California Beaches

By Dave Mitchell

Fall weather is often the most pleasant in the San Francisco Bay Area, for the days tend to be warm and skies are typically sunny. Visitors to Marin County looking for a Riviera where they can a few fall days beside San Francisco Bay will find their Mediterranean destination in Sausalito and Tiburon. Here stylish people eat and drink beside the water as sailboats skim across the waves.

Along with the nearby community of Larkspur Landing, Tiburon and Sausalito can be reached by frequent ferryboat service from San Francisco. There is probably no more dramatic – yet inexpensive – way of seeing San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge than by ferry. A one-way trip between San Francisco and Sausalito, for example, costs $5.60. The fare to Larkspur Landing is a mere $3.25 on weekdays and $5.60 on weekends and holidays. The fare to Tiburon is $6.75 for adults.

Call the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District at 923-2000 (from San Francisco) or 455-2000 (from Marin) for Sausalito and Larkspur fares and schedules. Call the Blue and Gold Fleet at 705-5444, extension six, for San Francisco-to-Tiburon commuter fares and schedules. The fleet also offers trips to Alcatraz and other destinations.

For an historically interesting excursion (or just a good place to hike and picnic), try Angel Island State Park. Call the Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry Company for fares and schedules.

Reasonably priced lodging

Travelers who want comfortable lodgings in the Sausalito area can often save on room rates by heading a short distance inland on Shoreline Highway to the Holiday Inn. It has its own natural areas (it’s adjacent to a bird sanctuary, for example) but prices are often lower because rooms do not overlook San Francisco Bay.

Further inland under the shadow of Mount Tamalpais are the cozy towns of:

• Mill Valley (good food, good music, renowned Book Depot).

• San Anselmo (upscale clothing and home-decorating shops, unbeatable Orchid Thai restaurant, extensively stocked Seawood Photo, and Ludwig’s – one of the last great pipe, tobacco, and cigar stores left).

• Fairfax (hip with a cluster of nightspots that are packed each evening with young adults, large organic food store).

But there is another, far more rugged side of Southern Marin, which can be found on the county’s western shore along the ocean. Motorists from San Francisco cross the Golden Gate Bridge on Highway 101. If they take the Stinson Beach off-ramp (just north of Sausalito) and head west on Highway 1, they soon find themselves in the town of Muir Beach.

Muir Beach

Muir Beach is known primarily for its federal beach, its English-style inn and public house, the Pelican Inn, and nearby Muir Woods National Monument. In fact, Muir Woods Road intersects with Highway 1 not far from the inn, the town’s only commercial business.

The Pelican Inn bar serves fine ales, draught beer, stouts, and pilsners while its restaurant offers a hearty blend of country English fare such as prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, and cottage pie. Diners can eat on a covered patio or in the pub itself.

For overnight guests, the inn has seven snug bedrooms. Reservations can be made by calling 415 383-6000.

Just north of downtown, travelers can turn off Highway 1 at an ocean overlook complete with public restrooms.

Popular with travelers

The village’s proximity to Muir Woods, a grove of towering 400- to 800-year-old coast redwoods, accounts for most of its visitors. The stand of ancient trees was donated to the federal government in 1907 by Congressman William Kent. Kent insisted that the grove on Muir Woods Road be named for the legendary naturalist John Muir. Today, Muir Woods is the only remaining stand of old-growth redwoods in the San Francisco Bay Area. The rest were cut to provide lumber that built San Francisco in the 19th century.

Included in UN’s founding

Muir Woods attained international prominence shortly before the end of World War II when delegates from 50 nations met in San Francisco on April 25, 1945, to sign the charter for the United Nations.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had proposed the delegates follow the signing with a ceremony in Muir Woods on May 19 and had planned to attend himself but died April 12.

Nonetheless, the ceremony was held during which it was emphasized that "a love of nature is common among men of all nations." The delegates also dedicated a plaque to FDR for his leadership of the Allied Forces during the war.

Six miles of trails now wind through this 550-acre preserve, which is open from 8 a.m. to dusk every day. Muir Woods National Monument includes a visitor center, snack bar, and book shop.

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