One of Kayla’s favorite things to do is explore the many, many hikes within the Marin County Open Space District (MCOSD). It is one of the few truly dog-friendly places she is able to run free on the fire protection roads. The MCOSD hike that seems to get both Kayla and her uprights excited is the Blithedale Summit, accessible from two different trailheads minutes from downtown Mill Valley. This trip, KK entered the Blithedale Summit East trailhead for a comfortable hike up towards the great sleeping lady of Marin, Mount Tam.
The hike up the mountain is not only full of wonderful views of the mountain, but of Marin County and the entire Bay Area. On a clear day, you can see Mount Diablo and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to the east, the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge and downtown San Francisco to the south and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Even on foggy days, the fog bank seems to stop and hang in the deep valley between the Blithedale Summit and Mount Tam. We made it about 2 miles up towards Mount Tam (the entire hike is a 6.6 mile loop of ups and downs).
When hiking this trail, be sure to bring lots of water for all of you because there are some open areas that could get hot on a nice day. Also, please help us preserve our rights to have our dogs on leash on most MCOSD lands and off leash on the fireroads by being respectful of others, in control of your pup at all times and always clean up and pack out. More on these rules and regulations can be found here.
A complete look at all dog-friendly Marin County Parks and Open Space can be found here.
