Climb through lovely woods to stunning views of the Bay Area.
Location: Mount Tamalpais State Park
Length: 2.3 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Shade: mostly shaded
Parking: Pantoll Ranger Station ($8/vehicle)
Public Transportation: buses 61 and 61M (Stagecoach) stop at the Ranger Station
WC: toilets at Pantoll Station and the Mountain Theater
Dogs: not allowed on trails; only allowed in developed areas, and must be kept on leash
Hiked: Jan 2021
Trail Route
From Pantoll Station parking lot, cross Panoramic Highway to the trailhead at the Old Stage Road, a paved trail. From there, take the first trail up, which is Old Mine Trail, a 1.5-mile path to the theater. It climbs up but isn’t too steep. There was one fallen log we had to climb over, as well as a few rocky places, but mostly it was pretty easy going. The woods suddenly end and you’ll be up on the mountain. I imagine the open part would be unpleasantly hot in the summer, but on a cool winter day, the grass was just starting to turn green and the sun was welcome. From there it was an easy walk to the Mountain Theater.
Returning to Pantoll Station, you can take multiple trails, but for this hike, take Easy Grade Trail, which is true to its name. We encountered another fallen log, but otherwise it was a gentle downward path, and only 0.6 miles. The Easy Grade Trail leads you back to paved Old Stage Road, and then back to Pantoll Station.
Notes
There was already quite a lot of traffic on Panoramic Highway when we arrived, but we were still easily able to find parking at Pantoll. When we left just before noon, though, there were cars circling the parking lot waiting for spots to open up. So it was a good decision to go in the morning.
I would definitely hike the Old Mine Trail again. The woods were beautiful and the view once you exit the woods is spectacular. Compared to that, the Easy Grade Trail was a little dull, so I’ll have to try a different trail combination.
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