Dipsea Trail Hike - Saturday, August 16, 2025

Dipsea trail hike, from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach--our third transit, after June 2010 and June 2023.

Up at 4:00 a.m., having slept only a few hours in fits and starts. Breakfast, etc. Left home around 5:00 a.m. Drove up the peninsula; traffic was mostly light. Crossed the Golden Gate Bridge. Parked near Old Mill Park around 6:15 a.m. Restrooms locked. 

1st of 688 steps (staircase #1 of 3, I think)

We began just after sunrise, and about 45 minutes after an hour-long misting rain. The perfume of the redwood and bay trees was 💯 🌟 

Banana Slug

Saw two banana slugs as we climbed the 688 steps in the 1st mile. Sadly, we encountered one squished banana slug later. 😓 Very quiet atmosphere. We whispered to ourselves so as to not disturb occupants of adjacent houses.

Felt a bit tired, but exertion distracted me. Wore our hydration vests. No sunblock until 10:00 a.m. Sky overcast and weather cool.  

Dawn took photos of each mile marker. I think we found every one except mile 3. 🤔 Not sure if we missed it or (?) 

Fogbow on the way to Muir Woods

Muir woods at 7:30 a.m. Traded photos at the entrance with another group. Found gift shop & cafe not open until 9:00 a.m. Walked the reverse loop to Cathedral Grove and back. One pair of men and their dog shared their observation of salmon fingerlings and crawfish. Back at the cafe a bit past 8:30 a.m., we decided to wait, refilling our water reservoirs, using the restrooms, and relaxing. 

Muir Woods Cafe - Turkey & cheese sandwich, scone, and hot (well, lukewarm) & iced coffees

At 9:00 a.m. we entered as customer #1, getting a turkey & cheese sandwich, a lukewarm coffee, an iced coffee, and a blueberry scone. Dawn bought a Muir Woods cotton tee with a banana slug on it. We also bought a wooden sticker with a badge of Muir Woods.

The park was noticeably busier as we left. A handful of tour buses of various sizes had arrived. We ascended away from Muir Woods and found ourselves sharing sections of the trail with runners of the USATF Tamalpa Headlands 50K ultramarathon. For the rest of our hike, we paused frequently to give right-of-way to runners. Almost all of them went out of their way to say thank you or greeted us, all while tackling "fast fire road running, steep climbs, flowy singletrack, [and] technical sections".

Near Cardiac Hill, we encountered an aid station tent with a bustle of activity, trays of food, hydration, volunteers, and even two athletically-dressed people in front of a camera and a satellite uplink. We briefly chatted with a volunteer who shared the name of the event, before she dashed after a passing runner and splashed them with water from her small pail. We watched several hikers farther along the trail and decided to continue. As we left the aid station a volunteer encouraged us to use the trail but to watch out for the runners. 👍🏻

We laughed at this sign, which looks like the handiwork of a hungry troll (photo: AllTrails)

Descending into the steep ravine portion felt primeval--from hot sun & dust, to shaded, cool, & fog-soaked moss with soft-earth trails. 

Primeval-looking, fog-shrouded redwood branches

The downside was the steep single-track meant frequently standing aside along the edge as runners dashed down. At the bottom a small party of hikers were chatting and laughing under the bows of a tree. The climb out of the ravine was rather gentle, all things considered. Our view at the fence of Stinson Beach was obscured by fog. The rest of the hike went smoothly, and we finished at the race turnaround tent, which had more trays of food, hydration, and volunteers. 

Whale art on driveway gate

 We felt tired but physically much better than previous Dipsea Trail hikes. Dawn wondered aloud about a double-Dipsea--i.e., hiking the reverse. 

We walked into town, looked at the restaurant options and chose Parkside. 

Raspberry lemonade with mint (Parkside Cafe)

Chicken Pesto sandwich--looks good, tastes just OK (Parkside Cafe)

After a 15-minute wait, we got seated at an patio picnic table. The waiter was Javier, and we got raspberry lemonade with mint, a latte, a pesto chicken sandwich (Dawn says, "I was a little sad about it, but it was OK...not anything to write home about"--wished for the burger or something else), and the signature Parkside breakfast for me: 2 over-easy eggs, toast, & roasted root vegetable hash with ketchup. For dessert we went to the Parkside cafe and got a slice of sourdough pesto sausage pizza & a cup of vanilla ice cream with berries. 

Stinson Beach was busy, with lots of pop-up tents, a few kites, a handful of swimmers, and lots of people relaxing in the sun & sand. We decided not to walk to the shore and rested for some minutes on the bench at the end of the wooden ramp. Next time, we will bring pants more suitable for wading. 

The bus driver charged us the $2/person fare this time (they did not in 2023). It was a larger bus, and earlier in the day. This bus had a Clipper Card fare reader, which seemed convenient. We paid $5 in cash and received a $1 paper card we can use on future uses in Marin. (The next day we got a Clipper Card). The driver aggressively navigated the turns, and our position in the back amplified the bouncing and queasiness. Our stop was at Panoramic & Bayview, which was the same spot we got out in 2023. We chatted briefly with a group of hikers who exited with us--they had hiked the same way we did earlier, and just needed a 2nd opinion on which direction to go. As we walked, a friendly couple passed us at a quick pace and we chatted briefly about where we had hiked. At the bottom we found our vehicle where we had left it. 

I walked a quick block to the Mill Valley Public Library and got a library card. As we got in the car and prepared to leave, a slightly silly encounter occurred with another driver--they pulled alongside us and motioned through the window to inquire if we were leaving. I nodded in the affirmative, and then they sat there for a moment until they realized they had boxed us in. After a beat, they reversed and we exited. 

The drive back was uneventful. I had programmed Waze to avoid tolls, so perhaps for this reason it routed us north to State Route 4 (SR 4), then 680-south and home. It was busy but relatively uncongested. It felt really good to get home and relax. 

We felt tired but not exhausted like in 2023. More talk of a double Dipsea hike some time in the future--it seems there is even an annual running of the Double Dipsea race on August 23, 2025.