Completed: February 26, 2023 | Elevation: 2,571′ | Trail: Plank Walk Trail | Distance: < 1 mile
On a rainy Sunday afternoon we decided to head across the Bay to sneak in a quick hike. While it was pouring in San Francisco, once we crossed the Golden Gate Bridge we could see blue skies over Mount Tam, our destination.
Based on the elevation noted on the Sierra Club’s Nifty Ninety document, it’s the the East Peak that one needs to reach, even though the West Peak is technically the highest point. To be on the safe side, we decided to do both, starting with the West Peak.
Once we reached Mill Valley, we took a scenic drive up the mountain and parked in the Quarry Parking Lot. It was no surprise given the weather and the lateness of the day that ours was the only car there. We crossed Ridgecrest Boulevard and easily found the marker for Mountain Top Trailhead, which led us through the trees on a gradual 0.6 mile climb to the remnants of an old military installation.
The foundations of various buildings lay in ruins; it was how we imagined a post-apocalyptic future would look like albeit one with amazing views of the rolling hills and San Francisco in the distance.
We walked through the remains until we reached the road and could see a giant white golf-ball like structure that sits on the actual peak. The area was fenced off, and we didn’t want to get caught trespassing on FAA property, so there was no way to reach the true summit of Mount Tam.
We made a sharp left onto an old access road and after a few yards found the start of the Arturo Trail on the right. It led us down through the forest for another roughly 0.6 miles before reaching a nice picnic area called Rifle Camp. We crossed the creek and then turned left onto Lagunitas-Rock Spring Road for the remaining 1.25-mile walk, past Potrero Meadow, back to the car.
From here we drove to East Peak. It was already after 6:00 P.M. so we made quick work of the Plank Trail’s short 0.3 miles to the top, our goal being to take as much advantage of the waning light. From the fire lookout, we were rewarded with stunning views, as lights lit up cities across the Bay Area. It started to get foggy and windy so we turned to go back down, moving fast while carefully navigating the rocky trail, slick with rivulets of water from the earlier rain.
By the time we reached the car it was dark. We slowly made our way down the long and winding road and on our way home, stopped for dinner at plant-based restaurant Wildseed. We were fortunate enough to get a table in the back room with a crackling fireplace. It was a great way to cap off reaching our 10th Nifty Ninety.
Follow our progress bagging the Bay Area’s Nifty Ninety here.
Coda
It was unfortunate that we couldn’t actually stand on the true summit of Mount Tam. This seems like a recurring theme—this was the case for Montara Mountain and Bernal Heights—where peaks are off-limits due to the presence of equipment (civilian or military). Nonetheless, we enjoyed doing the West Peak trail, a new one for us.
We’ve done the bigger day hikes to East Peak, so it was fun to just do a quick one to the top, made a little challenging because of the time and weather, and see the views in the light of dusk. A reminder that regardless of the time of day, the Bay Area is a beautiful place.