• The Point Reyes Beach as viewed from the Point Reyes Headlands

    Point Reyes

    National Seashore California

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  • Operational Changes Took Effect on May 1

    The Lighthouse Visitor Center is now only open Fridays through Mondays. The Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center will be closed through late December 2013. More »

  • 2013 Harbor Seal Pupping Season Closures

    From March 1 through June 30, the park implements closures of certain Tomales Bay beaches and Drakes Estero to water-based recreation to protect harbor seals during the pupping season. Please avoid disturbing seals to ensure a successful pupping season. More »

2012 Shuttle Bus Transportation System Begins as Whales and Seals Arrive!

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Date: December 1, 2011
Contact: Loretta Farley, 415-464-5140

Shuttle Bus picking up passengers at Drakes Beach

Park Superintendent Cicely Muldoon announces the 14th year of shuttle bus transportation beginning Saturday, December 31, 2011 and running through mid-April 2012. "Winter is a wonderful time not only to watch the annual Pacific gray whale migration from Alaska to Mexico but also to celebrate the recovering populations of Northern Elephant seals as they return to breed at Point Reyes."

Limited parking is available at prime viewing areas such as the Historic Lighthouse and Chimney Rock headlands. Bus service eases congestion in these areas. The shuttle transportation system was identified in the Headlands Management Plan as an important tool to protect the fragile headlands but also allow access for visitors.

Bus service runs only on weekends and holidays in good weather. Ticket sales open at 9:00 a.m. at the Ken Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach and close at 3:00 p.m. Children 16 and under are free, adult tickets are $5.00 per person and Federal Senior and Access pass discounts apply to the purchase. Sir Francis Drake Highway is closed at South Beach junction when the busses are operating. Road closures begin at 9:00 a.m. and the road reopens approximately at 5:15 p.m. For more information, please call the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100 x2 x5 or visit our Winter Shuttle Bus System page.

-NPS-

Did You Know?

Bull elephant seal © Richard Allen

Four species of pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) rest onshore or breed at Point Reyes: the Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), the harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), and the Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus). More...