Last weekend my family and I drove up past San Francisco to Fairfax to explore the Cataract Falls trail along the Tamalpais Watershed. We began the hike around 7:30 am. The weather was very muggy and humid but every now and then we got a nice breeze. It was SUCH a weird day every 10 minutes it would start pouring like crazy, I’d put on my jacket and then just as it started it would stop raining! A few miles down the trail we stopped to enjoy a beautiful view of Alpine Lake. Sadly, many of the streams and waterfalls were very small by this time of year. We chose to hike in a loop instead of the 3.3 mile out and back route. There were many splits in the trail that allow you to lengthen or shorten your hike.
We parked along Bolinas-Fairfax Road and began our hike from the entry point there. About half a mile down the Cataract Trail, at the junction of Cataract Creek and the Waterfall Pool, the trail split. The option to go right would’ve taken us about 3 more miles along a series of waterfalls to a picnic spot and bathrooms. We opted to go left on the Helen-Mark Trail, which after a mile, led us to a beautiful view of Alpine Lake. From there we took the Kent Trail to Serpentine Point, where we had somewhat of a view, but it was hard to see because the bushes were fairly tall. Next, we took the High Marsh Trail and turned on to the Laurel Dell Fire Road. With a short 0.2 mile walk we reached the picnic and bathroom spot, back on the Cataract Trail. From here we enjoyed a downhill trek along a series of waterfalls, or whatever was left of it. We stopped at the waterfall pool on the way back and with that, made our way back to Fairfax-Bolinas Road. The drive back home was awesome too, as we overlooked Alpine Look and the beautiful greenery of Cascade Canyon Preserve.
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