Ohlone Bluff Trail to Four Mile Beach
As long as you want it to be, up to 10.5 miles; flat
If you’re an ocean lover, want an all-day excursion with the family or just don’t like hills, this 10.5-mile round trip journey to Four Mile Beach along the Ohlone Bluff Trail offers the chance to get away from it all at a pace just right for its simple, majestic scenery. There are plenty of picnic and play spots at beaches along this stretch of spectacular California coastline.
The start is the tricky part: you can go for the gold and take Old Landing Cove Trail right from the parking lot, but you risk a long and uneventful detour around the often impassable Sand Plant Beach inlet that will make your entire journey closer to 12 miles. To take the tried-and-true Ohlone Bluff Trail route, head out of the parking lot on the paved road and turn right on the trail along the rail tracks, heading north for a half-mile. Then head coastward on the first trail you see, making sure to have passed the long inlet extending from Sand Plant beach.
The rest is an easy-peasy mix of farm road and trail leading at times along the bluffs and at other times inland due to more intrusion by the sea. As long as the ocean is on your left heading out and on your right coming back, you can’t go wrong.
Following single and double track along the windswept bluffs, you’ll pass Strawberry Beach and Three Mile Beach. Then you’ll head inland on a farm road as you pass fields of Brussels sprouts before reaching your destination at Four Mile Beach. These last two beaches offer wind shelter and surfing vantage points. Take the time to ditch your bikes and explore!
If you’re feeling adventurous, this is also where you can head under Highway 1 to find Baldwin Loop on the other side. If you are feeling over it, you can skip a couple miles by taking the wide bike path along Highway 1 straight south to Wilder.
—Brooke Wright
Back to Wilder Ranch State Park
