Mt. Tamalpais State Park / Cataract Trail

 One of my all time favorite places to hike in the North Bay is Mt. Tamalpais State Park.  I used to hike here all the time when I lived in Sausalito.  The trail I chose to hike is the Cataract Trail starting from the Rock Spring Parking lot.  I wanted to hike here because it was my favorite hike to take with my dog Bonsai.  She is now 17 years old, and we are preparing to send to her soul over the rainbow bridge.  I've been doing a lot of reminiscing about her, and all the many hours we spent hiking together.  This was our favorite trail to hike together.  It is rare for a CA State Park to allow dogs on the trail, and this park does, but you have to keep them on leash.  We actually saw some people being lectured by a Ranger about their dogs being off leash.  He gave them a warning, and he said next time it would be a $300 fine.  I used to let Bonsai off leash here all the time (oops!). 


This trail is so beautiful because it runs through Redwoods, past meadows,  alongside a creek and has many waterfalls.  It is not a difficult trail, but it can be very long if you choose to take it all the way to the Cataract Falls near the end.   We did not go that far, we went about two miles in then back because of time constraints.  Every inch of this trail was a delight -- this is where the fairies live... for sure.   I am planning on spending a lot more time hiking at Mt. Tam.  This trail brought back so many memories, and I had forgotten how incredibly beautiful it is.  

Also, the drive up to the Rock Springs Parking lot is incredibly stunning -- views of the entire Bay Area! Here are some more photos:











And here is Bonsai, when she was just a young pup:





Location: Mt Tamalpais, California 94941, USA

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