Point Reyes seems to be on everyone's list of favorite day trips in the Bay Area, yet both my husband and I had never been! To be perfectly honest, we had no idea that we were so close to such natural beauty (it's a little embarrassing)! I always imagined that the really breath taking beaches were all in Southern California. I was very wrong.
Our first stop was Point Reyes Station. I can't say enough good things about the town. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly, eager to start conversations with our family and give us the inside scoop on where to eat and what beaches to go to. The shops run about two blocks long and are set in a picturesque setting, with beautiful views of the surrounding hills. We arrived to town about 10:30 and got coffee and a huge muffin at
The Bovine Bakery. Just outside was a small open space with picnic tables, where we were able to take in the sun and enjoy our pastry. I honestly could have spent half the day sitting in this park. It was so peaceful.
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| Point Reyes Station (picture doesn't do it justice) |
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| This is where we parked...the sign confused Clay :) |
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| Enjoying the muffin from The Bovine Bakery |
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| It was finger-lickin' good! |
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| Playing on the picnic benches |
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| Enjoying some "special milk" |
After coffee, we headed over to
Cowgirl Creamery. Our original plan was to do a cheese tasting, but the space was pretty crowded due to the lunch hour approaching. Instead we headed to the
Cowgirl Creamery's Cantina, which features sandwiches, salads and wine made with locally sourced ingredients. We split a chicken salad sandwich and a quinoa salad, both were extremely tasty. The quinoa salad was the best I have ever had (I am hoping that if I track down the
Cowgirl Creamery Cookbook I might get some clues as to how to prepare it myself!).
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| The picnic area behind Cowgirl Creamery |
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I would have loved to spend more time in Point Reyes Station, but it was time for the beach! The drive to
Limantour Beach was about 20 minutes (only 8 miles) from Point Reyes Station, and while the road was a bit windy, it was much easier on the stomach than our drive to
Stinson Beach. We were fortunate to get a really clear day and warm temperatures (low 60's...pretty amazing for December!). The beach was everything we had hoped for, calm waves and beautiful white sand, backed by low cliffs.
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| View from the car on the drive in |
Want to explore the area more? Check out
our trip to Abbott's Lagoon in Point Reyes.
The facts: Point Reyes Station is a little over an hours drive from Berkeley, and Limantour Beach is an additional 20 minutes from Point Reyes Station.
Cost: Gas/Toll ($10), Coffee/Pastry ($8), Lunch at Cowgirl Creamery ($16), Snacks we bought for the kids in town ($8). Total Cost: $42
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