Abbotts Lagoon

Summer Exploration of Abbotts Lagoon, Point Reyes National Seashore
Saturday, August 17, 2024 10 am to 2 pm
Leaders: Lena Zentall, Betsey Crawford
Please sign up for this field trip on Meetup. Registration Link
If you have not done so this year, please sign the Waiver for Marin Chapter 2024.

The trail to Abbotts Lagoon is a year-round CNPS favorite. It first passes through extensive coastal scrub dotted by two marshes and ends in the dunes beside a receding brackish lagoon. A large patch of ghostly cobwebby thistle (Cirsium occidentale) will greet us at the beginning of the trail. We will examine some flowering shrubs such as coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) along the trail and will look closely for the bright green coyote brush leaf beetle (Trirhabda flavolimbata) nestled in its leaves. San Francisco spineflower (Chorizanthe cuspidata) borders the trail and we may get lucky and discover an elegant rein orchid (Platanthera elegans) towards the end of the trail. In the marshes, we will encounter a profusion of coastal hedgenettle (Stachys chamissonis), and perhaps a few remaining marsh harebell (Campanula californica), Point Reyes checkerbloom (Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata), and monkeyflowers still flowering. We may see the hummingbird-like moth, the white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata), feeding on the hedgenettle. At the edge of the brackish lagoon, the receding water level should expose the swirling patterns made by the pink-leaved goosefoot (Chenopodium macrospermum var. halophilum).

We will venture briefly into the dunes to observe the succulent plant bluff lettuce (Dudleya farinosa) and California goldenbush (Ericameria ericoides). We hope to spot the rare Point Reyes silverspot (

San Francisco spineflower at Abbotts Lagoon
Photo by Lena Zentall

Argynnis zerene ssp. puntareyes) butterfly that nectars on gumplant and curly-leaved monardella (Monardella sinuata).

The trail to the bridge across Abbott’s Lagoon slopes down gently 1.4 miles. Explorations in the dunes may be on loose sand.

Relevant Plant Lists and Visual Photo Guides

Abbotts Lagoon Public Trail plants
Abbotts Lagoon Marshes plants
Summer Wildflowers of Abbotts Lagoon area visual guide
Marsh Plants of Point Reyes visual guide
Point Reyes Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants visual guide

Directions: Meet at the Abbotts Lagoon Trailhead along Pierce Point Rd in Point Reyes National Seashore.
Bring: Water and lunch. Dress in layers for variable coastal weather. Optional: binoculars for wildlife and a loupe/hand lens for examining plants up close.
Email  Lena with any questions. Lena@zentall.com
Text for day-of-trip questions or issues: 415-518-5362