Palomarin Trailhead — Attraction in Fairfax

Before I get into the hike I want to throw out some key points. Heading to Alamere Falls is no walk in the park. Please make sure you dress comfy with good walking shoes (either way you're going to get tired). If you're going to take your kids, also dress them up so they're comfortable. Do NOT bring baby strollers, do NOT wear sandals, do not bring a cooler full of food that you have to carry. Travel light. Bring a back pack with snacks and water bottles. Do not go all out bringing huge servings. The more you carry the more you're going to want to go back. The only restrooms there are at the Trail Head so don't forget to bring toilet paper with you on your hike because if you need to go, you'll have to find a tree somewhere. If you do any of these things I mentioned, you are going to have a very horrible time. Also, please I can not stress this enough, if you're going to bring music please connect your headphones. Do not play it out loud with your Blue Tooth speaker so everyone can hear. Most people that come here only want to hear the music of nature so please turn it off. The hike is the one you have to be ready for. My family and I got to the Trail Head roughly around 8am and we were able to get parking. It gets packed pretty quick so the earlier the better. Keep in mind that it will take you about an hour or so to get to Alamere Falls depending on how many times you stop to rest. The hike to the waterfalls is absolutely breath taking. I haven't felt this good and smelt fresh air in awhile so it felt really good walking among nature again. The views of the ocean and the lakes are incredible. The sounds of nature as you walk are so soothing that it relaxes you and you don't even feel tired. It was such an amazing hike. I want to return at least once or twice a month. My wife, son and I enjoyed it so much and I loved seeing my son inspect everything he came across on. He looked like a little scientist. It was really a great experience for him and I'm really proud of him that he hung in there the whole way. I really recommend this place to anyone that is looking for...

One of my top 10 trails to do in the Bay Area.

Palomarin trail to Alamere Falls is simply amazing, easy hike for regular hikers, moderate hike for beginners.

Poles are not required, hiking shoes aren't, but make sure you wear a decent pair of walking shoes or sneakers, please don't wear any sandals or crocs or anything of the sort.

Take snacks with you, nothing heavy, as the more stuff you take, this means you are adding more weight for you to carry, and hence it will slow you down.

Hike is about 7-8miles or there abouts in total, and it doesn't feel like it, can do this in about an hour and 15mins with 1 or 2 minor stops for water if you like.

Not recommended for small kids, they gonna get tired fast, big kids 7+yrs can do this hike, just you gonna have to stop a few times to rest.

Get there early, you may see some deer along the way and some wild rabbits.

Also dress with something long sleeve, or take a jacket for the last section, lots of poison oak to go through, also means don't dress in shorts, you gonna itch till you get home :)

Look for the arrow on the ground made from the rocks which is the shortcut down to the beach, it will save you some time getting to the falls.

Water is in abundance now and enjoying the lush surroundings is amazing after the rainy season we had a few months ago.

Lastly, only bathroom is at the beginning of the trail, apart from that, you gonna have to share the bathroom with the wildlife, take a roll of toilet paper in case you have bubble guts and can't wait.

Get there early!!! Like 8am, parking fills up quickly, and you also want to do it before it gets too warm around lunch time, if you do this around winter time, just take a light jacket.

NO DOGS or BIKES allowed on...

I read a review before heading out about how of your a big chick, don't let it stop you and this have me the courage to go. So thank you for that review. We did 6 miles on the trail. We were heading to Alamere Falls. I has my 9 year old who I can say really hung in there. We ran into a trail guide. He recommended us not go the short cut because of all the poison oak and the fact that it was high tide so we would have only seen it from the top. That's when we decided, maybe next time. It was such a beautiful hike with so many things to see. Hundreds of mushrooms and dozens of banana slugs, cascading vines, eucalyptus trees and pines, lakes and ocean and deer walking down the trail. My recommendations are to start early, we started around noon and got back by 4pm which by then was getting a bit late had we off kept going it would have brought us back by 6 and probably dark by then. I brought a bag with food and water. That was a must, at least some snacks. We ate lunch near bass lake. Shoes that are good in mud. It's rainy season and it was very muddy. Dress in layers. Oh! And don't touch the stinging nettle!!! Google what it looks like.. It ruined my daughter's day. We both accidentally touched it and it...