One Of America's Few Coastal Waterfalls Is A Dramatic California Site Near San Francisco With A Sandy Beach

One thing California has by the bucket load is beaches. From the tide pools and dolphin-filled waters of quiet Haskell's Beach all the way to the soft and wide sands of Sunset Beach near LA, there are salty spots to suit all tastes. One thing California doesn't have in droves is coastal waterfalls. In fact, there are just two in the whole territory of the Golden State, and one of them can be found hidden along the wild, cliff-ringed shores of the Phillip Burton Wilderness — itself a portion of the 71,000-acre Point Reyes National Seashore. Welcome to the Alamere Falls! The only other coastal waterfall in this sunny land, the legendary McWay Falls — hailed as one of the must-sees on Big Sur — has lookouts on the highway nearby. 

It isn't possible to just cruise up in the car and get a view of Alamere Falls, though. Instead, visitors will need to hike at least 13 miles along breezy clifftops and sands to reach the cataract. The payoff? A sighting of one of the planet's only tidal bluff waterfalls as it crashes around 40 feet into the Pacific.

Highway 1 provides access to the various starting points for launching an adventure to this incredible coastal location. There, visitors can choose from three parking lots which open up a variety of hiking paths to the falls. None of them are all that tricky to get to from San Francisco — you're looking at about a 1.5-hour drive from SFO, or roughly 50 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge. Be the early bird because parking fills up fast, especially on weekends.

There's nothing for it but to pull on the trekking boots if you're keen to see the wonder that is Alamere Falls. The good news is that you've got three different trails to pick from. The shortest begins at the Palomarin Trailhead  and passes through a eucalyptus forest before looping around some coastal lakes. From there, it threads its way along the clifftops with the Pacific Ocean roaring away on one side.

The middle-length option is nearly 15 full miles out and back. It snakes its way through the Bear Valley but soon clambers up a wooded hill over 800 feet high only to descend again as views of Point Reyes' various headlands and sea rocks unfold in front. Many comment on the abundant wildlife viewing that's possible on this path, with one former hiker writing on AllTrails that they spotted "antelope, quail, lots of wildflowers, garter snakes, banana slugs, lots of birds and fortunately butterflies & bees."

The last — longest — option is a route that begins at the Five Brooks trailhead. It'll work up a sweat as you connect with the Greenpicker Trail to push 1,200 feet in elevation, going through dense forests filled with birds and stalked by coyotes. On all trails, access to the falls is via the south end of Wildcat Beach, which means you'll have to walk on the sand for the final stretch.

Anyone who's ever laid eyes on the enchanting coastal wonders of the Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, the site of California's only other ocean waterfall, will know that there's something seriously special about these natural phenomena. And so it is at Alamere Falls, which rarely fail to impress — they're even rated 4.8 stars on TripAdvisor, making them the top thing to see in the Bolinas area as a whole according to past visitors.

Get ready to gasp in awe the moment the falls swing into view at the end of the trail. You'll be gazing right at a stream of H2O as it crashes over a rock to meet the Pacific Ocean. The whole thing is surrounded by the big, salt-sprayed rocks and shimmering gold sands of Wildcat Beach, one of the best secret beaches in America.

There are some things you should know before setting off. First, the falls look their best after heavy rainfall, which means spring is generally when you'll get to see the cataracts at full power. Second, be wary of the tides, as Wildcat Beach can be cut off when the water pushes up — making it impossible to reach the falls. Third, there's an unofficial shortcut to the falls called the Alamere Falls Trail, but it's not maintained by the National Parks Service. It's always better to stick to the proper routes.