the park at which there are one or two picnic tables. Use of the picnic areas is free of charge and first-come, first-served, except for a reservable group section at the Bear Valley picnic area. Descriptions and photos of the various locations where picnic tables may be found below. The descriptions of the picnic areas/tables are accurate as of March 2022.

Picnickers are responsible for knowing and adhering to the rules and regulations.

 

 

Rules for Picnicking:

• Leaving food unattended is prohibited.
• Don't feed the wildlife.
• Don't litter. Take all waste home or dispose of all waste in garbage and/or recycling receptacles provided. Please don't put any non-recyclable materials in recycling receptacles.
• Leave No Trace. Do not carve into the picnic tables.
• Charcoal Grills:
  • Wood fires are prohibited. Visit our Beach Fires page for information about building wood fires in the national seashore.
  • Only charcoal briquettes are permitted in the charcoal grills provided.
  • Charcoal fires must be attended anytime they are generating heat. Do not depart until the coals and ashes are cold to the touch.
  • Visitors are welcome to use their own small portable barbecues. All ash and used and unused briquettes must be packed out of the park.
  • Charcoal fires are prohibited under Very High or Extreme Fire Danger conditions or if the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued a Spare the Air Alert.
• If you move picnic tables, before you leave, move them back to where you found them when you arrived.
• Picnicking is permitted within all designated campgrounds; however, picnickers must yield campsites to persons with camping permits.
• A designated section of Bear Valley picnic area is available by reservation to groups of up to 100 people. Contact the Special Park Uses office by email to reserve this section.
• Groups of over 25 people who wish to picnic in the park must first obtain a permit. Because there are limited places in the park which can accommodate a picnic group of this size, and to minimize the impact of such a group on other visitors, a permit system is necessary for groups of 25 or more. Contact the Special Park Uses office by email for more information.