Starting point for the hike at the Palomarin Trailhead along the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County, California:
The hike starts out with the trail taking you through a thick canopy of trees:
This includes passing through a giant grove of Eucalyptus trees:
It isn't long before the trail passes by some cliffs which drop off hundreds of feet down into the Pacific Ocean:
Looking out at the waves of the Pacific crashing into the shoreline:
Purple Iris wildflowers were growing along the trail in February:
As the trail turns away from the ocean, it continues through a forested area:
The main trail is very well maintained and easy to follow:
Passing by Bass Lake off to the left, 2.6 miles from where we started:
Following the trail through some towering trees in between the two lakes:
This is Pelican Lake, located a short distance past Bass Lake. Pelican Lake is formed by a natural dam (right rear of picture), which prevents the water from draining into the Pacific:
The turn-off onto the Alamere Falls trail, including warnings that it is unmaintained and potentially dangerous. This route is no longer recommended by the NPS:
The brush is very thick and the trail is narrow. Keep an eye out for poison oak in the late Spring and Summer:
Nice view of the ocean from along the trail:
Getting closer now, as the trail descends rather quickly towards the beach:
This is Upper Alamere Falls, which is the first part of the waterfall which the trail leads you to. Even though this is not the main waterfall, it is still very pretty and worth seeing:
The next three pictures show some various views of Upper Alamere Falls:
And two pictures of Steve with Upper Alamere Falls in the background:
The middle portion of Alamere Falls has two smaller waterfalls, both of which are unique. This is the first one:
Here we are looking at the first waterfall in the middle portion and Upper Alamere Falls together in the same picture:
Looking down toward the ocean and eventual final drop-off of Alamere Creek:
In this picture, both waterfalls in the middle portion are visible together:
A close-up of the second waterfall in the middle portion. It's actually worth coming here just to see the upper three waterfalls, without even seeing the main one:
And here it is... Alamere Falls plunges down onto the beach of Point Reyes National Seashore:
Looking down at the 40 foot drop of cascading water. During high tide, the ocean water comes all the way up to the base of the cliffs:
Looking to the north along the coastline:
Heading down the scrambling route to try to reach the beach. This route is no longer recommended by the NPS. Please use safety ropes and equipment if attempting this route:
The next two pictures show Annie and Jered carefully working their way down the cliff made up of loose rocks. Caution is definitely in order here, and anybody who is older, out of shape, or who has bad balance may not be able to safely do this. According to the NPS, many injuries have occurred at this area:
For those who do not have safety ropes and equipment, there is an alternative route which is about 4.6 extra miles, where you continue west back on the main trail to Wildcat Camp, drop down to the beach, and hike east to reach this spot:
First view of Alamere Falls from the beach:
Three pictures of the 40 foot waterfall taken from directly in front of it:
Jered and Annie getting their picture in front of Alamere Falls:
A picture of Steve standing in the run-off corridor where the fresh water of Alamere Falls flows into the salt water of the Pacific:
And a picture of Steve with his sister Annie:
A close-up taken from directly beneath the base of the falls:
The next three pictures are taken from the right side of the falls:
Looking south along the shoreline at the tide pools and continuing beach:
Two views looking out toward the ocean and incoming waves on a cloudy day:
Three more views of Alamere Falls from this location, before crossing back over the drainage corridor:
The next three pictures were all taken from the left side of the falls:
Annie and Jered carefully crossing back over the drainage corridor, but still getting wet:
And one final picture of Steve with Alamere Falls as he finally accomplished this absolutely beautiful hike:
We returned to Alamere Falls on April 6, 2011 for our third time. The waterfalls were much fuller because we had a great amount of Winter and Spring rainfall. Enjoy the following newer photos and the surprise at the end:
We found this baby harbor seal resting on the beach during our April 2011 hike. His mother was out in the ocean feeding. If you ever find a baby seal, leave it alone and do not worry about it or think it has been abandoned. The mother will return to the beach after feeding to care for her young one:
These final four pictures were not taken in the Alamere Falls area, but rather in Julie Pfeiffer Burns State Park in Big Sur. This is McWay Falls, which is the other tidefall in California:
Zooming in on McWay Falls, which plunges 80 feet onto a sandy beach of the Pacific Ocean:
In this picture, the tide is in and McWay Falls is dropping directly into the ocean. This is a true tidefall:
As mentioned earlier, Alamere Falls and McWay Falls are the only two tidefalls in California. However, I consider Alamere to be superior in beauty because of the access. With McWay Falls, there is no access to the beach below the fall unless you kayak in:
