Meadow-Horse Trails Loop

Distance : 6.5 miles(10.4km)total This hike takes youthrough dense forest and a few meadows, starting with an uphill climb on the east side of Inverness Ridge to a ridgetop with ocean views. Most of this hike's distance is within the Phillip Burton Wilderness . This area was burned in 2020, when lightning strikes in the Woodward Valley started what became the Woodward Fire . Start at the Bear Valley Trailhead and follow the relatively flat Bear Valley Trail south for 0.8 miles (1.3 km). Turn right on to the Meadow Trail to begin your ascent to the crest of Inverness Ridge. While the Woodward Fire burned along most of the length of the Meadow Trail, it primarily burned in the understory and left most of the canopy of the Douglas fir forest intact. The trail does pass through a fairly large meadow (after which the trail was named), but views from the meadow are of forested hillsides less than a mile distant. As a result, there are very few far-reaching views from this trail until you reach the ridge crest. The Meadow Trail ascends about 840 feet (~255 m) over a distance of 1.6 miles (2.6 km) before intersecting with the Sky Trail 2.4 miles (3.8 km)from the Bear Valley Trailhead. The elevation at this intersection is ~1080 feet (~327 m). Turn right onto the Sky Trail and, after 55 yards (50 meters), bear right onto the Mount Wittenberg Trail. Head north and east 0.4 miles (0.7 km) to the MountWittenberg-Z Ranch trail junction along the ridge crest at an elevation of 1270 feet (385 m). Along this section of the Mount Wittenberg Trail,you may be rewarded (weather dependent) with views looking west across the peninsula to the Pacific Ocean. From the Mount Wittenberg-Z Ranch Trail junction, the 0.3-mile-long (0.5-kilometer-long) Mount Wittenberg Summit Trailleads, as its name suggests, to the summit of MountWittenberg (elevation 1407 feet (426 m). The once unobstructed views from near the summit have, since 2000, become obstructed by dense Douglas fir thickets that sprouted shortly after the 1995 Vision Fire . While the 2020 Woodward Fire burned through much of the forest around Mount Wittenberg, the view-obstructing Douglas fir thickets were largely left unscathed. So, without being rewarded withviews for their effort, many hikers pass on ascending the Mount Wittenberg Summit Trail. From the Mount Wittenberg-Z Ranch trail junction, head north and follow the Z Ranch Trail through a thicket of Douglas fir for 0.7 miles (1.2 km) to the Horse Trail. Turn right and follow the Horse Trail east and downhill for 2.4 miles (3.8 miles) to its junction with the Morgan Trail. Along this section, there are a few gaps in the forest canopy that provide views to the north of Inverness Ridge and Bolinas Ridge and just a little bit of Tomales Bay. Turn right and follow the Morgan Trail around the west side of the Morgan Horse Ranch to return to the Bear Valley Trailhead. Restrooms and water are available at the Bear Valley Trailhead parking lot. Otherwise, there are no other facilities along this route, unless, instead of following the Mount Wittenberg Trail north from its junction with the Sky Trail, you follow the Sky Trail north for 0.5 miles (0.8 meters) to Sky Campground. Potable water and vault toilets are available at Sky Campground, along with a trailside picnic table. (If you use the picnic tables at the designated campsites, be prepared to vacate the site if campers with reservations for the site arrive.) From Sky Campground, you could return to the Mount Wittenberg-Sky Trail junction, or continue north for 0.5 miles (0.8 km) along the Sky Trail to its junction with the Horse Trail. Turn right to follow the Horse Trail for 0.4 miles (0.6 km) to its junction with the Z Ranch Trail and then bear left to stay on the Horse Trail. This route description alone is not a substitute for a trail map. Print out the Point Reyes National Seashore's South District trail map (3,422 KB PDF) before your visit, or pick one up at the Bear Valley Visitor Ce...