Bootjack to Camp Eastwood Loop via Troop 80 Trail

The Troop 80 Trail runs parallel to Panoramic Highway and is mostly flat.

Hike through a meadow, down steps along a stream, and up through redwoods, stopping for a break among the redwoods at Camp Alice Eastwood.

Location: Mount Tamalpais State Park
Length: 5.0 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Shade: mostly shaded
Parking: Bootjack Campground ($8/vehicle)
Public Transportation: buses 61 and 61M (Stagecoach) stop at Bootjack Campground’s parking lot
WC: toilets at Bootjack Campground and Camp Alice Eastwood
Dogs: not allowed on trails; only allowed in developed areas, and must be kept on leash

Link to park website

Hiked: May 2021

Bootjack Trail, once you’ve climbed down all the stairs.

Trail Route

Cross Panoramic Highway from the Bootjack parking lot to get to the trailhead. The first segment of 0.2 miles is downhill along Bootjack Trail. Keep going downhill and straight along Bootjack at the trail marker for Alpine Trail. Then after you cross over a bridge, you’ll see a fork; go right on Bootjack towards the meadow.

At Van Wyck Meadow, you’ll see a number of trails. Look for Bootjack towards Muir Woods. The next mile or so will be pretty much all downhill, including taking a lot of steps down along the creek bed. Eventually, you’ll reach the bottom, where you may actually see some water in the creek. At Bootjack Spur, take the spur up for 0.1 miles to Alice Eastwood Trail.

Turn left at Alice Eastwood Trail to climb the hill. Then at Plevin Cut, you can take the shortcut or the longer but gentler uphill of Alice Eastwood Trail, as we did. It’s only half a mile to the camp, which is a great place to take a short break. There are picnic tables among the redwoods, as well as toilets.

From Camp Alice Eastwood, look for the trail marker for Sierra Trail to the right of the bathrooms. Follow Sierra Trail for 1.1 miles until you reach Troop 80 Trail. Go left towards Bootjack and Van Wyck Meadow. Then at the next trail marker, about 0.9 miles along Troop 80, go right towards Bootjack (not Bootjack Trail). From there, it’s 0.6 miles back to the Bootjack parking lot.

Sierra Trail is a weird mix of shrubs under open sky and redwoods.

Notes

We hiked on a foggy morning, and it was cold anytime we were high up, but got warmer as we hiked down out of the fog–so wear layers! Some of the trails were kind of rough, especially Troop 80 Trail, and with the amount of downhill on Bootjack, I was grateful for my hiking boots.

I’d absolutely hike this route again. We passed quite a lot of hikers on Bootjack Trail, but the other trails were largely deserted. Sierra Trail had an ever-changing landscape, which was both unexpected and pleasant. Taking a break at Camp Alice Eastwood was perfect, especially because of the very nice bathrooms, which actually had running water, soap and a place to hang your backpack!