1 min
Overview
The Verna Dunshee Trail and Gardner Fire Lookout in Mount Tamalpais State Park is a family-friendly circuit around 2,571-foot East Peak with knockout views of the San Francisco Bay. The story of the Mill Valley & Tamalpais Scenic Railway, which ran on Mount Tam from 1896-1929 and whose terminus was East Peak, is as engaging as the views, and you can learn more about it at the Gravity Car Barn, visitor center, and on educational displays. There are several benches along the Verna Dunshee Trail and picnic tables at the welcome area for a rest or a picnic. Start your hike from the parking lot, walking downhill to the welcome area at East Peak. From here, trails extend like spokes in a cogwheel: the restrooms are straight ahead with Old Railroad Grade on the far right, the Verna Dunshee Trail to the right of the restrooms, the Plank Walk Trail to the left of the restrooms, and the northern entrance to the Verna Dunshee Trail on your left. On the far left, down one level, is a visitor center run by Friends of Mount Tam, a volunteer non-profit organization that supports Mount Tamalpais State Park. Head towards the restrooms to start your counterclockwise loop on the Verna Dunshee Trail. To your right are the crumbling remains of a tavern built in 1896 where railroad passengers traveling to East Peak on the Mill Valley & Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway could have lunch and spend the night. There was even a dance hall located where the parking lot is now. The railroad approached East Peak from the paved Old Railroad Grade trail on your right and it was nicknamed the “Crookedest Railroad in the World” because of its 281 curves over 8.2 miles: the equivalent of 42 complete circles. A steam locomotive pushed open-air cars—interestingly, the first one was a re-purposed San Francisco cable car—filled with passengers up the mountainside. The reason for this kind of backwards arrangement of cars being pushed rather than pulled had to do with safety and views—with the locomotive behind the cars, passengers wouldn’t have to fea
Trail Stats
2.4 km
91 m
784 m
707 m
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