ALPINE DAM LOOP - FAIRFAX, CA
Total Elevation: 4,448 feet
Distance: 48 miles
Approx. Time: 3 hours
This Alpine Dam Loop is easily one of our favorite rides. Starting in the little hippie enclave of Fairfax and easing up through most of the micro-climates available in Marin County, CA: Temperate Rainforest, mighty Redwoods, Douglas Fir, Tan-Oak, Manzanita scrub, and Coastal Oaks in seas of golden grass. All the while you are treated to stunning views, solid climbs, sweeping descents, and plenty of spots to refill water and coffee! It’s not often you get to ride through 5 different state parks on a 50 mile ride!
DIRECTIONS:
Beginning at The Fairfax Coffee Roasters head South-West on Fairfax-Bolinas Road and follow this up and up to the peak and (watch out for wild turkeys) as you drop down into the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed and across the Alpine Dam. Continue on through the Redwood groves and climb up into Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Keep left at the fork on Ridgecrest Blvd. and keep climbing (!!!) until you reach the infamous Seven Sisters (also known as The Seven Bitches) and up to the highest point at Ballou Point.
Take a right onto Pantoll Rd. and let the breezy descent begin! Keep your eyes peeled for a HARD right onto Panoramic Highway and let it loose. Glide all the way down the west face of the mountain into Stinson Beach. Take a right on Shoreline Highway. I like to stop here in Stinson and grab a pastry and a coffee at Breakers before continuing North on Shoreline. Its easy pedaling along the Bolinas Lagoon with a couple rollers and a few little kickers through the Phillip Burton Wilderness Area, at last leading you into Olema. Take a right onto Sir Francis Drake Blvd. and settle in for the second to last climb of the day. Take in the Llama farm and cow pastures before you hit the peak and then take a speedy descent down into the Redwoods again in Samuel P. Taylor State Park. Keep on keeping on on SFD Blvd and there are plenty of places to stop for water or a snack in Lagunitas or Forest Knolls or The Woodacre Market but there is one last climb over White’s Hill before you take the days final sweeping descent into Fairfax and back to The Coffee Roasters.
