Blithedale Summit Open Space Preserve

Somebody’s gonna get killed here. Or somebody’s dog is gonna get killed here. Or both. It’s Unilocal cliché to say «I really wanted to like this place…». It’s not cliché to add «but I really enjoy remaining alive». So first things first:
* Keep yourself and your dog — and anything else you cherish — close and hug the mountain. If you’re heading up, stay far to the right and as close to the mountain as possible. If you’re headed down, continue to stay there, even if it feels like you’re walking in the wrong «lane».
* Pray that the mountain bikers racing down the mountain stay in the outside «lane», have excellent brakes, vigilance, and a conscience.
I wish there were signs that explained these rules but there aren’t. Don’t learn the hard way.
There’s a lot of options here. After street parking on West Blithedale, I hiked about 45 minutes up to a great viewpoint with a bench. At this point, there’s an auto barrier which allows walk-​ins and bike-​ins. I went no further but was told that continuing on leads to a paved road then another fire road leading to many additional trails. (To get to this place, I took the path on the left when there was an option. Path on the left but keep hugging the mountain).
To this point, the hike isn’t difficult. The incline is gradual but the wide path is rocky so wear sturdy shoes. Others have reported this trail as sunny and hot but I experienced normal Mill Valley weather (cool and overcast).
My dog and I generally enjoy a hike that doesn’t entail fearing for our lives. By that measure, this isn’t really a great place. I did like the ease of access and the long, gentle slope of the trail (at least the part I hiked) and for that I’d make a return visit. There’s probably a law against even thinking this in Marin, but this would be a 4-​star hike for me if we could ban the mountain bikers. Until then, no.

We’ve enjoyed several hikes at Blithedale Summit & it’s definitely a family favorite. Some things to know:
— It’s easy to get to, just a few minutes from downtown Mill Valley meaning when you’re done with your hike, you can saddle up at Sweetwater for an ice cold beer & a delicious brunch!
— Parking has never been a problem & many of the spots are shaded so you don’t come back to a baking vehicle.
— It’s not overly crowded. You’ll definitely see people on the trails, but it’s not so much that you can’t have some private moments to enjoy the spectacular views & intimate chats (about reality TV) with your hiking partners ;)
— We’ve brought dogs both times & unlike some of the reviewers, haven’t had any issues with bikers. Everyone we’ve encountered thus far really respects others on the trail.
— Great work-​out: the beginning is a pretty gradual incline & there is little to no shade. That said, when you get past the water towers, you’ll come to a very well shaded fork in the road with the option to go left or right…
— We’ve done both sides: if you go right, continuing up the incline, you get an INSANE view of the city & East Bay. Much like the rest of the fire road, there isn’t much shade so take advantage of the trees for a rest when you can. Additionally, instead of looping back the way we came, we ended up finding a trail that we could follow back to our car. It did take us through a residential area, but it was fun seeing the beautiful houses.
— If you go left, you’ll go back down the mountain a fair bit & then continue on an even trail for a few miles. The nice part about it is it’s much deeper in the forest so you can enjoy tree cover, in addition to views of the East Bay. Unfortunately, we had brought a picnic with us & never found anywhere to sit & enjoy it so ended up looping back the way we came & ate it by the water towers before heading home.
As others pointed out, lots of water is a must. The trail is much steeper than it looks & for the most part, is a pretty steady incline (albeit gradual) for most of the hike. While we have gone & just wandered, taking a peek at a map or bringing one with you is a good idea, too.

With only a few dry days of winter left my friends and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and take a hike. Due to a last minute change in plans we chose to hike the trails here instead of the one that was twice as long. One minute we’re in Mill Valley and not 5 minutes later we are in the middle of a a beautiful forest with a running stream below us and beautiful redwoods all around us.
There isn’t really a parking lot but when entering from West Blithedale, you will know the trailhead is coming up when the road narrows to a single lane. Folks park anywhere that is safe and legal (relatively).
We started at the gate located at the West Blithedale trailhead. From there, I cannot say much about which route we took since we didn’t plan on hiking here and we were following the lead of a friend that knows this area well. I do remember that we were on the Blithedale Ridge Fire Road and the Corte Madera Trail for some time. We began our ascent and kept climbing up for approx. 40 minutes. After that the trail alternated between steep ascents and steep descents until we reached the summit. Wow. Your quads, calves and hamstrings will love you for this! Total elevation change is about 1300 feet with no switchbacks.
The trail is wide, very well maintained and is comprised of loose gravel or rocks or dirt. Parts of it are covered but most of the trail is completely exposed, so it’s important to dress in light layers on this hike and bring plenty of water. The views of Marin, various mountains, downtown SF, the SF Bay, and nearby bridges are spectacular. It was a clear, sunny day, allowing us to see far and wide. I normally take pictures but was so focused on getting through these steep climbs that I totally forgot about my camera! On our hike, the trails were fairly empty and we didn’t see any bikers. Most hikers had their dogs (including Vinny, the adorable black lab mix that led us on our journey), both on and off leash. There were a few trail runners and families having picnics. Please note there are no bathrooms, phones or rangers on site.
In our case, because we were limited in time, we decided to get the most bang for our buck and take the shortest and thus steepest route, which took approxmiately two hours total. I would rate our path as moderate. Note that the alternate routes are longer, but have less abrupt changes in grade, are easier to traverse and have been labeled as easy.

Me and a buddy of mine found a great hike right here. Why?
1. The place is pretty beautiful (sits right next to downtown Mill Valley), with flora and fauna galore.
2. You get a great strenuous workout going all the way up, (we did around 7.2 miles, gaining 2500 ft. elevation).
3. Probably some of the best views you will have of the Bay Area. I was lucky I brought my camera.
– During the hike, all I saw were endless trails. It made me feel like one of those ‘Lord of the Rings’ characters, with the roads going ‘ever on and on’. I mean seriously, getting to the top took a long time.
Mountain bikers rush down the hills at great speed, forcing the regular hikers to move away lest they prefer to find out how it feels to get hit with hundreds of pounds of force. BUT, their fat grins while they were going down really convinced me that mountain biking can be fun, although the ride up looks really painful.
OH… my friend was walking by the mountain side and heard growling, like that deep big cat growl. This was a bit unnerving, and had us constantly looking back until we were almost done with the hike.
– The trails are not well defined, you should bring a MAP or a GPS system. We got lucky for having the latter, otherwise it would have been one loooooong day.

As part of a new initiative to stay in good shape, the BF and I decided to start hiking trails on the weekend. We wanted to bring our dogs with us, but after reading the reviews, decided that we better scope out the place first lest someone run over our dogs.
The trail itself wasn’t too bad. There were some good inclines to keep you on your toes, but definitely not steep enough to kill you. When you get to the top, you can get great panoramic views of the SF Bay as well as the north bay. The trail is shared with mountain bikers and horses, but we only saw a few bikers during our hike.
My biggest complaint about the trail was that the forks were not well-​marked. We tried not to get lost, so I’m sure we didn’t do the full 6.6 miles (maybe around 3 – 4 instead). Even if you have a trail map, it’s not very clear. If it is your first time on the trail, I would probably suggest being a little more careful on know how to get back to your car. Then, when you become more familiar, be more adventurous!
I can’t wait to bring the doggies here next week!

This seems to be a great place if you’re a mountain biker, not so good if you’re with your dog. We thought our pup would get some off-​leash time on the fire roads but there were far too many bikers zooming down the trail.
As the other reviewer noted, much of the trail has direct sun so be prepared for a very hot hike and pack plenty of water.

There are periods of time when I want to escape the chaos of the city for a brief respite in nature. Thankfully, my boyfriend and several of my friends are of the same frame of mind. This past weekend was one of those times that we decided that a little hike in Marin County was in order and we followed a crappy trail book and found the Blithedale Open Space Preserve.
There are a few spectacular views of SF, the Bay Bridge, Sausalito, San Rafael, the Richmond Bridge and Mt. Tam on the ridge top parts of the trails. There are patches of shade, mossy cliff sides, babbling brooks, beautiful wildflowers and assorted wildlife running around (eg. birds, lizards and SNAKES).
If you are planning a hike, some few words of advice:
— BRING A GOOD MAP — the trails are not well marked. I think that we wandered around thanks to the crappy hiking trail book that I had purchased my boyfriend for Christmas.
— BRING SUNSCREEN — Being at the top of a mountain ridge definitely puts you in PRIME sunlight
–WEAR APPROPRIATE SHOES (DUH) — The trails are dirt and rock.
–BRING WATER — Just for those that aren’t wilderness inclined, there aren’t any convenience stores in the hills.
–IF YOU HAVE KNEE PROBLEMS, BEWARE — The grades are steep. Going up and down are really painful on the knees.
–BE PREPARED TO TINKLE OUTSIDE — There are no restrooms on these trails.