Pomo Creek Blufftop Trail. Photo by Nelson Scott Smith.
Over 50 miles of trails are enjoyed by bikers, hikers, and equestrians alike. Certain segments are recommended for horses and bicycles. Trail markers point hikers and riders in the right direction, and rest logs and benches provide a chance to enjoy the scenery and vistas. Help our two and four-legged explorers by remembering to keep dogs leashed, and be aware when taking a turn or corner.
You may purchase a map at the Association Office, during office hours (Tuesday – Saturday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm)
- Paper Map – $5.00.
- Durable plastic map – $9.00.
Trails Mileage Spreadsheet
The Trails Committee has developed an excel spreadsheet of walking distances between all trail posts on TSR trails, along with total mileages for individual trails and the Circumambulation. Biking distances for the length of TSR using roads and bike connectors are also included. Mileages were calculated by GPS and other methods and can be found here.
Interpretive (Self-Guided) Trails
Currently, there are six self-guided Interpretive Trails at The Sea Ranch. The Audio Walking Tour: Architecture, Landscape, Intentions is designed for use on smartphones or other mobile audio devices and begins at the Sea Ranch Lodge. Website access to the Audio Walking Tour is coming soon! The other five interpretive trails have brochures describing historic and natural features: the San Andreas Fault Interpretive Trail, the Monarch Glen Interpretive Trail, Reading Our Seascape, the Del Mar Landing Marine Reserve and the Sag Pond Story Interpretive Guide. Brochures for the San Andreas, Monarch Glen, Del Mar Landing Marine Reserve, and Seascape routes are available in wooden boxes at each trail: please pick one up to read on the trail, and return it at the end of your walk. All the brochures are also available at the Association office, may be read online or printed by clicking on each link below. The Trails Map highlights all five Interpretive Trails in yellow.
The Audio Walking Tour: Architecture, Landscape, Intentions introduces the architecture and landscape of The Sea Ranch, noting the ideas and features that have made it world renowned. This tour has been recorded in audio so that you can experience it on your own…walking in the field with a mobile device or at home. It visits the area where the first Sea Ranch buildings were built and describes the landscape that surrounded them and how that has changed. Written and narrated by Donlyn Lyndon, one of the original Sea Ranch architects, this self-guided audio guide explains what was intended in planning The Sea Ranch and in creating these first buildings. Lyndon comments, as well, on the evolution of the landscape during the subsequent fifty years.
The San Andreas Fault Interpretive Trail is just above the Hot Spot on River Beach Road. It features 4 ridges with associated swales and hummocks (created by parallel faults), a sag pond, broken trees and displaced/recaptured drainage channels from 1906 and earlier earthquakes. The trail also features historical remnants from 1890’s logging of original ancient redwoods (such as springboard notches and skid trails), as well as forest ecology of unique overstory, understory and ground cover, as well as stump islands colonized by redwood sorrel (oxalis). Park at the Hot Spot and walk up River Beach Road to the trailhead.
The Monarch Glen Interpretive Trail is on the west side of Highway 1 just north of milepost 56.06. Its trailhead is reached by walking along the cypress hedgerow northeast from One-Eyed Jacks. The trail brochure describes many plants, especially shrubs and trees, along both branches of Monarch Creek, as well as birds and other wildlife. Several unusual examples of redwood growth are also featured, as well as old Ohlson ranch sheep sorting pens. There is a long, 18″ deep trace of original ranch road, which leads to one of the old red gates.
The Reading Our Seascape Guide describes sights along a section of the Bluff Trail from approximately Trail Marker 6 (just north of Galleons Reach to Trail Marker 10 at Navigators Reach. The guide describes many of the marine mammals and birds that may be seen along the shore, as well as geographical features. It describes the ecology of the coastal upwelling zone along our shore, and the California Coastal National Monument, which includes all the islands offshore of California.
The Del Mar Landing Marine Reserve is located along the Sea Ranch Bluff Trail between Trail Markers 54 and 64. This Marine Protected Area provides protection to fragile habitats by prohibiting fishing, harvesting, or injury to any living marine organism within its boundaries. A walk through this reserve will allow you to experience four distinct habitats which are home to thousands of species of invertebrates, algae, fish, marine mammals, and seabirds. Pick up a trail brochure from the trail box and explore the geology, plant, and animal life typical to the area as you proceed along the trail markers
The Sag Pond Story Interpretive Guide describes habitat, plants and animals that might be found in the unique aquatic habitat of our eight sag ponds, and talks about the geologic processes that create the sag ponds. There are discussions of symbiotic relationships among plants that are found only in one place on The Sea Ranch. Five of the ponds are accessed by spur trails from other trails and from roads, and feature the distinctive sag pond marker posts.
Historic Markers
In recognition of the complex and varied history of the Sea Ranch, the Archives Committee has placed informative markers on Sea Ranch trails. These marker posts document the history and identify some of the significant sites on The Sea Ranch. In addition to the sign, a text-based QR code provides an expanded description that you can read with a Smartphone QR code reader. For a fascinating and complete description of each of the twenty-five historic sites, and the events and people they evoke, read the brochure, Preserving Sea Ranch History: A Historical Journey on our Trails, May 2014 by Harry Lindstrom.
Easy Access Trails
Easy access trails are designed for people with limited mobility and for strollers. There are 7 easy access trails that lead to the Bluff Trail at trail marker posts 3, 6, 10, 24, 36, 43, and 60. Short horizontal bars on the Trails Map indicate the easy access trails.