June 25, 2021

Pirate's Cove

near Muir Beach

hikers:  Mark & Lecia

distance:  3.6 miles, out and back.  elevation gain 820 feet

difficulty: I would say it is medium hard because of the distance and it has some steep parts. The short scramble down to the cove is definitely difficult but  but doable. 

This is not a shaded hike. Wear sunscreen. The trail at the beginning is a road and it's pretty steep, and the short scramble to the cove is a very steep and rocky trail.  The rest is up and down the coastal hills. Not a good hike for very young children, but older kids, anyone who can walk 3 and a half miles, would really really like Pirate's Cove!  It is definitely worth it.  You should be aware of the tides as it is a small beach and I don't know what it is like at high tide.

This was a really fun hike because destination was so great!

Pirates' Cove isn't really that far down the coast from Muir beach, but other than by boat the only way to get there is to hike there!  That makes it a secluded and private beach.  But we weren't the only hikers and there were some other people there  besides us.  But is was definitely worth the hike.

We started at the Muir Beach parking lot.  There was a sign that showed us the nearby trails.

We walked across the bridge, as shown on the map, and instead of going down to the beach we turned left to go to the Coastal trail. The entire trail is near the coast but up above the bluff.

This pointed us in the right direction.  

We saw lots of California Poppies, the state flower.

This is the steep part of the trail that is a road. 

 A picture just doesn't capture the angle quite right.  

Not all of the trail is a road.  Much of it is like this.

As I mentioned there are a lot of hills.  You get to the top of one and see that the trail just goes on and on.

There are some beautiful ocean views!  That is what makes it a great hike.

 

We went over this picturesque bridge.

And had more fantastic ocean views!

Then we saw the trail goes on and on!   My  thought was "oh no we have to go up those stairs!"

But right before the stairs was the turn off to Pirates Cove!  

On the way down.

This is from the bottom looking up.

This little cove is the reward for hiking!  And it was well worth it.  There were a few other people there when we arrived, but we hardly saw them and it felt secluded.

And this was lunch!  We picked up some sandwiches at Panera before we headed to Muir Beach and this vegetarian sandwich and the kitchen sink cookie were excellent choices!

After spending some time at Pirates Cove we scrambled back up the trail to this point where the stairs go towards Tennessee Valley.  We decided to go up that trail a little ways after all.

So up we went.  Mark went further than I did.  

Then we turned around and headed back towards Muir Beach.  

There were other people on the trail but it was not crowded.

I believe that is San Francisco in the background.

And here is Muir Beach.  

We walked down to the beach and looked around before we left. 

We brought our kids to this beach many, many years ago and it has good memories!