Explore the North Bay
Travel North Bay Like a Local
Muir Woods, Sonoma Coast and Redwood Forests: Explore the North Bay
- It’s oyster heaven — Tomales Bay is one of the two main oyster farms in California.
- With over 90 wineries, Mendocino County grows more varieties of grapes than anywhere else in the United States.
Local Getaways is taking a liberal approach to our definition of North Bay. We are starting with the north tower of the Golden Gate Bridge and sticking to the coast all the way up to Mendocino. When you travel north from San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, you’ll begin the Redwood Highway in Marin County, home to about 250,000 folks.
Marin County: First, drive over to the Marin Headlands for that high-demand selfie with most of SF behind the bridge. Next, curl down Alexander Avenue to Sausalito, reminiscent of an Italian fishing village dotted with great seafood restaurants and teeming shops along Bridgeway. Local and tourist favorites include Poggio, Bar Bocce, and Sushi Ran.
Tiburon is the next exit along 101, taking you to an old railway town with incredible bay and city views 7 nautical miles from SF with plenty of seafood eateries. The newest and most anticipated is coming soon: The Bungalow Kitchen Tiburon by Michael Mina, featuring California Cuisine with local ingredients, while Sam’s Anchor Café — with its bootlegging history — just has been popular since 1920.
Nearby is the exit to Muir Woods National Monument, an old-growth coastal redwood forest. (Note: parking is limited and requires a reservation, so be sure to book in advance). From there, it’s a 45-minute scenic ride over Mt. Tamalpais to spacious Stinson Beach and Bolinas, and another 30 minutes to the popular towns of Point Reyes Station and Tomales Bay. Bring your appetite, this rural coast is foodie heaven, with locally-sourced cheese, bread, wine and oysters that are available year round.
A few more miles up US-101, you’ll see the Larkspur Ferry Terminal with service from SF, while the Marin Country Mart offer a Farmers Market every Saturday and food trucks every Sunday.
San Rafael is further north, where you’ll marvel at the futuristic architecture of the Marin County Civic Center, designed in 1957 by Frank Lloyd Wright, with docent-led tours twice a week. It’s adjacent to where the annual Marin County Fair is staged each July, and the vibrant Marin Farmers Market, California’s third-largest, is held every Sunday.
Sonoma County: If you continue along Highway 1 from Point Reyes Station, you’ll reach Bodega Bay. Visitors enjoy its no-frills seaside restaurants, kayaking, whale-watching along Bodega Head, and visiting venues from The Birds, an Alfred Hitchcock thriller.
Fort Ross was originally inhabited by Russian fur traders and is now a National Historic Landmark with a distinctive architecture. A shipwreck in 40 feet of water, the S.S. Pomona, is popular with SCUBA divers. Harbor seals and two species of sea lions can be seen from the bluffs.
North of that is Sea Ranch, a planned community best-known for blending into the landscape and a great weekend getaway.
Mendocino County: About 150 miles north of the Golden Gate on Highway 1, you’ll reach the town of Fort Bragg, home to the award-winning North Coast Brewing Company and its Taproom, along with a twice-yearly Whale Festival.
Finally, 10 miles north, the quiet town of Mendocino has less than 1,000 inhabitants, but many cute B&Bs, hotels, and inns, as well as fantastic restaurants like Café Beaujolais, Trillium Café and MacCallum House.
Sir Francis Drake mapped the Marin County coast in 1579 and named it Nova Albion (New Land). Spanish explorers later landed near Drakes Bay, east of Pt. Reyes and built the 20th California mission in current San Rafael. California became the 31st state in 1850.
