Hike to Kelham Beach Overlook, Point Reyes National Seashore, California

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NOTE: Kelham Beach was one of the more remote beaches at Point Reyes, but is no longer safe to visit. As of 2024, there are no safe routes to access Kelham Beach. In January 2023, coastal erosion eliminated the lowest 12 feet or so of steps at the bottom of the Kelham Beach Trail. In April 2024, a much larger landslide occurred, taking out even more of the Kelham Beach Trail. The route is unstable and moving. Visitors are still welcome to hike to the Kelham Ranch site, where an old eucalyptus provides a shady spot to rest and from which the Kelham Beach Trail used to descend to the beach...but DO NOT USE THE KELHAM BEACH TRAIL OR ATTEMPT TO DESCEND TO KELHAM BEACH. If you descend onto the beach, you may not be able to get back up. Kelham Beach is a 0.9-mile-long (1.5-kilometer-long) beach deep within the Phillip Burton Wilderness in the central part of the national seashore. A 7.7-kilometer (4.8-mile) trek from the Bear Valley trailhead brings hikers to an overlook above this quiet, secluded beach. The trail leading from the Coast Trail down to Kelham Beach was repaired during the summer of 2009 and is now open. The beach access trail was washed out a number of years ago during a winter storm. Visitors should use caution when visiting this beach. High tides frequently cover much of the beach.

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