As the road trends down hill there is a lovely creek lined with massive trees near the roadside. The road soon passes into the boundaries of Samuel P. Taylor State Park with the entrance station located near the bottom of the valley. There is no picnic charge for bicycles and the park is very clean. The picnic grounds, located in a flat area near Papermill Creek, is surrounded by some towering older redwood and madrone trees and is sprinkled with old fashioned rock barbeques, giving it an older park feel. The creek is known as a salmon spawning area and many people come to observe the phenomenon in the fall. The park offers camping for a fee and would be a good spot to act as a bike riding and hiking center for an outdoor vacation.

Just east of the park is the small town of Lagunitas, with less than 2000 residents, and soon comes the even smaller town of San Geronimo. Just past San Geronimo the route takes a left turn on Nicasio Valley Road. The total ride climb to this point in the ride has been about 850-feet. As the route turns the road takes another quick and fairly stiff 400-foot climb up to the hills that surround the Nacasio Valley. The road up to the top has a pretty narrow shoulder, but as you crest the hill and head into the flat, green valley the shoulder grows to a very comfortable width of several feet.

The Nacasio Valley is horse and cattle country, complete with deep green grasses and spreading oaks. The road through the valley is fairly flat, has great shoulders and big sky views; quite a change from the road along Papermill Creek on the other side of the hill. Just past the town of Nacasio the road passes to eastern edge of the reservoir of the same name. The route takes a left as the road ends at Petaluma Road. The still fairly wide road starts to head down hill on the way down to Lagunitas Creek and the junction with Point Reyes Road, a distance of about three miles. The route turns right on Point Reyes Road and it is about another three and ½ narrow miles back to town. There are a few small climbs on the way back into town, but nothing deadly.

This route is fantastically beautiful and rewarding in its adventure quotient. Although this is not a hard ride physically, it requires a great deal of road skills to deal with the narrow, rough roads and traffic. Because of this, it is not recommended for beginning riders, even those in great physical condition.