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First Footsteps

Mount Tamalpais — East Peak

A short climb to Marin’s landmark summit, with the Bay and Pacific below.

≈2,570 ftCA • NorCal / Marin • Short rocky summit walk

Quest challenge 2/10 · First Adventure

Quest estimate for the described approach: endurance, altitude, and technical terrain combined. Conditions can change the difficulty. This is not an AllTrails or climbing grade.

A summit story waiting to happen.

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Meet the mountain

The approach: Plank Walk from East Peak parking

Summit finish: East Peak’s summit beside the fire lookout; no tower entry needed.

A short, rocky walk brings you to the top of Marin’s landmark mountain, with the Bay and Pacific below. Follow Plank Walk from the visitor area to the summit beside the lookout. The lower Verna Dunshee circuit circles the peak and is a different walk. Longer approaches can make a bigger day; this rating describes the short summit approach.

TRAILCRAFT TO PRACTICE

Take the rough final steps deliberately and check park access before heading up.

A SUMMIT QUEST TALL TALE · FICTION

The fog’s alarm clock

The fog keeps an alarm clock here but hits snooze with its entire body. On clear mornings, the clock has rolled under a rock. Nobody is volunteering to retrieve it.

Explore the Field Guide’s peak legends →

Before you set out

Every good quest starts with a little map time. Explore these route guides and check the latest updates before setting a date.

Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. Check the links for current conditions. The approach above explains our challenge rating; logging this peak does not assign that route to your outing.

State Parks East Peak plan ↗

Summit geography and the Plank Trail finish.

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Mount Tamalpais State Park ↗

Current park access and visitor information.

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Find AllTrails routes ↗

Search for an approach that matches your plan.

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Find recent trip reports ↗

Check dates and route choices; reports do not replace current land-manager information.

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“Find AllTrails routes” opens a Google search restricted to AllTrails trail pages, not a selected route. Completion is tracked in Summit Quest and does not sync with AllTrails.