Glenbrook Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed May 20, 2026 south-by-southwest-flowing stream in northern California. It is a tributary to Estero de Limantour within Point Reyes National Seashore's Phillip Burton Wilderness in west Marin County, California. From Estero de Limantour, its waters flow into Drakes Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
History Glenbrook Creek is named for Glenbrook Ranch, an historic, former 800-acre dairy farm constructed in 1884 within the Phillip Burton Wilderness of the Point Reyes National Seashore. It was established by lawyer and politician James McMillan Shafter, and eventually ownership passed along to Dr. Millard Ottinger in 1961, who used it as a hunting reserve until selling to the National Park Service in 1971. The remaining house and calf barn were torn down by the Park Service soon after.
Watershed and Course Glenbrook Creek begins on the western slope of Inverness Ridge at about on Point Reyes Hill. on Inverness Ridge. It receives a couple small unnamed tributaries as it descends to Estero de Limantour.
Ecology In a 2007 culvert replacement project, California giant salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus) were found in an amphibian survey, as were ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii), rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa), Pacific tree frog (Pseudacris regilla), garter snake (Thamnophis spp.) and federally threatened California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii).
Over half its length is low-gradient, supporting extensive willow (Salix spp.).
Recreation Glenbrook Creek can be reached via a mildly strenuous, 5.5-mile loop that crosses rolling grassland and small hills, along the Muddy Hollow Road, then Glenbrook Trail, then Estero Trail and finally the Muddy Hollow Trail.
See also List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
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