Dipsea Named Marin's Best Hiking Trail

STINSON BEACH, CA — A 10.2-mile loop along the iconic Dipsea is Marin's best hiking trail, according to updated rankings published by the San Francisco Chronicle. Researchers at the newspaper crunched the numbers on 850,000 AllTrails reviews for thousands of hiking routes in the Bay Area, charting hikers' favorite trails in each of the nine counties.

"Our list is largely based on [the] average rating score for routes with at least 100 ratings," the Chronicle explains. "We also considered trail difficulty in specific cases: We excluded a few highly rated walks that are longer than 12 miles and considered very challenging — ones appropriate for only the hardest of hardcore hikers and runners."

In Marin County, the Dipsea to Ben Johnson Trail, via Stinson Beach, ranked highest among hikers with a whopping 4.83 rating among 443 reviews. Described as an "all-day commitment," the route boasts 2,300 feet of vertical gain and is classified as high difficulty — but well worth it for the views.

"It comes as no surprise that the trail with the highest approval rating in Marin County is the Dipsea," the Chronicle's Gregory Thomas writes. "Beginning in Stinson Beach, the route climbs the Dipsea for 3 miles to the lookout at Lone Tree (mercifully, the spot has a water fountain) before plunging downhill 2 miles towards the gorgeous, dark, forested picket of the Muir Woods National Monument."

Three other routes along the Dipsea ranked second, third and fourth on the list, each averaging at least a 4.8 rating.

>> Check out the full trail rankings via the San Francisco Chronicle.