• Tips for Visitors
• Nature

Just inside the coastal zone of the Marin Headlands lies the Golden Gate National Parks' wilderness back country, a hiker's paradise. An extensive network of trails traverses this landscape of grassland and coastal chaparral. Every hilltop offers a panoramic vista point; every valley offers a chance to smell fennel and sage or catch a fleeting glimpse of a bobcat or bush rabbit. At its heart lies Gerbode Valley, one of the area's prettiest vales. The National Park Service has been planting native bunch grass on the valley floor, an area once overrun by tough, hoof-proof grazing grasses that were introduced by the Spanish long ago. The planting project is part of a parkwide effort to replace exotic plants with native species.

Bobcat
Though bobcats (Felis rufus) are largely creatures of the night, they can often be seen on the Marin peninsula during the early morning or evening hours, streaking across the chaparral or basking in the sun. These furry predators hunt rodents, rabbit, and other small mammals. Two to three young are born at a time and often live to be twelve or older. Bobcat paw marks and scat dot the Headlands, but many mistake their tracks for those of the more elusive mountain lion, a feline with larger paws (and a much longer tail). Bobcats are most likely to be seen in the Gerbode and Tennessee valley areas on nice spring and summer days.

Wildflowers
In the spring, Marin's headlands, hills, and valleys burst with bright colors. Two floral provinces overlap here, dramatically increasing the number of wildflower species. The area's foggy coast and dry interior, its hodgepodge of soils, and its many fresh and saltwater zones provide an unusual diversity of wildflower and rare plant habitats. For example, the seep-spring monkey flower (Mimulus guttattus) is commonly found in wetland areas, while the coastal hills are spangled with Douglas's iris (Iris douglasiana). Some of the best wildflower walks are on the Point Bonita Lighthouse, Tennessee Valley, Coastal, Wolf Ridge, and Miwok trails.