Stinson Beach

Stinson Beach is located about 20 miles NW of San Francisco alongside Mt. Tamalpais State Park. Being only a 35 minute trip from the Golden Gate Bridge, Stinson Beach is a very popular day trip for residents and tourists of the San Francisco Bay Area. After the massive San Francisco earthquake in 1906, people settled into the area and started some of the area’s first businesses. The beach was sold in 1939 to Marin County and ownership transferred to the State of California in 1950. After World War II, the area saw an increase of full-time residents that moved there after developers built home subdivisions. Finally, In 1977 the beach was transferred to the National Park Service.

Stinson Beach is a very walkable beach. The water is shallow making it wonderful for kids to play and swim. With the Muir Woods and rock formations in the background, this beach is picture perfect. Audbon Canyon Ranch is a great place to connect with nature: plenty of hiking trails that lead out to amazing views of the ocean, nesting colonies of birds. The Martin Griffin Preserve is another great place to get close to nature. Finallly, the Bolinas Lagoon Preserve is full of beautiful egrets and great blue herons nest here each spring. Harbor Seals are also visitors of Bolinas Lagoon.