Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
maples, and sycamores with a lush understory of ferns, poison oak, and thimbleber-
ries, which produce edible berries in early summer.
The Tony Trail leads 3.1 miles to Tassajara Creek and the Zen Mountain Center.
The public has legal right-of-way across the monastery grounds to Tassajara Road,
though the monks prefer to not have unannounced guests (reservations must be made
in advance). The monastery is closed to visitors from fall to spring. In summer, visit-
ors with reservations may enjoy the creekside hot springs, waterfalls, and swimming
holes. Visitors may stay overnight in private or communal rooms. Day-use fees ($30/
adults, $12/children) include soaks in the bathhouses. A vegetarian lunch is also avail-
able by reservation and costs $13/adults and $9/children.
From the Tony Trail junction, you'll cross Willow Creek and an adjacent
creeklet
(your only source of water until Tassajara Creek) and ascend a steep, unstable slope
on a moderately overgrown trail. Though the trail is marked
ABANDONED
on USFS
maps, it shows signs of recent maintenance, unlike many “maintained” trails within
the wilderness. Check for hitchhiking ticks in spring. You'll ascend 16 switchbacks to
precarious slopes above Willow Creek, climbing 1150-foot ridge in 1.5 miles. Pause
atop this ridge for views of the Willow Creek drainage to the south and Tassajara
Creek drainage to the north.
From this point, the trail is virtually all downhill the 1.6 miles to Tassajara Creek
and the monastery. A small unofficial trail leads half a mile upstream to a
water-
fall
—impressive in winter, though a mere trickle by late summer. The trail crosses
the creek and leads 0.4 mile downstream past meditation grounds, bathhouses, small
rooms, and residences to the parking lot and Tassajara Road. The steep, unpaved road
continues 1.5 miles farther to the Church Creek Trailhead (11.5 miles, 2180'). Heavy
rains may close this stretch.
PARADISE FOUND
The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is nestled in rugged, mineral-rich Tassajara
Creek canyon. Humans have used these healing grounds for centuries. The native
Esselen people used the hot springs as traditional ceremonial grounds, as depicted in
surviving pictographs on cave walls in Church Creek canyon.
In the 1860s, crews forged Tassajara Road and built the original resort cabins
and pools along the banks of Tassajara Creek. Today the site is home to
Zenshin-ji
(Zen Mind Temple), a Soto Zen Buddhist monastery established in 1966. From May
through August, Tassajara welcomes guests to workshops, retreats, and work-study
programs in this remote wilderness valley. For more information visit
sfzc.org/tassa-
