Matt Davis/Steep Ravine/Dipsea
Turn-by-Turn Mileage Log
Mile 0.0: Begin on Stinson Beach's Belvedere Avenue. With your back to Highway 1, walk down the street and look for Matt Davis Trail, which starts on the right just past a "wrong way" sign. Mile 0.1: Unsigned junction. Turn left. Mile 0.2: Junction. Turn right to remain on Matt Davis Trail. The path begins a long, steady, ascent, through a forest of Douglas fir, tanoak, buckeye, and coast live oak. You'll cross creeks and climb a bunch of steps. In winter and early spring, you'll pass some small gorgeous waterfalls. Mile 2.5: Grassland, and junction with Coastal Trail. Bear right. With the climbing over, this stretch is nearly level. Mile 2.7: Undersigned junction. Continue straight on Matt Davis Trail. After a steady stretch through grassland, the trail enters a mixed woodland of Douglas fir, redwood, and oaks. In spring, look for calypso orchids close to the ground. Mile 4.2: Trail leaves the woods and reaches a junction near Pantoll Road. Bear right, cross Panoramic Highway, then walk across the parking lot and look for the signed start of Steep Ravine Trail. The trail starts out with a series of descending switchbacks, then settles in beside a creek. As you gradually hike down and out of the canyon, you'll pass several waterfalls, and descend a memorable wood ladder. Mile 5.9: Junction with Dipsea Trail. Continue straight. Mile 6.0: Second junction with Dipsea Trail. Bear right, and follow an exposed pipeline slightly uphill. After a few feet, you'll reach another junction. Continue straight on Dipsea. The trail begins to leave the woods, opting for a new course through Douglas fir and coyote brush lined grassland. Mile 6.1: Junction with a fire road. Continue straight on Dipsea. The trail begins to rise, and there are great views back uphill to the right. Mile 6.2: The trail crests then reaches another junction. Continue straight. As the trail descends through grassland, spectacular views unfold, of Stinson Beach and Point Reyes. Nice displays of poppies on the right in early spring. Vegetation shifts to coastal scrub, but before you get to Panoramic Highway you'll pass through a shaded area where buckeyes line a stream. Mile 7.1: Panoramic Highway. Cross the street, then get back on Dipsea Trail on the other side. Cottoneaster shrubs line the trail. Mile 7.2: Highway 1. Carefully turn right and walk along the side of the road (there's more room on the west side of Highway 1, but then you must cross the road twice). Mile 7.3: Fire station, and Belvedere Avenue. Turn right and you'll be back at the starting point.
