News Release

Shuttle Bus Transportation System Begins on December 30, 2017, as Whales and Seals Arrive!

Date: December 18, 2017
Contact: John Golda, 415-464-5143

Point Reyes Station, Calif. - Park Superintendent Cicely Muldoon announces the twentieth year of shuttle bus transportation beginning Saturday, December 30, 2017, and running through late March 2018. "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." The Winter Wildlife Docent program also begins, with volunteers at the Chimney Rock and Lighthouse overlooks to assist visitors.

Limited parking is available at prime viewing areas, such as at 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 in good weather on weekends and federal Monday holidays. Shuttle service will operate on December 30, December 31, and January 1. Ticket sales open at 9:30 am at the Kenneth C. Patrick Visitor Center at Drakes Beach and close at 3 pm. Children 15 and under are free; adult tickets are $7 per person; and Federal Interagency Senior and Access pass discounts apply to the purchase. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is closed to vehicle traffic including bicycles beyond the South Beach junction when the buses are operating. Road closures begin at approximately 9 am and the road reopens at approximately 5:30 pm. Additionally, the Drakes Beach Bookstore operated by Point Reyes National Seashore Association is open on Saturdays & Sundays 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. throughout the shuttle season. For more information, please call the park's "Shuttles, Whales, and Elephant Seals" information line at 415-464-5100 x2 x3 x1.

Park visitor centers will close at 2:30 pm on Sunday, December 24 and will be closed all day on Monday, December, 25. The Bear Valley Visitor Center will reopen at 10 am on December 26 and ranger programs will be offered every day at 1:30 pm from Tuesday, December 26 through Friday, December 29.

For more information, please call the Bear Valley Visitor Center at 415-464-5100.

Please visit our website at www.nps.gov/pore for complete information.

-NPS-