Point Reyes: Alamere Falls Revisited

Alamere Falls ranks as one of the great wonders of Northern California--an impressive waterfall that lands on the beach along a rugged scenic coastline, more than 4 miles away from the nearest road or parking lot. It is sights like this that make me so thankful I took up hiking two years ago.

But it's not all that easy to get to, both in terms of driving and hiking. Perhaps there is a faster route there, but it takes me longer to get to the Palomarin trailhead from Sacramento than any other in Point Reyes National Seashore: 2 hours and 45 minutes this time. And then it's a matter of making a long hike planned to reach the falls at low tide, or a shorter hike on a trail the park service signs as dangerous and unmaintained--if one wants to get to the beach below the falls that is.

My friend Erik and I hiked there last year, and wanted to go again this year, but it's a hike that takes patience and planning if you want to be safe and get the best conditions. We waited until there was a weekday (fewer people visiting the falls) with a good chance for some blue in the sky (no forecast is reliable for Point Reyes though) coming after recent enough rains that the falls would be going at close to full force, and then it had to be a day with the low tide at the right time.

Friday, February 29th, was that day. After making the long drive to the Palomarin Trailhead on the south tip of the park (the last bit of the drive is on dirt road), we set out on the trail, with several other people who were setting off about the same time. One of them asked me if this was the trail with the water that poured onto the beach. I don't think he had planned as thoroughly as I had.

My plan was to do as we had done last year--hike all the way to Wildcat Camp (5.3 miles), descend to the beach there just before low tide, walk down the beach to the falls (about a mile), and then return by climbing the crumbling cliff up to the aforementioned unmaintained Alamere Falls Trail. But I also wanted to be sure that our timing with the tides would allow us to return via Wildcat Camp, in case the conditions of the cliff had deteriorated and we could not make the climb up. We both feel more comfortable climbing that cliff, when we can see where the footing is, rather than descending it.

We hiked as quickly as possible, which we needed to do to hit Alamere Falls at low tide. There was no stopping for wildflowers or mushrooms, but we did stop for this critter:



From Palomarin trailhead we followed the same route along Coast Trail that we took last year up to the junction with Ocean Lake Loop (you can read a description in my blog entry on last year's hike). Last year we continued on Coast Trail to Wildcat Camp, but this time we took Ocean Lake Loop, as I'm trying to hike every single mile of trail in the park. The signs indicated this route was only .1 mile longer, while my trail map indicates it is the same distance.

This led us through a marshy area along the coast--oddly, Ocean Lake Loop is closer to the coast than Coast Trail--until we started climbing. At the start of this climb I kept hearing frogs croaking, but I never could find one. At the top of the climb there is a bench, which made me stop to check out the view. From up there I could see Alamere Falls in the distance and a long stretch of beach. That's reason enough to take Ocean Lake Loop rather than Coast Trail for that section of the hike.

We were almost to Wildcat Camp, yet high above the beach, so it was a steep descent from there. I didn't see any people or tents or anything at Wildcat Camp. A deer jumped out of the bushes just ahead of me on the trail as I approached the camp.

From here we descended to the beach and crossed a stream running into the ocean. Along the beach we got to see all that the last high tide had washed in. It's depressing to see all the garbage littering this gorgeous area. Lots of bottle caps, a cell phone, a very large plastic container of some kind--all sorts of junk. I packed the cell phone out with me, but left the rest--which I often feel guilty about on my hikes.



At one point we saw tracks coming down from the cliff, and began speculating on whether somebody had found a shortcut that might be easier than the usual one. But as we got close, we saw they were deer tracks. Farther along we saw strange bits of white matter in the tracks. Closer inspection revealed this to be lots of little bits of styrofoam. I was going to try and find where the deer went back up the cliff, but as we got close to Alamere Falls, I forgot about that, and started taking pictures. During one of the shots, a wave rolled in and washed over the top of my right boot, filling it with water.





The forecast had been for a sunny day. It had been foggy on much of the drive over. There was lots of blue sky at the start of the hike, but when we reached Alamere Falls, it was 100% overcast, which was disappointing. But still we set out taking all kinds of pictures. Just as I was ready to wind it up, I noticed a couple of streaks of blue in the sky, and we decided to hang around to see what developed. So I took off my right boot and wrung out my sock. We never did get a lot of blue sky, but we got a little more, and set about re-shooting all the same shots we had just taken. During one of these, as I was standing on rocks a little offshore, a wave came in and washed over the top of my right boot again, undoing my attempt to dry out.





I was ready to move on before Erik, so I went ahead and climbed the cliff and started taking more photos. Alamere Falls is really a series of waterfalls. The largest is the one that drops onto the beach, but there are two smaller ones viewable from a large, mostly flat area halfway up to Alamere Falls Trail. Plus there are nice views of the main falls from above here, although unfortunately the view is into the sun in the afternoon. It was a nice place to eat my sandwich.

After I shot Erik from above and he shot me from below, Erik climbed up. Then a couple arrived from Alamere Falls Trail. The man asked if there was a way down to the beach, so I showed him where we had climbed up. He started down, but the woman didn't like the idea, and eventually prevailed, so they just hung out at that level, as many people do, and I did on my second visit to Alamere Falls (coming from the more distant Five Brooks Trailhead).

I jumped back and forth over the stream a couple of times trying to find new takes on these subjects. Then I climbed up the slope on the south edge of the stream and found my way over to the edge of the falls from there, but wasn't quite able to get far enough out to get a good shot. Erik followed me over, and while he was shooting, I headed up to Alamere Falls Trail--this second climb is safer and easier than the first one. I met a couple up top who thanked me for showing them the way down, and asked if they could get all the way down to the beach, so I pointed out the way and described it to them, and also pointed out the best spot to view the main falls from above.

We were not going to be able to beat rush hour traffic home, especially on a Friday, so after we hiked the short distance back to the Coast Trail we decided to take our time on the way back, and take a side trip to Palomarin Beach, a spur off of the Coast Trail near the Palomarin Trailhead. There were plenty more opportunities for photos on the way back of wildflowers, and occasionally we would stop and get a quick shot, but neither of us was really into it, as we have been on other hikes. I'll wait a few weeks and return to Chimney Rock for wildflower shots.

The junction with the spur to Palomarin Beach is in an enchanting grove of eucalyptus trees. We started off from there and hiked down .6 miles to the beach. Although low tide was a couple of hours past, we were still able to find tidal pools with anemones and some shellfish (I didn't see any sea stars, though). Unfortunately, the water was a bit murky. Erik found the remains of a jellyfish.

Finally, we made our last climb of the day back up to Coast Trail, and the quick jaunt back to the car, winding up what I would estimate to be an 11.7 mile hike. From there we drove up to Point Reyes Station, to go over to Novato and CA 37 to take us back to I-80 while avoiding as much traffic as possible. But on 37 we hit the heavy traffic, which we were stuck in during a beautiful sunset. It continued slow through Fairfield, but of course it's worth it.

U.S. Route 40: Auburn Boulevard

[See also my other blog entries on US 40, West Sacramento's Motel Row, and North Sacramento's Del Paso Boulevard. I periodically update these entries as I gather more information and photos.]

As automobile ownership, travel by car, and building of highways exploded all over America, the highway routes just outside of city limits were where auto camps, then motor camps, then motor hotels, and finally motels sprang up to meet travelers' needs. The motel row approach to the city of Sacramento from the west along the Lincoln Highway, and later US Route 40, was locally known as the Davis Highway--what is today West Capitol in the city of West Sacramento. The approach from the northeast was to the once-separate city of North Sacramento along Auburn Boulevard. Dozens of mom and pop motels lined the route, trying to lure in visitors with bold neon signs.

Auburn Boulevard begins where it crosses the freeway that supplanted it as US Route 40--to the north it is Roseville's Riverside Avenue in Placer County. But heading south, it is Auburn Boulevard, beginning in Citrus Heights, and ending at El Camino where the city of Sacramento meets an unincorporated part of the county formerly known as Ben Ali, and now part of the larger community of Arden Arcade.

During World War II, plans were made for a post-war freeway in the Sacramento area, supposedly for defense purposes. In 1947, the North Sacramento Freeway opened, bypassing the city of North Sacramento, and that section of Auburn Boulevard from El Camino north to just past Marconi, where Auburn Boulevard curves in a more easterly direction.

In addition to the freeway bypass, the proximity of the railroad tracks helped to speed the decline of the businesses along this section of old Route 40. This portion of Auburn Boulevard did not even remain a main thoroughfare for residents, as the overpasses across the railroad tracks for major streets that used to intersect Auburn Boulevard now make them pass over it. This makes just following the old route difficult at times. Instead of keeping straight on Auburn Boulevard, a few times the road curves to the right and a stop sign, and you have to make a left-hand turn to continue on Auburn Blvd. A larger detour is required when you get close to Business 80 (originally the North Sacramento Freeway) and Marconi. This area, from El Camino to Business 80, once lined with motels and restaurants, is now predominantly light industrial, as a result of being bypassed.

The motels and restaurants along the next stretch of Auburn Boulevard survived quite a bit longer. When the Roseville Freeway was proposed to bypass this stretch, the Auburn Boulevard Improvement Association was formed to fight it. They sought to make Auburn Boulevard an express way, rather than having a freeway bypass it altogether. In 1948, the State Motor Hotel Association joined in the struggle to prevent construction of the freeway. But in the world view of most Americans at the time, it was self-evident that freeways were essential for progress and security. Nobody ever asked why. The Ben Ali-Roseville Freeway opened on April 24, 1956.

Government officials have never had much sense of history, or sympathy for small business owners. After forcing through a freeway that cut off the businesses and led to their decline, a new generation of officials viewed the surviving businesses as blight, and sought to have them demolished. This is what happened to three motels I was lucky enough to see, before progress swept them aside: The Rolling Green, The Ritz, and the Pacific Motel.

The destruction of the Pacific Motel particularly upset me. I remember how delighted I was to see the place. Not only was the fabulous neon sign in perfect condition--and those old signs with exposed neon tubing require continual maintenance, which can be quite expensive over the years--but the grounds were immaculately groomed, with a lovely flower garden. This was not some absentee landlord neglecting a property, and the owner did not roll over for county officials. He fought, and lost, and the result is that today we are blessed with a cheaply constructed shopping center, the kind developers purposefully build not to last, but to tear down in 20 years.

Here's what little history of the route I've been able to preserve with my research and photos, starting from the border with the current city of Sacramento and heading out towards Citrus Heights and the limits of Sacramento County:

As US 40 left the former city of North Sacramento, it passed under the railroad tracks via a subway, then curved to the north from El Camino onto Auburn Boulevard. Before the subway was put it in, it was a dangerous crossing point, and the curve was originally dangerous too, and was realigned at least twice.

This is where the Curve Inn Motel used to stand, but now either an office building or part of the wider overpass that replaced the subway occupies the space now. The curve is still there, and shortly after it you hit an exposed section of cement that was the surface of US 40, as opposed to the more recent asphalt. The subway, made irrelevant by the overpass, was filled in as part of the Sacramento light rail project. Then comes . . .

Chima's Food Store
1530 Auburn Boulevard

Stevenson's Grocery Mart in 1955, and Eng's Market in 1965, somehow they keep managing to sell groceries at this little store.

M&M Mobile Home Park
1750 Auburn Boulevard


In the 1950s, it was pretty much the same, but named M&M Auto Court & Trailer Park

A&M Bottle Shop
1840/1838 Auburn Boulevard


Sometimes it's not the name but the address that changes over the years. This placed opened sometime from 1957-1961, and is still in business.

Railroad Cafe
1844 Auburn Boulevard


This was Bushers Club from at least 1952 to 1994, and the business was even older, being listed at 3040 Auburn Boulevard in 1950. I didn't see it as Bushers, but here is my friend Mike's photo. It opened as the Railroad Cafe in April of 2007. I just had a nice burger there the other day.

Oak Haven Mobile Park
2150 Auburn Boulevard

It has been around since at least 1939, when it was Oak Haven Trailer Camp. I don't know, staying in a trailer camp sounds more fun to me than a mobile park.

The Sands Motel
2160 Auburn Boulevard


The motel is still there, but the county decided the sign was not solid enough. Apparently it took quite a lot of effort to tear it down. My photo here is not my own idea, but now I can't find the photo I copied to give credit to the person I copied it from.

Pacific Motel
2224 Auburn Boulevard


I've already told you about how I feel about this one. Wanton destruction. Developers Lux Taylor and Skip Maggiora wanted to built a shopping center, and in addition to their parcel of land, they wanted the land where the Pacific Motel and the Ritz Motel stood. Officials from the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency were threatening to use eminent domain to take the land if the owners would not sell to the developers. Patel in an article in the Sacramento Business Journal in 2002: "If Maggiora wants to build a store, he should build it on his land only. This is not real fair."

Ritz Motel
2228 Auburn Boulevard


Destroyed.

Rolling Green Motel
2230 Auburn Boulevard


Destroyed.

Casa Grande Mobile Village
2314/2312 Auburn Boulevard, or 3402 Killeen Circle

49'er Motel
2720/2730 Auburn Boulevard


Or earlier the 49'er Lodge, from at least 1948 to 2006. Now a lovely garbage-strewn vacant lot.

Transtar International
2840 Auburn Boulevard


I've always been curious about this thing: a merman on horseback? Surely it couldn't have anything to do with Telstar International. In the 1960s and 1970s it was Zorba's Bar and Oven, but the building looks like it dates from when it was a nightclub called Cleopatra in the 1950s, as there are classical columns on the front of it.

Tradewinds Motel
2844 Auburn Boulevard


Since at least the early 1970s, but before that it was the Town & Country Motel.

Johanna's Restaurant
2906 Auburn Boulevard


This place was a recent discovery of mine--it was Eddie's Irish Village Coffee Shop in the late 1960s, when the Econo Lodge next door was Eddie's Irish Village Inn. It has been Johanna's since at least 1990. It's not of the age I really admire for diners, the 1930s and 1940s, but it's still pretty cool.

La Rosa Blanca
3032 Auburn Boulevard


My very favorite Mexican restaurant. It's small, vividly decorated, and serves great food. It has been La Rosa Blanca since at least 1982, and in the 1960s and 1970s was Mission La Palma.

Surf Motel
3204 Auburn Boulevard


For a plastic, back-lit sign, it has a pretty cool one, but still I resisted photographing it. I love neon. The motel probably had a neon sign when it was the Palms Motel in the 1960s, but since at least 1971 it has been Surf Motel. Then I saw this lovely shot on Flickr. I've since seen two more like it, and knew I needed a photograph of the sign as well, only I took mine at night.

Golden Tee Inn & Restaurant
3216 Auburn Boulevard

It was built in 1964, after the freeway was, but was still an interesting place. The restaurant had a real Rat Pack feel. I never got a photo, but once again, a contact of mine on Flickr got a shot.

Orbit Station
4716 Auburn Boulevard


It's a pleasure to support this old googie gas station--it usually has some of the lowest prices in the area.

Cricket County Kitchen
4745 Auburn Boulevard


That's what it has been since 1986, and it is a delight inside--decorated with much kitsch, and model trains running around above your head. I'm no sure how old it is, but in the 1970s it was Pat & Mae's Restaurant.

12 Mile House
5919 Auburn Boulevard


We're all the way out in Citrus Heights now, but this is the most historic structure in my overview. It operated from 1884-1998, when a Bay Area investor who had purchased the property shut it down, telling the Sacramento Bee she had no emotional stake in the property--it was just an investment. Ah, the discrete charm of the bourgeoisie. The previous owner who operated it for many yeas and told the Bee of finding hand-made nails in the place, traveled from out of town to come back and visit the place one last time before it was closed.

Rocky's 7440 Club
7440 Auburn Boulevard



An old bar with utilitarian name, a great old neon sign, and a newer neon sign. Here's my friend Joe's close-up shot of the sign.

Sam's Classic
7442 Auburn Boulevard



This is a great old drive-in restaurant that I neglected for too long. I stopped there for a chili cheeseburger and a Dr. Pepper on the way back from a hike recently. The burger was not photogenic, but it was delicious.

If you've traveled throughout the Central Valley, you might recognize this building as an old Sno-White Drive In. There were once nearly 200 such franchises in California, and a few still survive. It was still a Sno-White in 1970, but by 1975 was Lou's Burgers.



Lodge Coffee Shop
8191 Auburn Boulevard


This was probably built in the 1960s, when A-frame coffee shops seemed to be all the rage, which would make it after US 40 was already bypassed by the freeway. It was previously called Ski Lodge Coffee Shop.

From here, Auburn Boulevard passes a major bus station for connecting Sacramento County and Placer County routes, and heads across the freeway that bypassed it into Roseville.

highway40