High Trail

Dogs Off-leash

Features Birding · Views · Wildflowers

This is the area where packs of coyotes are most active. They are much more active towards evening, but they are sometimes seen earlier in the day. One or more coyotes occasionally attack and kill smaller-sized dogs that are not leashed.

Dogs are allowed off leash on this trail, but read carefully the "Need to Know" section.

For the first 0.3 miles, there is little change in elevation.

If you look towards the ocean from the mid parts of this trail, you'll notice below the remains of a whole series of parallel roads. These are left over from the 1960s when the area was a landfill. Occasionally volunteer groups search for, and haul out, any trash that has surfaced--along with trash left by careless users. Apparently, some folks worry that, in the next "Big One", a lot of the trash from landfill will be dumped into the ocean. I think it is more likely that the landfill will be buried deeper by the collapsing cliffs above.

At the point where the trail begins to climb and switches back towards the south, another flowery road/path branches north for about a quarter mile to a viewpoint that overlooks the beach, the Marin Headlands, and Tamalpais. This path ends at a major landslide. You should be careful not to run out onto unstable land.

Our High Trail continues climbing past a high paragliding point and on up to where a lot of construction was done to drain water out of the cliffs and slow their collapse. Pipes have been drilled into the cliff. There is a large catch basin that fills with water after rains. A long pipe runs from this to take the water farther down and away from the cliffs.

From the higher parts of this trail, you have views over the entire Mussel Rock Park, the cliffs above and the ocean below.

birding.sequoia-audubon.org has a list of over 60 species of birds found in the park. The park also has great displays of wildflowers.