Miller Knox to Keller Beach Trails

Across Dornan Drive at Miller Knox Regional Park is a trail that leads up into the hills overlooking the park and the bay. This picture is a view back down the access trail toward the park. Less than a quarter of a mile up the hill the hiker discovers a trail which generally follows the coutours of the hill both to the right and to the left. Making a right turn will eventually take the hiker through a narrow saddle between two hills emerging on the east side of the hills and overviewing one of the industrial areas of Richmond.

Taking the trail to the left begins a hike of about 1/2 mile which passes some spectacular views of the bay and ends at Keller Beach Park.

Here is one of the views that is on this trail. Miller Knox Park is shown in the forground with Angel Island in the background.

Another view of the park with the northern parking lot in the foreground. The white spot to the left of the parking lot is the concrete area for skateboarding and rollerblading. To the left of Dornan Drive is the roof of the Model Railroad Museum.

This is as bad as the trail gets. It is fairly steep and should not be taken in street shoes. The gravel on the ground makes the footing somewhat uncertain.

This picture was taken from the roadway in front of Keller Beach entrance. It is shown here becaue the trail between the parks goes over the top of the tunnel to the left and ends at Keller Beach. If you are trying to find the trail from the Keller Beach end, look for the "Road Narrows" traffic sign on Western Drive just north of the park. The trail starts behind it and takes you up to a cul-de-sac where the real trail starts. Happy hiking.

For those that want an easier trail from Miller Knox and Keller Beach take the trail that starts up the hill just to the north of the northern parking lot. A short hike up the hill and you come to Dornan Drive and a nice overlook with two benches for resting. Continuing about 1/8 mile further brings you to Keller Beach.

For some even more spectacular views, drive up to the overlook at the end of Crest Ave. Crest Ave. is found by following Western Drive from Keller Beach until it becomes Washington Avenue. Crest Avenue is a right turn off Washington. A series of trails start here that go up the Nicholl Knob which is the highest point in the immediate area. It houses water storage towers and cellular telephone repeaters. There is a ridge trail that starts here and crosses the crests of the other hills in the immediate area. There are panoramic views of much of the Bay.

This shot shows Keller Beach in the center foreground with the San Rafael Bridge and the Standard Oil Terminal with a tanker unloading. Mount Tamalpais can be seen at the far left.

The last view is a close up of the oil terminal and the bridge.