A nice breeze will be at your back most days. This trail connects to the top of the eastern ridge. Near the top are some easily avoidable ruts. You'll get ocean and beach views if you turn around and look back. It never gets too steep.

Start at the intersection with Shoreline Highway. Stay left at the first intersection and then right at the next two until you reach a parking area. The trail will now climb steeply straight up the mountain. The road winds and switchbacks some until you hit the ridge.

Watch hawks trace circles in the sky from rolling hills in the Marin Headlands. Besides its widescreen vistas of the Pacific and the Golden Gate, Hawk Hill offers fascinating wildlife experiences.

It is the best place to witness the fall raptor migration with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory,

Start at the southern end of the Coastal South Trail and head east. The trail starts out dropping on a fairly straight trail. Soon, the very tight switchbacks will start and continue, and proceed until you are dropped out in a flat field.

Most hikers utilize this trail to complete the shorter loop through the Muir Woods National Monument. This direction is a gradual climb and connects with the Redwood Creek Trail at the end of the valley. Expect a good amount of traffic going in both directions.

This trail segment, technically part of the Coastal Trail, takes visitors past jaw-dropping views of the Marin Headlands and valleys, on the way to a beautiful lookout point and, beyond that, Black Sands Beach. In the spring, you're treated to a stunning trailside display of wildflowers.