Alamere Creek Beach

Located near a promontory named Double Point, Alamere Creek Beach is a beach with light brown sand.  This beach is located below steep shale bluffs and it is a part of a national park named Point Reyes National Seashore.  The Alamere Creek falls down from a 30-foot high blufftop area onto the beach – once the water from the Alamere Creek falls onto the beach, it flows into the Pacific Ocean.  As an interesting fact, the Alamere Falls is one of the only two known “tide falls” of California – tide falls are waterfalls that directly flow into oceans.

Alamere Creek Beach does not have any lifeguards or other amenities, so please plan accordingly.

Alamere Creek Beach offers many fun activities including hiking, beachcombing, sunbathing, wildlife watching, fishing, surfing, kitesurfing, paddleboarding, windsurfing, skimboarding, kayaking, canoeing, boating, surf-skiing, and jet skiing.  If you are planning to swim or surf near Alamere Creek Beach, we recommend being careful because the water here can have dangerous rip currents.  Depending on the time of the year, you can see many kinds of animals in the water near Alamere Creek Beach including seals, sea lions, dolphins, and migrating grey whales between December and April.  Please note that seals, sea lions, dolphins, and whales are protected under a law named the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and harming them can result in a civil penalty up to $11,000 and possible imprisonment.  If you are planning to fish near Alamere Creek Beach, please follow the fishing regulations that can be found on the website of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Point Reyes National Seashore’s webpage on the National Park Service’s website. 

Getting to Alamere Creek Beach can be difficult - the trail leading to the blufftop area above the beach starts from the Palomarin Trailhead, which is located at the end of Mesa Road.  Mesa Road is easily accessible from the Pacific Coast Highway through the Olema Bolinas Road.  From this trailhead you need to hike on the four-mile-long Coast Trail, which eventually branches off into a smaller unnamed trail leading to the blufftop area above Alamere Creek Beach.  From here, you then need to carefully get down along the steep, partially eroded, and unstable bluffside to get to Alamere Creek Beach below.  A free parking lot is available at the Palomarin Trailhead.

There are many attractions near Alamere Creek Beach.  Samuel P. Taylor State Park offers interesting hiking, biking and equestrian trails that are located along beautiful redwood groves near the Lagunitas Creek, which offer a unique opportunity to explore its vibrant plant and animal life.  In addition, the park also has picnic areas and a campsite.  Duxbury Reef is a coastal area that is located near a beach park named Agate Beach County Park and it offers many interesting tide pools – these tidepools are home to a large variety of plant and animal species that live in local intertidal environments including many kinds of seaweed, chitons, and sea urchins.  Bolinas Museum offers interesting exhibits highlighting the unique history of Bolinas and Marin County.  If you are looking for another interesting attraction near Alamere Creek Beach, Bolinas Gallery has many interesting artworks on display – these artworks are created by emerging and renowned local artists.   

If you get hungry, there are many restaurants near Alamere Creek Beach.  Sir and Star at The Olema is an upscale restaurant that has a charming vintage ambiance and offers delicious coastal Californian cuisine.  In addition, the restaurant has been also praised by the MICHELIN Guide.  Due West serves amazing salads, burgers, seafood, Italian dishes, and steak frites.  Coast Cafe offers excellent seafood, sandwiches, and burgers.  Smiley’s Schooner Saloon Hotel & Kitchen offers excellent coastal cuisine that is infused with Hispanic influences.  If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Alamere Creek Beach, PARKSIDE Cafe  is a 25 minute-drive away and it has a modestly priced section named Snack Bar that offers excellent sandwiches, tacos, hot dogs, and pastries.

If you are looking for a hotel near Alamere Creek Beach, there are many great options.  If you are looking for an upscale hotel, the 4-Star Casa Madrona Hotel & Spa is an hour away by car - this hotel is set in a vintage 19th century mansion and it offers many amenities including a spa, a restaurant, a retail store, a laundry/ dry cleaning service, an on-call movie library, and a fitness center.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Olema House that offers many amenities including a restaurant, a game room with a pool table, a deli, and a garden.  As another option, the ELEVEN Bread & Breakfast at 11 Wharf Road is conveniently located close to some of the major landmarks in the nearby town ofBolinas and it also has a restaurant.  Another moderately priced hotel is Smiley’s Schooner Saloon, Hotel & Kitchen that is an adults-only accommodation with an old-world charm and features a saloon-style bar with a pool table, live music, and karaoke nights.  If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Alamere Creek Beach, The Stinson Beach Redwood Haus Inn (also called Redwood Haus Bed & Breakfast Inn) is a 25 minute drive away and offers many amenities including a complimentary breakfast, barbecue facilities, pianos, guitars, a DVD library, and a lobby with a large flatscreen TV.