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Mount Tamalpais State Park, California, United States

Mountain Theater and the Southwest Slope of Mount Tamalpais

The amazing theater and an afternoon hike on Tam's west slopes

Mountain Theater and the Southwest Slope of Mount Tamalpais
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Difficulty: Easy
Length: 2.0 miles / 3.2 km
Duration: 1-3 hours
Family Friendly
 
Overview: This loop will visit the Mountain Theater and cover a portion of the southern side of Mount Tamalpais ("Mt. Tam").

The trail has frequent vistas of southern Marin and the Bay Area. The start point is fairly high up the side of Mt. Tam on the road to the top.

The Mountain Theater has been around since 1913 and has developed into a bit of an institution with its outdoor performances. Your basic open air amphitheater built on a hillside overlooking one spectacular Bay Area vista. Performances would need to be good and so they are!

The rest of the walk, alternating forests and stellar views. A pallet cleanser followed by a visual treat.

Tips: If the weather is threatening, bring suitable clothing to layer with. Much of this hill is exposed so wind protection can really help when storms blow in off the Pacific.

A curvy drive in with plenty of great vistas.

Mt. Tam can get crowded on weekends. Try to schedule the trails on this walk when the Mountain Theater isn't open.

Points of Interest

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Parking
Start at the Pantoll Road to Rock Spring Parking Lot. Cross the road to the Old Mine Trail trail head.

It's at the intersection of Mountain Theater Road, E. Ridgetop Blvd (the road to the top of Mt. Tam), and Ridgecrest Blvd.
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Trail Head
Gate and trail head are located on a gravel road heading up a grass slope.
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Junction
Old Mine Trail and a side trail to Forbes Bench.

Take a quick side trip to the bench.
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Forbes Bench
Sits under a tree and rock outcropping with a broad south and easterly view of the Bay Area.

The view includes the Golden Gate and Marin Headlands, San Francisco, down through the Santa Cruz Mountains, in the far distance it appears, down to Moffett Field and across to much of the East Bay shoreline.

Return to the trail and take the trail heading almost due east.
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Junction
Take the side trail to the theater.

On the way the trail passes through a forested area and crosses a service road and into the entrance of the Mountain Theater.
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Mountain Theater

The Cushing Memorial Theater (a.k.a. The Mountain Theater) on Mt. Tam was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The native-stone amphitheater seats 3,500 people and features the Mountain Play each spring. The theater group has been producing shows every year since 1913.
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Junction
Rock Spring Trail and Bootjack Trail. Take the right hand fork of this old paved road down the edge of the theater on Bootjack. The next junction will be down by the changing rooms off the stage area.
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Junction
Follow the Easy Grade to Old Stage Road. The trail is in a mixed forest area.
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Breaking Out
Breaking out into grasslands from the oak and fir forest cover in a small valley. The transition is abrupt, like exiting a tunnel into a bright shallow valley with a view of across southern Marin.
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View
The trail rounds a nose and spectacular Bay Area vistas will again open up that cover Mount Tam’s East Peak and sweep east and south to roughly Pacifica on the San Francisco Peninsula.
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Junction
Old Mine Trail to Mountain Theater Trail and Riding Hiking trail to Easy Grade Trail. Head up the hill.
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Viewpoint
Vista Point. This point is on a grass slope and high enough to look over the trees below and across the surrounding hilltops. The view sweeps from the southwest to the east.
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Viewoint
Another Scenic overview. On this day the weather was threatening with storm clouds coming in off the Pacific. Spectacular clouds blowing in off the Pacific.
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Junction
Old Mine Trail and Theater Trail (WP 5) the path is a retracement back to the point of beginning.
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End of Walk
Return to the trailhead.
Pictures in this guide taken by: Craig_H
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About the Author

Craig_H
Craig_H
51 guides
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A Trail Guide contributor for the CalParks App. A Partnership between the California State Parks Foundation...

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