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Rodeo Beach
Parks

Rodeo Beach

Marin County
Windswept, exhilarating, and covered with unique red and green pebbles, this beach is just three miles northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sheltered by cliffs and bounded by a lagoon, it offers good picnic sites and is ideal for kite flying or just watching the roaring Pacific.
Rodeo Lagoon
Parks

Rodeo Lagoon/Valley

Marin County
Rich with wildlife habitats, Rodeo Valley winds through the heart of the Marin Headlands and is edged by grassy, wind-swept hillsides. Where it descends to the Pacific, there is a lagoon and shallow wetlands home to shorebirds including egrets and ducks, as well as butterflies and occasional bobcats.
Stinson Beach
Parks

Stinson Beach

Marin County
Amble along the alabaster sands here, one of the most perfect beaches on the California coast. Find it 35 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge via Highway 1, which unwinds atop heart-stopping cliffs. Stinson's long sandy strand is an outstanding spot for swimming and surfing (a wetsuit helps) as...
Sutro Heights
Parks

Sutro Historic District

San Francisco
The fine ruins here excite visitors' imaginations. Adolf Sutro, a visionary 19th-century San Francisco mayor, built a home and gardens on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. Today all that is left are dreamily romantic gardens. Below it, on a rocky shore, are the vast remains of Sutro Baths a lavish...
Parks

Sweeney Ridge

San Mateo County
Ridges and ravines mark this hiking area 25 minutes south of San Francisco. Wildlife, including hawks, deer, and wildflowers, abound on the slopes which drop to the Bay on one side and Thornton Beach on the other. The park's highest point is 1,200 feet and has a plaque honoring Portola's...
Hiking in Tennessee Valley
Parks

Tennessee Valley

Marin County
Offering more of a stroll than a hike, the two-mile trail that meanders through the meadows of this serene valley leads you to bluffs overlooking the Pacific. There you'll several fine sand beaches and the Pacific's shattering surf.
Signage
Parks

Tomales Bay & Points North

Marin County
The long blue finger of Tomales Bay points seaward, straight along the San Andreas Fault from the north end of the Olema Valley out to the Pacific. Explore it by kayak and keep your eye for the abundant shore birds, such as herons, egrets, ospreys, and much more.
Alcatraz at night
Parks

Alcatraz

San Francisco
Infamous for its maximum security prison, Alcatraz is also known for remnants of an 1850s military fort, the West Coast's first lighthouse, the birthplace of a Native American movement, an important bird-nesting locale, and the historic Alcatraz Gardens.
Redwood Creek at Muir Beach
Parks

Muir Beach

Marin County
Just a few miles from Muir Woods, Muir Beach is a lovely haven with a restored lagoon. Redwood Creek, home to a rich variety of shorebirds, salmon, and trout, empties here. The beach lies in a quiet and dramatic cove with its own sheltered picnic area.
Fort Point National Historic Site underneath the Golden Gate Bridge
Parks

Fort Point

San Francisco
You are likely to award this National Historic Site as having the most astonishing view of the Golden Gate Bridge. A Civil War-era brick fort, it lies directly below the southern end of the span. Check for tours, especially candlelight evening ones, and annual Civil War reenactments. Interestingly, no military...