From the NPS site.

Starting on Dec 31, 2011, bus service is provided Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from Drakes Beach directly to the lighthouse parking lot. Visitors can disembark for whale watching and wildflowers, or they may continue on to Chimney Rock for hiking and seal watching.

After a big day of eating turkey and hanging out with the family, it’s time to flex your arms and legs and work off the second helping of stuffing! Head out to Point Reyes. Here are some great things to do:

• See if the fish are spawning; check for updates and tours at SPAWN (Salmon Protection And Watershed Network)
• Check out the terrific local artists at the semi-annnual Open Studios
• Maybe you can catch the very tail end of the Tule Elk Rut Season
• For bird watchers, it’s always worth a stroll to Abbotts Lagoon, where you may be able to find migrating birds.

The tule elk is a subspecies of elk that is unique to California. Nearly hunted to extinction during the Gold Rush, the tule elk received federal protection in 1971. Pierce Point, the north point of the Point Reyes peninsula, is now a 2,600 acre reserve for the tule elk. In the fall, it is a warm, beautiful hike with the opportunity to see the elk rut season. You are likely to hear bull elks bugle, spar and try to form their harems of females.

Some facts from the National Park Service:

Female elk are sexually mature by two years of age, although they may be able to breed as yearlings. Nearly all female elk will reproduce during their lifetime. A female is likely to have six to ten calves in her lifetime. Males are sexually mature at age two, but usually aren?t able to breed until they are strong enough to compete with other bulls to defend a harem of cows. Half the male population will remain bachelors; most breeding is accomplished by ten percent of the male population.

Videos by the NPS:

This video was created by the National Park Service’s Pacific Coast Science and Learning Center as part of its 2004 “Science Behind the Scenery” DVD.

Tule Elk: California’s Legacy of Wildness chronicles the fascinating and inspirational story of the tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) which are native to California and can be viewed at the Tomales Point Tule Elk Reserve. Since pre-historic times, large herds of tule elk roamed California’s central valley and coastal plains. Unfortunately, they were hunted to near-extinction by the late 19th century. Tule Elk examines how the dramatic rebound of the tule elk population at Point Reyes National Seashore and in California at large demonstrates the success of threatened species protections and conservation laws.

A good newsletter that documents the return of the Tule Elk.

2011 details: July 16, 2011!

Head out to Far West Fest!  This day, voted Best Music Festival in Marin, benefits Community Radio KWMR and the Love Field Open Space — both beloved West Marin institutions.

The Far West is a green event with 100% recycling/ zero-waste, carbon offset options, and no plastic packaging on site. Food vendors are local purveyors of organic, sustainable offerings including oysters, fresh produce, grass fed meats, and baked goods.

The festival music stages offersa lineup of funk, blues, country, rock, folk, experimental, bluegrass and world music, internationally touring acts and local favorites.

The festival also offers a supervised Kidz Zone that features interactive activities, healthful snacks, and kid-centric live music and storytellers.

Check out more.

Images courtesy of RKado

Photo by artolog.

Probably the best place to see the whale migration is at the Point Reyes Lighthouse, since it’s at the point where the Point Reyes Peninsula juts farthest into the Pacific Ocean. Chimney Rock, on the opposite side of the ridge from the lighthouse, is another good place to observe. Due to the popularity of these spots, the Park Service operates a winter shuttle bus program in the area on weekends and holidays starting the last Saturday in December through mid April. …

Whales aren’t the only large migratory marine mammals to be seen out at Point Reyes. Over the past few years, the Point Reyes peninsula has become home to a sizeable population of Northern Elephant Seals (mirounga angustirostris). These huge seals can be found camped out on beaches around the area, particularly in and around Chimney Rock.

Every year on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, the National Park Service hosts at Drake Beach a Sand Sculpture Contest.  It is really fun.  If you want to give it a go, I would advise that you bring tools to (1) move sand, (2) move water and (3) finely tune sand.

Facts for 2010:

• Event occurs on Sunday, Sept 5, 2010.
• Anyone can enter.
• Prizes awarded in each of several age and group catagories.
• Free to participants and spectators.
• Registration begins at 9:00 am at the Ken Patrick Visitor Center.
• Judging begins at 12:00 pm.
• Prizes awarded at 3:30 pm.

Categories include: Children (14 and under), Families, Adult Individuals, and Adult Groups. Three prizes will be awarded in each of those categories, along with prizes for the sculpture with the most recycled plastic included.

Photos of past winners at the National Park Service web site:

The treasure of the day being turned into Bear Valley Visitor center is shed snake skins, mostly from gopher snakes. Unlike other critters, snakes shed their whole skin in one continuous piece; it helps remove bacteria and parasites. They are temporarily blind and vulnerable afterwards; rattlesnakes get a new rattle piece each time they shed.

The Northern Spotted Owl nesting season is wrapping up; 30 nesting sites were monitored this year; the majority of sites were occupied by adults but only ten of the nest successfully fledged young owls. The late rainy season may have influenced the numbers; one nest may have failed due to interactions with a male barred owl.

Tule elk breeding season ‘the rut’ is warming up! Volunteer docents are at the elk range on weekends with spotting scopes to help find elk and identify behaviors. Early morning visitors may be rewarded with the bugling sound of males through the fog. Coyotes have been ‘singing’ behind Kule Loklo in the mornings recently.

The 30th Annual Big Time Festival will be held Saturday, July 17 at Kule Loklo, the Coast Miwok Exhibit near Bear Valley Visitor Center. Traditional dancers, vendors and a great day in the sun! No dogs or alcohol permitted.

• Bolinas-Stinson Beach Tug-of-War: Every Fourth of July, the towns of Stinson and Bolinas have a tug of war over the channel that separates the two towns.
• Woodacre 4th of July Parade and Celebration
• Inverness Fourth of July Party
• Bolinas Parade and Summer Fair
• Point Reyes Farmers Market is underway

For more details, head over to the Point Reyes calendar.

harder! Pull! Originally uploaded by Luiza

Open Studios is here again. Combine a trip to the beach with a visit to one of the many local studios in the area. Some information from the official web site.

Point Reyes Open Studios (PROS) invites art lovers from around the Bay Area to tour the studios of nineteen West Marin artists Memorial Day weekend, May 29, 30 and 31. Artists will be showing their work in their studios and homes from Saturday through Monday, 11 AM to 5 PM each day. …

Visitors will be able to meet the artists and see new original work, as well as explore the studios and workshops in which the art is created. Several artists plan demonstrations of their complex craft techniques, and at least one studio will allow visitors to pull their own keepsake prints. …

Visitors can pick up a free brochure/map at Toby’s Feed Barn, The Station House Cafe and many other local shops and inns. The tour’s street signs make artists’ studios easy to find.

painting by Nancy Stein

The truest sign of spring at Bear Valley is the return of the gopher eating Great Blue Heron wandering the fields behind the visitor center!

Wildflowers are here: fields of deep purple blue iris at Chimney Rock and the Estero Trail; yellow bush lupine beginning at the Lighthouse and Chimney rock. Poppies at Abbotts Lagoon; the spell of warm weather kickstarted the bloom this past week.  A favorite flowering shrub along the Estero Trail and Levee Road – Twinberry – right now it has two/twin tubular scarlet flowers tipped with lemon yellow that will become two dark berries with scarlet fringes.

At last, regular whale sightings from the Headlands; 5-6 per hour over the weekend before high winds returned on Monday.  They appear to be the second ‘pulse’ of travelers, adults and juveniles without calves;  the third pulse of mothers and calves have not been seen yet.

Northern elephant seals continue to withdraw as males heads and juveniles head north, the females are mostly gone south.

Here’s the latest happenings inside the Park:

Where are the Whales? Speculation continues that whales stayed feeding longer in the Arctic seas and delayed the annual migration south – delaying the return north. Sightings at the lighthouse continue to be sparse; high spring winds also contribute to limited opportunities to view whales.

Wildflowers blooming, plenty of fragrant creamy yellow wallflowers along the Lighthouse; daffodils at the old Glen Ranch/Hostel area. Brilliant Douglas iris are appearing in patches along Sir Francis Drake Highway. Other signs of spring, male deer sprouting velvet covered antlers.

Mark your calendars, on Thursday, March 11 at noon – park intern from the Republic of Soviet Georgia sister park Kolkheti National Park will present a show on this beautiful sea coast area. Free and open to the public.

Lovely new watercolors of park landscapes by Ayris Hatton are on display at the Bear Valley Visitor center through March and April.

Photo courtesy of Jun Belen

The annual seal protection measures begin on Monday, March 1st as harbor seal pupping begins. Drakes Estero closes to boating as does South Blue Gums Beach on Tomales Bay. Harbor seals, silvery in color and much smaller than elephant seals, will begin returning to the protected coves along Drakes Estero and in Tomales Bay to deliver and nurse pups. The parents may leave the pup ashore for short periods of time while they catch a meal in the water – be sure to give all seals on land a wide berth to allow them to rest during this critical periods of their life cycle.

Elephant seals continue to depart the Headlands with plenty of activity between males after the females and pups turning up on Limantour Beach and Drakes Beach. Many of the young seals are molting and their paler old coat will appear torn up. This raggedy appearance is normal and they are conserving energy by lying on the beach as their new fur grows.

High surf has been pounding the beaches, they appear much smaller in winter as sand is carried to offshore bars. Safety first, do no turn your back on the waves and walk halfway up the beach, not near the water.

A pair of coyotes were spotted at South Beach approaching the small colony of elephant seals below the Lighthouse cliffs; perhaps to scavenge some dead pups. As the population of coyotes increases in West Marin, they have been taking advantage of seal pups on the beaches as an easy meal. These two were deflected by the size of the male seals in the area and decided to dine elsewhere. The seal colonies are flourishing with some loss of pups due to the high surf.

Lovely weather last Saturday reassured us that gray whales are passing, over 20 were seen under the clear skies at the point; the highest count for any day this season. They return in a month or so, More sightings are likely in March with February being the lull in sightings.

Marin County Open Space rangers will be leading a walk at Abbots Lagoon on Sunday, January 31 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm; lot’s of resting birds and a possibility to see the freshwater otters who have a den there.

This weekend is the fifth annual ‘Fungus Fair’ with walks beginning at 10:00 am on Saturday, January 30 at the Bear Valley Visitor Center; Sunday, January 31 a display of fungi may be viewed at the Visitor Center.