Not the best of the hikes up to the Mountain Theater, but like all of them, it’s a nice stroll through the woods, with only a little bit of a tougher uphill climb on Bootjack Trail.
Location: Mount Tamalpais State Park
Length: 2.1 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 2022
Trail Route
This hike begins at Pantoll Station. Carefully cross Panoramic Highway and look for Old Stage Road to your right. Start on the road but take Old Mine Trail to your left about 0.1 miles along the road. After about 0.3 miles on Old Mine, take the Riding & Hiking Trail to the right. The R&H Trail goes pretty much along the gradient, making for a relaxing walk. Continue on R&H Trail until you meet the Old Stage Road again. Just down the road is Bootjack Trail to your left; take Bootjack all the way up to the Mountain Theater.
From the Mountain Theater, take Easy Grade Trail down. The quickest way back to Pantoll is to continue on Easy Grade all the way until Old Stage Road, but we chose instead to do a short detour on Easy Grade Spur, which took us to the left and only then meeting Old Stage Road. On Old Stage Road, go right towards Pantoll.
Notes
In my opinion, there are better trails going up to the Mountain Theater. I did this hike to see what the Riding & Hiking Trail looks like, but I prefer taking Old Mine Trail up from Pantoll and returning via either Bootjack or Easy Grade Trail.
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