Rating:
Area: Marin County
Distance: 6½ miles
Type: Loop
Difficulty: Medium
Elevation gain: 1,900ft (from 0 - 1,700ft)

Beginning at Stinson Beach, the extremely popular Steep Ravine trail gently climbs up into the hills of the Mount Tamalpais State Park, following Webb Creek up towards its source under a canopy of redwoods and other lush coastal flora.

Combined with the western portion of the Matt Davis trail from Pantoll Station, this 6½ mile loop is a very rewarding journey, also taking in some spectacular panoramic hillside ocean views.

Because of the sheer number of people who can inundate the trail particularly during weekends and summer months, we recommend hitting the trail at around 7am when the park opens. Drastic measures, but the only way to secure some peace and quiet here.

You could choose to tackle this hike in either direction and starting either from the bottom by Stinson Beach, or from the top at Pantoll Station. Although our own recent hike and photoset show different, we recommend a counter-clockwise route beginning from Stinson Beach.

Tangents:
- More trail photos on Flickr*
- Mount Tamalpais State Park
- State Park Brochure (Map on page 6 of this PDF)
- Trailspotting: More hikes in this area
- Find this hike in "101 Great Hikes" book by Ann Marie Brown
* add your flickr photos to the gallery with the tag trailspottingsteepravine