Hiking All the Way to the Edge: From Rodeo Beach to Point Bonita Lighthouse and Back Around the Lagoon

Point Bonita Lighthouse

Date: July 15, 2023

Place: Marin Headlands, Sausalito, California 

Coordinates: 37.832420, -122.539578

Length: 4.2 miles

Level: moderate

After our successful birding hike at Las Gallinas Ponds, Pappa Quail and I had time for more hiking. To escape the heat we came to Rodeo Beach at Marin Headlands. We've hiked there before, going up to Battery Townsley and around the Rodeo Lagoon. This time I was interested in doing a different trail and I suggested going to Point Bonita Lighthouse, which neither of us have been to before. Pappa Quail agreed and we started south on the big sandbar that separates the lagoon from the ocean. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

South of the lagoon rose the hills that made the south part of the Marin headlands, and at the tip of which was Point Bonita. At a distance it didn't look like there was a trail that went up there, yet through the binoculars I could see people go up and down the hillside, on what looked like an erosion chute. I guess that was the trail.

A large of the sandbar, on the side farther from the ocean and closer to the lagoon was stabilized by vegetation. The most common plant there was the silver beachweed of the Ambrosia genus. It has a brush-like inflorescence and very delicate, small flowers. 

Silver Beachweed, Ambrosia chamissonis

Ambrosia aside, the plant I really wanted to see was the sand verbena, which I knew was growing there. The first plants I saw were not blooming, but further along the sandbar I started seeing some flowers too. 

Yellow Sand Verbena, Abronia latifolia

There were many people on the beach that day, and not so many birds. I scanned the water, looking for dolphins, which I have seen there before, but didn't see any. Pappa Quail searched the sky and looked at the gulls that were flying back and forth along the water line. 

Heermann's Gull

When we reached the hill south of the sandbar we saw that the trail was indeed an eroded chute that went down the slope that people were going up and down on. It felt a bit precarious but we ascended it too. From the height of the first slope we had a view of the next cove to the south. There were a few people there on the beach but what attracted our attention was the large, white-washed rock island on the west. 

The rock was white because of all the sea birds guano deposited on it over time. There were quite a few sea birds on that rock. 

Cormorants, Gulls, Pelicans

I looked back, to the north. The lagoon was very calm and perfectly reflected the headland hills. Going around the lagoon was an option that we put off deciding on until after visiting the lighthouse. 

Rodeo Lagoon

The entire hillside was covered with coastal scrub - thickly growing knee high shrubs, many of them aromatic. Like chaparral, these bushes are an excellent habitat for the smaller wildlife, providing them hiding and shelter from predators and from the elements. Little birds were flying in and out of the bushes but they were mostly white-crowned sparrows, which didn't interest Pappa Quail. 

Coastal Scrub

It was great to see that there was lots of bloom still. The naked buckwheat starred in the bloom scene, its white heads sticking tall above the greenery. 

Naked Buckwheat, Eriogonum nudum

There were a few dudleya blooming, a good distance from the trail, close to the cliffs. The dudleya were at the peak of their bloom, and very, very pretty. 

Coast Dudleya, Dudleya caespitosa

At the top of the hill I turned around and looked north back at Rodeo Beach. The coastline faded into the fog that still hung low over the hills north f the lagoon. I thought if the intense heat inland, merely a couple of miles east of where we were. It was a good decision to come here.  

A View North to Rodeo Beach and Fort Cronkhite

The cooling fog rested on the hills we were on as well. It wasn't thick enough to block all view but we couldn't see the hilltops. This fog is also what keeps the coastal scrub so green and lush throughout the hot and dry months. 

Unfortunately ice plant is now a very common sight along the California coast. The ice plant is an introduced species that was brought to stabilize coastal sands. It thrives here and covers large areas, choking many native species under its wide, contiguous mats. I was happy to see some poppies that managed to poke through the blanket of ice plant. 

California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica 

Another plant that was blooming all over the hill was the yellow yarrow, and on top of one of these bushes I identified a little, white-crowned sparrow. Pappa Quail was not impressed by the sparrows and I had to increase my pace to catch up with him. 

White-crowned Sparrow on Yellow Yarrow

The trail distanced from the coastal cliffs, and for half a mile or so we walked along a narrow footpath that paralleled the road to Point Bonita. Pappa Quail mentioned that we could have driven there and I answered that it would have robbed us of the hike. Besides, there was very limited parking near the Point and there was interesting vegetation along the trail.

Willow Galls

The last bit of road to Point Bonita Lighthouse is off limits to vehicles, including bicycles. There were many people walking that path and we joined the human stream going to see the lighthouse. An information sign was posted at the entrance, displaying the history of the place and listing the plants and animals that can be found there. I didn't spend too much time reading it as I was already familiar with the local flora and fauna. One name however, did get stuck in my mind, and that was the Point Bonita Cabbage, and I got excited about the possibility of seeing a new, endemic plant.

The trail to Point Bonita Lighthouse

The asphalt trail ascends for a short distance, then drops down towards the Point and the lighthouse. From the top of the trail we had a nice view towards the ocean ... or was it? I thought I saw something red through the heavy fog. I took the binoculars from Pappa Quail and looked again - that red was the Golden Gate Bridge and I was looking not to the ocean but right into the straits.

The Golden gate Straits

I took a very foggy photo that showed barely anything. At home I manipulated the levels to remove some of the fog and expose the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge

The trail dropped down to Point Bonita along the side of a cliff. On the land side, the rock face was covered with pretty vegetation, including many plants on bloom. 

Lupine, Lupinus sp. 

A short distance down the trail, it curved and we got a nice view of Point Bonita, and the little lighthouse at its tip. We could see most of the trail leading to the light house, and we saw that we'll be going through a tunnel in the rock. 

Point Bonita

Looking down the cliff to the water side on the east was no less interesting, if not more: The rocks below us were heavily populated with wildlife. 

Eastern coastline of Point Bonita

The nearest rocks below us, which were sort of flat, were strewn with sleeping harbor seals. Some of them looked almost dry, meaning they've been sleeping there for some time. Others were wet and sleek, having only recently emerged from the water.

Harbor Seal

The farther rocks had birds roosting on them. The white-washed rocks was populated mainly with cormorants, added a few pelicans. The darker rock in the front was occupies by by gulls and more pelicans. These rocks provide a safe roosting place for these birds. Safe at least from land predators.

Roosting Rocks

We stayed for a while at that view point, looking down at the seals and the sea birds. Eventually however, we resumed our walk down to the lighthouse.

Sweet Alyssum, Lobularia maritima, non-native, invasive

While many of the other hikers enjoyed looking at the seals too, I think I was the only one there who paused to appreciate the local wildflowers. And there were many of them, too.

Seaside Daisy, Erigeron glaucus

As we made our way down the path to the lighthouse, more of the coastline of the eastern side of Point Bonita opened to our view. The fog seemed to have receded a bit more and I could see some houses on the cliff edge. I believe these structures belong to the old fort and were not private households.

There's a very narrow isthmus that links the south bit of Point Bonita to the bulk of Marin Headlands. From the isthmus we had a nice view to the open ocean on the west and north. The rocky protrusions and isles on the western side also harbored many birds, including a lovely family of western gulls. There were too fledged chicks on the rock, wearing their first year gay plumage. One of the parents was guarding them at a distance that said, find your own entertainment and don't bother me.

Western Gull, adult and chicks

There were many more cormorants on the rocks of the west shore. I suppose they don't mind the winds and the waves there.

Brandt Cormorants

Not only the rocks had birds on them, but also the waves. Surf scoter ducks like the open water and are indeed master surfers.

Surf Scoter, female

Past the isthmus we continued walking along the eastern side of Point Bonita Rock, approaching the tunnel that we saw from the high point of the trail. There were more wildflowers decorating the rock cliffs on the west.

California Thistle, Cirsium occidentale

One of the prominent plants there was the Point Bonita cabbage - the plant featured on the sign by the trailhead.

Cabbage, Brassica oleraceae, non-native

I got excited and started photographing obsessively. Only later I found out that this plant isn't a California native plant at all. The Point Bonita cabbages are feral offspring of the cabbage that the lighthouse keeper used to grow in his little garden on the rock. It is different however, from modern day cabbages that are the products of many more selective breeding rounds of horticultural work.

Cabbage, Brassica oleraceae, non-native

The tunnel is human made, of course. I guess it was simpler to cut the tunnel rather than cut a trail on the outside of the rock. The tunnel isn't illuminated, but it's short enough that its other opening is faintly visible.

Point Bonita tunnel

The south part of Point Bonita is very exposed to the elements. Still, vegetation was thriving on the rock face, and much of it was in bloom. 

Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja affinis

 

 There were also uncommon varieties of familiar plants that were blooming on he cliff side. While Pappa Quail searched the rocks and the open water for he birds, I looked for the interesting wildflowers.

Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja affinis

Not all the plants there were what I would think of as coastal plants. They must be hardier than I thought.

Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus auratiacus

I caught a moment when the trail was nearly empty of people. The void side of the trail was fenced and above it the cliff rose nearly sheer. Even so, vegetation was hanging there on the almost vertical rock, including small cypress trees.

Point Bonita Lighthouse Trail

The fog lifted a little bit. Now I could see the Golden Gate Bridge even without manipulating the levels of the image I took. Only the bottom part of the bridge was visible. We didn't see the pillars at all, until we crossed over to San Francisco a couple of hours later.

Golden Gate Straits and Bridge

Carrot-like plants bloom along the trail. I wasn't able to identify them to certainty, but they looked like they might be feral carrots, possibly also vegetable garden descendants.

Around the curve the lighthouse came into view once again. Now we could see that to get to the lighthouse itself we had to walk on a hanging bridge that stretched along a very narrow rocky isthmus.

Point Bonita Lighthouse

A colony of Heermann's gulls populated the slanted cliff below the lighthouse. I found it interesting that they were all keeping a 'don't touch me' radius from one another.

Heermann's Gulls

Just before the bridge to the lighthouse stood a park ranger who was keeping count of the visitors. he also drew our attention to a couple of humpback whales that were feeding just off the Point to the southeast. Naturally we stopped to take a look.

Humpback Whale, back and fluke

Taking photos of whales is difficult. One has to catch the very brief moment that they rise to the surface to breathe. We would probably have been more successful had we been on the whale-watching boat that lilted on the water not too far from the feeding whales.

Humpback Whale, blow

The bridge to the lighthouse was really wobbly. I had some misgivings about its structural integrity as I walked across, as quickly as I could. This bridge was old, but it held. The area around the lighthouse was very crowded. So was the little museum display inside the one room that was open to the public. I didn't take any photos there but I saw Pappa Quail standing at the very tip of Point Bonita behind the lighthouse, aiming his camera at the water and at the rocks below.

Western Gull

I crossed back to where the ranger stood and sat there on the bench, waiting for Pappa Quail. He had a good time finding birds on the rocks.

Pacific Oistercatcher

There were birds in the water there too - pigeon guillemots.

Pigeon Guillemot

Eventually Pappa Quail joined me and together we followed the trail back along the cliff and through the tunnel. From the isthmus I once again gazed northward, upon the coastal cliffs of the west end of Point Bonita.

The waves and the winds created really neat patterns of erosion in the rocks. The islets are probably the most common ones but there were arches too.

We completed the Point Bonita Lighthouse Trail and started on our way back to Rodeo Beach. Trying no to backtrack the same route we came on, we decided to make a loop around the upper part of Fort Kronkite. It wasn't an actual foot trail that we walked on. We simply followed the access road.

Coastal Scrub

Most of the area was covered with knee-high coastal scrub. Here and there were Monterey cypress trees. They were leaning heavily to the east - the work of the powerful coastal winds.

Monterey Cypress, Hesperocyparis macrocarpa

There was less bloom on that part of the trail, but there was sill some. Morning glory dominated the wildflower scene there. Stealthily I plucked some of the very abundant sagebrush for my evening tea.

Smooth Western Morning Glory, Calystegia purpurea

We passed next to Battery Wallace and I wanted to go inside and take a look. I thought that Pappa Quail would wait for me outside but after a minute or so he followed me inside.

Battery Wallace

Battery Wallace was part of the coastal fortification during the WWII. Of all the historic batteries, only Battery Townsley north of Rodeo Beach was prepared for visitors. Battery Wallace had nothing interesting inside, other than some original graffiti. 

Battery Wallace

From Battery Wallace we followed the road to the upper buildings of Fort Cronkhite. Is is the case with the San Francisco Presidio, funding for the Marin Headland maintenance comes from renting out the old army buildings.

There was no sidewalk or any hiking path along the road down. In places there wasn't even a shoulder to escape to when cars went by. Thankfully, the traffic was pretty light there. Looking over the low side of the road we saw what looked like a rocket. I thought is was strange because Marin Headlands was no longer a military area. I don't know why the rocket is there and who does what with it. 

We had also a gorgeous view of the Rodeo lagoon and the Rodeo Beach from the road we descended on. North of the lagoon were the main buildings,mostly old barracks I believe, of Fort Cronkite.

Rodeo Lagoon and Fort Cronkhite

We were now committed to returning around the eastern shore of Rodeo Lagoon. The fog had lifted enough so we had clear view of the hills over the northeastern side of the lagoon, and the sun was brighter now, too.

Rodeo Lagoon, east

A hikers trail split off from the road, leading down to Rodeo Lagoon and to the Marin Headlands Visitor Center. We no longer had to worry about the traffic. The trail was flanked by thick bushes though, some of them really pretty and most were harmless. I did have to watch out for the poison oak though.

Coast Twinberry, Lonicera involucrata

A tweet in the bushes caught Pappa Quail's attention - it was a little Bewick's wren that was singing there.

Bewick's Wren

Pappa Quail wanted to finish the hike quickly, so we didn't enter the visitor center. On the way down he said that he was hoping to get to San Francisco's Land's End to look for a rare visitor there: the red-headed woodpecker.

Rodeo Lagoon

He made a face when I asked him to stop briefly to photograph a bird that was not rare at all - the great blue heron that stood on a bit of vegetation that poked through the water. It was a lovely scene though.

Great Blue Heron

I also stopped to appreciate the colors of the algae that covered the water surface right by the eastern shore of the lagoon.

I then had to hurry to catch up with Pappa Quail, only to pause again for the coastal gumweed that bloomed right by the path.

Gumplant, Grindelia hirsutula

The road to Rodeo Beach follows the east and north shores of the lagoon. Thankfully, there us also a hikers trail next to the road. From that trail Pappa Quail noticed a river otter that was frolicking in the water far down to the west. The otter was way to far to get a good photo of it. We knew there otters from our previous visits to Rodeo lagoon, they are permanent residents there.

Northern River Otter

I was surprised that Pappa Quail bothered to photograph the brown pelicans that swam in the lagoon. By that time we had already decided that we'd go to San Francisco to look for the rare woodpecker.

Pacific Brown Pelican

We had a very lovely hike from Rodeo Beach to Point Bonita and around Rodeo Lagoon. We got to see many interesting sights and enjoy a cool hike, escaping the intense heat that baked the inland trails that day. From Rodeo Beach we drove off to San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. We roamed around Battery Chester in Land's End for a while because Pappa Quail had information that the sought after bird was hanging there. Eventually we found the bird by the tried and true method of finding the other birders that had already found it and were sitting there for hours before us, just looking at it. It sure was a pretty bird and a worthy find. This is a bird of the East, and no one knows for sure how it got to San Francisco. I was sorry for it, because it was clearly lonely, and kept calling for a partner or a mate that never answered.

Red-headed Woodpecker, Land's End, San Francisco

On the following day I rested at home while Pappa Quail took the elder chika to San Francisco to see the woodpecker too.