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San Francisco North Bay -
Marin County
Across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, Marin County is an
unabashed introduction to Californian self-indulgence: a pleasure zone of
conspicuous luxury and abundant natural beauty, with sunshine, sandy beaches,
high mountains and thick redwood forests. Often ranked as the wealthiest county
in the US, Marin has attracted a sizeable population of wealthy young
professionals to its swanky waterside towns, though in the past the region
served as logging headquarters.
The modern ferries that travel across the bay from San Francisco can make a
great start to a day out. Boats to the chic bayside settlement of Sausalito
leave from the Embarcadero ($5.30 each way; Golden Gate Ferry; 7.40am-8pm,
half-hourly during rush hour, less often during the rest of the day, and every
two or so hours on weekends; tel 415/923-2000, ) or Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf
(Blue & Gold Fleet Ferries; $6.75 each way; 6-7 trips daily; tel 415/705-8200).
Biking over here makes for a beautiful ride over the Golden Gate Bridge (pending
fog) and allows you to explore the headlands freely. Bikes are allowed on the
ferry back to San Francisco. |
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| Marin Headlands
The largely undeveloped Marin Headlands , across the
Golden Gate from San Francisco, afford some of the most impressive
views of the bridge and the city behind. The coastline is much more
rugged than it is on the San Francisco side, and it makes a great
place for an isolated clifftop scramble, in among the concrete remains
of old forts and gun emplacements. Heading west on Bunker Hill Road
takes you up to the brink of the headlands before snaking down to Fort
Barry, and wide, sandy Rodeo Beach , from which numerous hiking trails
branch out. Check in at the Marin Headlands Visitor Center (daily
9.30am-4.30pm; tel 415/331-1540) above Rodeo Lagoon for free maps. The
largest of the fort's old buildings has been converted into the
spacious but homey HI-Marin Headlands hostel (tel 415/331-2777, ; up
to $35), an excellent base for more extended explorations of the
inland ridges and valleys |
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Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods
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| Mount Tamalpais dominates the skyline of the Marin
peninsula, hulking over the cool canyons of the rest of the county in
a crisp yet voluptuous silhouette, and dividing the county into two
distinct parts: the wild western slopes above the Pacific coast and
the increasingly suburban communities along the calmer bay frontage.
The Panoramic Highway branches off from Hwy-1 along the crest above
Mill Valley, taking ten miles to reach the Center of Mount Tamalpais
State Park , which has some thirty miles of hiking trails and many
campgrounds. While most of the redwood trees that once covered its
slopes have long since been chopped down to build San Francisco's
Victorian houses, one towering grove remains, protected as the Muir
Woods National Monument (daily 8am-sunset; $2). It's a tranquil and
majestic spot, with sunlight filtering three hundred feet down from
the treetops to the laurel and fern-covered canyon below. Being so
close to San Francisco, Muir Woods is a popular target, and the paved
trails nearest the car park are often packed with coach-tour hordes;
more secluded hiking paths include the Matt Davis Trail, leading south
to Stinson Beach and north to Mount Tamalpais. |
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Point Reyes National Seashore
The westernmost tip of Marin County comes at the end of the Point
Reyes National Seashore , a near-island of wilderness bordered on
three sides by over fifty miles of isolated coastline - pine forests
and sunny meadows hemmed in by rocky cliffs and sandy, windswept
beaches. This wing-shaped landmass is a rogue piece of the earth's
crust that has been drifting steadily northwards along the San Andreas
Fault, having started out some six million years ago as a suburb of
Los Angeles. When the great earthquake of 1906 shattered San
Francisco, the land here, at the epiCenter, shifted over sixteen feet
in an instant, though damage was confined to a few skewed cattle
fences.
The Bear Valley visitor Center (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat, Sun & hols
8am-5pm; tel 415/464-5100, ), two miles southwest of Point Reyes
Station in Olema, has engaging displays on local geology and natural
history, plus details of hiking trails. Just to the north, Limantour
Road heads six miles west to the HI-Point Reyes hostel (closed
10am-4.30pm; tel 415/663-8811, ; up to $35) in an old ranch house.
Nearby Limantour Beach is good (and cold) for swimming.
Eight miles west of the hamlet of Inverness, a small road leads down
to Drake's Beach , the presumed landing spot of Sir Francis Drake in
1579. Appropriately, the coastline resembles the southern coast of
England - cold, wet and windy, with chalk-white cliffs rising above
the wide sandy beach. The road continues southwest another four miles
to the very tip of Point Reyes. A precarious-looking lighthouse
(Thurs-Mon 10am-4.30pm; tel 415/669-1534) stands firm against the
crashing surf, and the bluffs are excellent for watching sea lions
and, from mid-March to April and late December to early February,
migrating gray whales. |
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Also See:
Marin County Index
Marin County Hotels
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About Sausalito
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