The best running trails around Dillon Beach

The Cheney Creek Trail follows the eponymous creek. On some maps it was initially called Doran Marsh Trail. The wide gravel trail is flat and has good views of the marsh. The new Cheney Creek bridge creates fantastic shortcut and carefree bike trail connection from Doran Beach Regional Park to Bodega Bay along the wide and smooth gravel trail that crosses the wetlands. It links up to the Bird Walk coastal access loop trail, which exits either at the main trailhead parking or a half mile further north at the ramp closer to Bodega Bay. Fantastic birdwatching all along the trail.

Doran Regional Park is located just south of Bodega Bay, and has a two‑mile beach ideal for swimming, bird‑watching, or just walking along the water. There is also a campsite with 120 sites and basic amenities.

The Bird Walk Coastal Access Trail is a loop trail that takes you along a saltwater marsh. The trail is gravel and mostly flat.

The Cheney Creek Trail is a straightforward trail that follows the trail of the same name. The trail is flat and has good views of the bay.

This trail runs along the crest of an open ridge as it follows an old ranch road to the northwest. It offers spectacular views of Tomales Bay, Bodega Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. It is also a prime wildlife viewing trail as it traverses the Tule Elk Reserve. The Tomales Point Trail is an out-and-back trail, so it offers visitors the flexibility to choose how long they want to make their adventure.

Tomales Point (aka Pierce Point) is located at the northern end of Point Reyes National Seashore. The Tomales Point area is a popular destination for visitors wishing to view tule elk, birds, and wildflowers. The historic Pierce Point Ranch offers a glimpse into the early dairy ranching days on the peninsula. A short 0.4-mile (0.6-km) trail leads down to the beautiful McClures Beach. The 9.7-mile (15-km) round-trip Tomales Point Trail leads along the ridge crest of a narrow peninsula, offering spectacular views of Tomales Bay and Bolinas Ridge to the east, Bodega Bay to the north, and the coastline of the Point Reyes peninsula stretching to the south.

Established in 1858, Pierce Ranch (aka Pierce Point Ranch) was the largest of four independent ranches on the the Point Reyes peninsula in the late 1800s. The Shafter brothers sold a 2,200-acre tract of land on the end of Tomales Point to Solomon Pierce for $7,000 in 1858. Pierce Ranch excelled in the production of the finest quality of butter, as indicated by Goldberg, Bowen, and Company—a famous San Francisco fine food purveyor—which purchased the entire butter production of Pierce Point Ranch during late 1800s. The Point Reyes region ranches were, as a group, considered to be the best dairy ranches among the 300 in the state as of 1900, and Pierce Ranch was at the top among the Point Reyes ranches in the quality of its product. In recognition of its importance, it was written up in 1878 and again in 1880 as an outstanding example of a dairy ranch. The Pierce Ranch ceased operations in 1973. Beginning in 1980, the National Park Service invested in the rehabilitation of the ranch core, citing it as the best example of a west Marin dairy ranch from the 1800s. Among the many ranches of the Point Reyes peninsula and of the nearby Olema Valley, Pierce Ranch is the one with the greatest degree of integrity of early buildings in its physical complex. Pierce Ranch is probably the least altered, least modernized, physical complex of ranch buildings in the area. Part of the ranch's main house dates to 1856, making it the oldest surviving ranch house in the Point Reyes region, if not in the whole coastal section of Marin County. Pierce Point Ranch was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, and was subsequently opened to the public as an interpretive site. Visitors are welcome to walk through the ranch complex, where interpretive signs describe the history and function of the various buildings. Historic features include the main house, a schoolhouse, a blacksmith shop, barns, dairy houses, and many other structures.

Founded in 1858, the Pierce Ranch was the largest of the four independent ranches on the Point Reyes Peninsula. Go to the visitor center to find out about the Tulle Elk. Endemic to the peninsula, you can spot herds during the hike.