Bear Valley Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed October 1, 2026 north-flowing perennial stream in Marin County, Northern California. It is the last named tributary to Lagunitas Creek within Point Reyes National Seashore, which then flows to Tomales Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The Lagunitas Creek watershed hosts the largest southern population of federally threatened Central California Coast coho salmon evolutionary significant unit (ESU).
History Bear Valley Creek and Bear Valley are named for the bears that preyed on cattle in the area historically. Rafael Garcia, the grantee of Rancho Tomales y Baulines in 1836 had a corral at this location. It was also the site of a private Country Club from 1890 through the late 1930s.
Watershed and Course
Bear Valley Creek begins at Divide Meadow, a flat on the Inverness Ridge Divide at about elevation. Bear Valley Creek descends on the east side of the ridge, and Coast Creek descends on the west side to the on Point Reyes Hill. Bear Valley Creek has several unnamed subtributaries on the inland side of Inverness Ridge with sources as high as on the slopes of Mount Wittenberg. Although Bear Valley Creek enters the San Andreas Fault Zone just west of Olema and was once tributary to Olema Creek, the fault surface rupture in 1906 created a shutter ridge which forced Bear Valley Creek to make an abrupt left-turn northwards. Thus, it now flows west of and parallel to Olema Creek until it reaches Lagunitas Creek as its last named tributary.
Ecology In May, 2025 Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA) Fisheries Field Crew Lead Brentley McNeill spotted six coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) juveniles swimming in Bear Valley Creek—the first time coho fry have been documented in this location.
Recreation The Bear Valley Trail is a roundtrip hike that ascends from the Bear Valley Visitor's Center to Divide Meadow at elevation.
See also List of watercourses in the San Francisco Bay Area
References