Point Reyes Field Station

Point Reyes Field Station
Point Reyes Field Station Image credit: Lobsang Wangdu

A partnership between the University of California and the National Park Service, Point Reyes Field Station is situated in a historic ranch house in Point Reyes National Seashore. Located six miles south of Olema, California, the field station is ideal for both day use and overnight class visits, research groups and collaborations, retreats, and field station projects.

Point Reyes Field Station enables access to more than 100,000 acres of diverse biological, cultural, and historic resources within Point Reyes National Seashore and nearby open space lands, including the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Mount Tamalpais and Samuel P. Taylor State Parks, Marin Municipal Water District, several Marin County Open Space areas, Audubon Canyon Ranch, and Muir Woods National Monument.

The station provides researchers with overnight accommodations, day use meeting space, an office, wifi internet access, full kitchen, bathrooms, and one shower. Sleeping accommodations include eight bunk beds in two downstairs bedrooms, a double bed in a provide upstairs bedroom, and camping adjacent to the ranch house with room for about 25 two-person tents. 

The refurbished 1915 field station building is part of the Olema Valley Dairy Ranches Historic District and listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Point Reyes Field Station
3040 Valley Life Sciences Building, #3140
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-3140
Alan Shabel
Field Station Director & Manager
shabel@berkeley.edu
Paul Fine
Reserve Director
paulfine@berkeley.edu
Point Reyes Field Station website

Approx. six miles south of Olema, CA on Hwy 1. Coordinates: 37° 58′ 17.0″ N 122°43′ 46.1″ W

Reserve is located in a historic 3,000 square foot ranch house within Point Reyes National Seashore. It offers day use meeting space, wifi, kitchen, picnic tables, and office as well as overnight accommodations, which include 8 bunk beds in two bedrooms downstairs, one double bed in a private upstairs bedroom, and a campground immediately south of the house large enough for 20-25 two person tents. Overnight users (including people camping) have 24/7 access to all facilities.

The reserve bibliography includes citations of journal articles, books, theses, art, and other works published about or based on activities conducted at the reserve.

Plant List
Functional geographic information system (GIS); animal records since 1971; synoptic collections; bibliography of on-site research; photographic archive; users handbook.

Part-time offsite Reserve Manager and Faculty Director

Elevation ranges from sea level to 429 m (1,407 ft) at the top of Mount Wittenberg in Point Reyes National Seashore and 792 m (2,576 ft) at the top of Mount Tamalpais in Mount Tamalpais State Park.

Average precipitation

Point Reyes National Seashore January 2006 – December 2015: 73.5 cm (28.8 in)

Average high is 19 ºC (67 ºF), can reach 38 ºC (100 ºF)
Average low is 7 ºC (46ºF), can drop to -4 ºC (25 ºF)
Dendra Weather Data

Point Reyes Field Station
Point Reyes Field Station 1
Michele Maybee performing a condition assessment of an archaeological site at Point Reyes National Seashore. Image credit: Lobsang Wangdu