Ranger-Guided Programs

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Below is a listing of Ranger Guided Programs offered at Point Reyes National Seashore. Program schedules are subject to change. Check back immediately prior to your visit for the most up-to-date information and times. Programs are not offered on December 25.

Teachers and Educators: For Ranger-Led Educational Offerings, please visit our For Teachers pages.

Groups of 15 or more: Please contact the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100 x2 x5 in advance of attending one of the following programs so that staff can make the necessary preparations for the extra participants.

 

Year-Round Programs

Weekend Ranger's Choice Programs

1:30 pm, most weekend days.

Come join a Park Ranger to learn more about Point Reyes National Seashore's natural and cultural history. Topics may cover earthquakes and plate tectonics, the Coast Miwok, Sir Francis Drake, the U.S. Lifesaving Service, or area flora and fauna. Some presentations may use the park's Science On a Sphere® to help explain complex environmental processes in a way that is simultaneously intuitive and captivating. Check the program schedule on our Schedule of Events: Weekends Ranger Programs page, or stop by or call the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100 x2 x5 for information about today's program. Some programs may require up to a 1.6 kilometer (one mile) walk on easy to moderate trails. Meet at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Lasts 1 to 1.5 hours.

 

Summer Programs

 

Daily Ranger's Choice Program

1:30 pm, most weekdays from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Come join a Park Ranger to learn more about Point Reyes National Seashore's natural and cultural history. Topics may cover earthquakes and plate tectonics, the Coast Miwok, Sir Francis Drake, the U.S. Lifesaving Service, or area flora and fauna. Some presentations may use the park's Science On a Sphere® to help explain complex environmental processes in a way that is simultaneously intuitive and captivating. Check the program schedule on our Schedule of Events: Summer 2019 Daily Ranger Program page, or stop by or call the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100 x2 x5 for information about today's program. Some programs may require up to a 1.6 kilometer (one mile) walk on easy to moderate trails. Meet at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Lasts 1 to 1.5 hours.

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Volunteer Workdays

 

Habitat Restoration Workday

HRP meets in front of the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 9 am on various Sundays and Thursdays throughout the year. Call in advance to confirm the workday (occasionally the team travels to another park) and to discuss carpooling needs. Bring lunch, water, and sturdy shoes. Gloves and tools are provided. Contact Ellen Hamingson at 415-464-5196 or by email for more information. Groups may schedule additional weekend or weekday dates by contacting Ellen Hamingson at 415-464-5196 or by email.

For more information and for specific dates, check out our Volunteer: Habitat Restoration - Short Term page.

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Kule Loklo Open House & Workday

10 am, second Saturday of most months - NOTE: Update: August 1, 2019. The August 10, 2019, workday is back on, and the September 14, 2019, workday has now been cancelled.

Visit a replica Coast Miwok village that offers a glimpse of life in pre-European California. Park staff or volunteers will be present from 10am to about 11:30am to talk about Coast Miwok history and culture, walk around the village with the public, and may be able to share or demonstrate activities representative of Coast Miwok life. Visitors to the open house are not required to participate in volunteer workday activities. All are welcome. Open houses and workdays are typically held on the second Saturday of the month; please contact Carlo Arreglo by phone at 415-464-5146 or by email to confirm when the next date is scheduled. Volunteers are not required to sign up for more than one day. Large groups may also schedule other workdays by contacting Carlo.

• Meet at Kule Loklo at 10 am.
• Rain cancels open house and workday.

If your primary interest is in volunteering, call 415-464-5146 or visit our Volunteer: Kule Loklo Workday page.

 

Whale and Elephant Seal Season Programs

 

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Chimney Rock Road are usually open to privately owned vehicles from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week.
But, from 1998 to 2018, due to the high volume of traffic out to the Lighthouse and Chimney Rock areas during the elephant seal pupping and mating season, the park has operated a shuttle bus system from the Drakes Beach parking lot (usually from New Year's to Easter each year on weekends and holidays—weather permitting). Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from South Beach to the Lighthouse and Chimney Rock areas is closed during shuttle operating hours. The shuttle bus system was cancelled for winter 2018–2019 due to the Lighthouse Restoration Project. Shuttle operations are expected to resume on Saturday, December 28, 2019.

 

Experience Elephant Seals

Weekends and holidays, late-December through March. Volunteer docents will be stationed in the parking lot and pathways adjacent to the beach at Drakes Beach from 9 am to 5 pm. View an elephant seal colony through binoculars and scopes. Ask docents about the amazing adaptations and life cycles of northern elephant seals.

 

Historic Lifeboat Station Open House

Weekends and holidays, late-December through mid-March. Open House 11 am to 4:30 pm.

Visit a site where heroes of our coast were housed. See the historic lifeboat, view exhibits, and experience 80 years of lifesaving history at Point Reyes. Kids activities, a 10-minute video on elephant seals, and complimentary hot beverages (cocoa, tea, coffee) will be available. Hands-on interactive activities allow both children and adults to learn about seal and whale adaptations.

Special slide programs may also be available at the Historic Lifeboat Station, depending on staffing availability. Check at one of the Visitor Centers for whether the slide program is being offered. The slide programs last about 30 minutes.

 

Journey of the Whales

1:30 pm, weekends and holidays, late December through April.

Join a Ranger to learn about gray whales as they migrate past Point Reyes. Learn about their habits and adaptations, and hope for a whale sighting from the Observation Deck. Program lasts ~30 minutes.

This program is given out-of-doors. Come prepared for windy, cold, and damp weather.

Meet at the Lighthouse Visitor Center. If the shuttles are operating, be sure to arrive at Drakes Beach at least an hour before the program start time to ride the shuttle in order to arrive at the program on time.

 

Experience Gray Whales

Weekends and holidays, late December through late April, weather permitting. Volunteer docents will be stationed at the Lighthouse Observation Deck from 11 am to 4:30 pm to answer questions about gray whales. Visitors will be able to view gray whales through park-provided binoculars and scopes.

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Seasonal Programs

Daily Ranger Program

The park offered Ranger's Choice programs at 1:30 pm on weekdays from Wednesday, December 26, 2018, through Friday, December 28, 2018. No decision has yet to be made regarding whether programs will be offered in late December of 2019.

The park offered Ranger's Choice programs at 1:30 pm on weekdays from Monday, March 26, 2018, through Friday, April 6, 2018. No daily programs were offered during Spring Break in 2019. No decision has yet to be made regarding whether programs will be offered during Spring Break in 2020.

Come join a Park Ranger to learn more about Point Reyes National Seashore's natural and cultural history. Topics may cover earthquakes and plate tectonics, the Coast Miwok, Sir Francis Drake, the U.S. Lifesaving Service, or area flora and fauna. Some presentations may use the park's Science On a Sphere® to help explain complex environmental processes in a way that is simultaneously intuitive and captivating. Check the program schedule on our Schedule of Events: Holiday Season Daily Ranger Program page, or stop by or call the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100 x2 x5 for information about the days' program. Some programs may require up to a 1.6 kilometer (one mile) walk on easy to moderate trails. Most programs start at the Bear Valley Visitor Center.

Lasts 1 to 1.5 hours.

 

Lighthouse Programs

In August 2018, Point Reyes National Seashore began a large restoration project on the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse. This website's 2018 Lighthouse Restoration blog will keep you up-to-date; so bookmark this blog and check back regularly for updates. The lighthouse area will be closed to all foot traffic for the duration of the restoration project and we apologize for that in advance. The necessary improvements will make your future experience even better.
Map of the temporary closure in the Point Reyes Lighthouse Area - Monday, August 6, 2018, until Tuesday, December 31, 2019 (318 KB PDF)

 

A Look into the Lens

2:30 pm through 4 pm, Friday through Monday, mid-April through December.
This program is cancelled through December 31, 2019, due to restoration work that began in August 2018. Visit our 2018 Lighthouse Restoration blog for more details.
Operational Changes which began on May 1, 2013: A Look into the Lens is no longer offered on Thursdays.

See inside the Point Reyes Lighthouse and discover its history and function with a Park Ranger. Access requires a strenuous descent and ascent of 308 stairs. Stairs close when weather and winds are hazardous, i.e., if the winds are in excess of 40 mph (64 kmph).

The Visitor Center and steps leading down to the Lighthouse are usually closed early at 2 pm on Thanksgiving and December 24 and are closed all day on December 25. No programs are offered on these days.

Learn More:
Visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse
Lighthouse History at Point Reyes

 

Illuminating the Point Reyes Light

Low staffing levels prevented us from offering this program during the summer of 2018 and the restoration project will prevent us from offering this program in 2019. During 2015, the program was offered on the first and third Saturday of the month, July through September 5, 2015. No programs were offered during the summer of 2016 or 2017. Start times vary depending on sunset. The program used to begin about a half-hour before sunset, but, due to safety concerns, now begins about 1.5 hours before sunset in order for the program to conclude early enough for participants to return to their vehicles before dark. Operational Changes Beginning May 1, 2013: The Illuminating the Point Reyes Light program is now only offered during summer months, instead of from April through December.

Experience the Point Reyes Lighthouse just before sunset. Learn about the lives of the keepers and the operation of the light. Space is limited on this popular program. Group size is limited to 8.

Call 415-669-1534 after 10 am the day of the tour for times and reservations. The program will be cancelled if winds exceed 40 mph. Call back between 4 pm and 4:30 pm to confirm status of program.

• Wear very warm clothes as the weather is often cold and windy.
• Bring a flashlight for the 0.6 km (0.4 mile) walk back to your car if you decide to wait until after sunset to return.
• Meet at the Lighthouse Visitor Center. Allow at least 1 hour to travel from the Bear Valley Visitor Center to the Lighthouse Visitor Center.
• Access to the Lighthouse requires a strenuous descent and ascent of 308 steps.

Lasts 1 hour.

Learn More:
Visit the Point Reyes Lighthouse
Lighthouse History at Point Reyes

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