This loop climbs up the hill above Phoenix Lake to views of Mt. Tam.
Location: Marin Municipal Water District
Length: 3.8 miles
Difficulty: moderate
Shade: mostly shaded, except on the fire road
Parking: lot at Natalie Coffin Greene Park at the end of Lagunitas Road (free but small—be prepared to wait for a spot to open up)
Public Transportation: none
WC: toilet at the parking lot
Dogs: allowed
Hiked: Jun 2020
Trail Route
From the parking lot, walk up Phoenix Lake Road, a fire trail, for about 0.7 miles, before taking Yolanda Trail to the right. Follow that trail for about 1.5 miles past Lion Rock, where you’ll have a chance to admire the view. Then hike on to “Six Points” (which only has five trails, so I’m not sure why it’s called that).
From Six Points, take the left-most trail – Hidden Meadow Trail (0.7 miles) – to Shaver Grade, a wide fire trail. Keep on that back to Phoenix Lake fire road.
Notes
Yolanda Trail and Hidden Meadow Trail are lovely and peaceful. But the fire roads around Phoenix Lake are really popular with bikers, and many of them don’t move to the side of the road when passing hikers. The flat trails around the lake are also busy with hikers, particularly families, in the late morning and afternoon. That said, it’s a very nice hike with some great views.
