Stinson Beach
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Stinson Beach the beach is in Stinson Beach the town, located 2.5 miles southeast of Bolinas, on Route 1/Shoreline Highway, northwest of the junction with the Panoramic Highway.
Starting Point: Stinson Beach parking is listed as 43 Arenal Ave., Stinson Beach, CA, but to actually get to the lot, watch for the brown Stinson Beach Federal Park sign while driving on Route 1. The parking lots cover an extended area, but can get filled on weekends and holidays.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
Stinson Beach information link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/stbe.htm
Stinson Beach information link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy):
https://www.parksconservancy.org/parks/stinson-beach
Stinson Beach information link (Stinson Beach online):
http://stinsonbeachonline.com
Stinson Beach brochure link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/upload/sb-stbe.pdf
Distance:
Stinson Beach is 3.5 miles long. Visitors can take a long out and back walk on the beach, or just sit and hang out on the beach.
Considerations:
• Stinson Beach has official parking areas, which can get full on weekends and holidays.
• There are toilet facilities and cold water beach showers on the beach near the parking lot.
• There are picnic tables near the parking areas.
• Dogs are allowed on Stinson Beach.
• The town of Stinson Beach has numerous shops and eateries.
• This is a popular place for swimming and surfing, but remember ocean safety rules.
The trail:
One of the special parts of visiting Stinson Beach is the drive, which for our family is from San Francisco. Once in Marin, the windy mountain drive along Panoramic Highway offers mountain and tree views as you wind past key Mt. Tam trailheads Pantoll and Bootjack, later opening up to a grand ocean view as you drop down to the town of Stinson Beach on Route 1. The other option is to take Route 1/Shoreline Highway that passes Muir Beach, which we usually do on our return trip to make a full loop. Also full of twists and turns, this part of the drive offers stunning ocean views but little room for error on narrow stretches along cliff edges.
Though a large series of parking lots is available, they do get filled up. Visiting Stinson Beach is a better bet on a weekday or aiming for early arrival on weekends and holidays.
We like parking in the lot more to the southeast as it is close to some cafes for lunch and also close to the bathroom facility along one of the main paths to the beach.
Once on the beach from the bathroom area, visitors can enjoy a short walk facing southeast, with the rustic Steep Ravine cabins in view on the hills, often with surfers dotting the water in the foreground.
For a long walk, face northwest toward Bolinas. Surfers, fishermen, dog walkers, swimmers, sunbathers, kids chasing waves, and beach walkers dot the whole length of Stinson Beach on hot, sunny days. Cool, foggy days may have fewer beachgoers, but offer their own special atmosphere.
It’s possible to make a 7-mile walk from a visit to Stinson Beach by going end to end and back, but we’ve probably maxed out at four miles. Many people set up tents and picnic cloths on the beach, but there are also picnic table areas near the parking lots, which are also close to cafes and shops.
The twists and turns of the drive home, whether you take Route 1 or Panoramic Highway, add to the stunning scenery of a visit to Stinson Beach.
(Stinson Beach Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Connections” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Stinson Beach the beach is in Stinson Beach the town, located 2.5 miles southeast of Bolinas, on Route 1/Shoreline Highway, northwest of the junction with the Panoramic Highway.
Starting Point: Stinson Beach parking is listed as 43 Arenal Ave., Stinson Beach, CA, but to actually get to the lot, watch for the brown Stinson Beach Federal Park sign while driving on Route 1. The parking lots cover an extended area, but can get filled on weekends and holidays.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links may change. We do our best to update.)
Stinson Beach information link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/stbe.htm
Stinson Beach information link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy):
https://www.parksconservancy.org/parks/stinson-beach
Stinson Beach information link (Stinson Beach online):
http://stinsonbeachonline.com
Stinson Beach brochure link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/upload/sb-stbe.pdf
Distance:
Stinson Beach is 3.5 miles long. Visitors can take a long out and back walk on the beach, or just sit and hang out on the beach.
Considerations:
• Stinson Beach has official parking areas, which can get full on weekends and holidays.
• There are toilet facilities and cold water beach showers on the beach near the parking lot.
• There are picnic tables near the parking areas.
• Dogs are allowed on Stinson Beach.
• The town of Stinson Beach has numerous shops and eateries.
• This is a popular place for swimming and surfing, but remember ocean safety rules.
The trail:
One of the special parts of visiting Stinson Beach is the drive, which for our family is from San Francisco. Once in Marin, the windy mountain drive along Panoramic Highway offers mountain and tree views as you wind past key Mt. Tam trailheads Pantoll and Bootjack, later opening up to a grand ocean view as you drop down to the town of Stinson Beach on Route 1. The other option is to take Route 1/Shoreline Highway that passes Muir Beach, which we usually do on our return trip to make a full loop. Also full of twists and turns, this part of the drive offers stunning ocean views but little room for error on narrow stretches along cliff edges.
Though a large series of parking lots is available, they do get filled up. Visiting Stinson Beach is a better bet on a weekday or aiming for early arrival on weekends and holidays.
We like parking in the lot more to the southeast as it is close to some cafes for lunch and also close to the bathroom facility along one of the main paths to the beach.
Once on the beach from the bathroom area, visitors can enjoy a short walk facing southeast, with the rustic Steep Ravine cabins in view on the hills, often with surfers dotting the water in the foreground.
For a long walk, face northwest toward Bolinas. Surfers, fishermen, dog walkers, swimmers, sunbathers, kids chasing waves, and beach walkers dot the whole length of Stinson Beach on hot, sunny days. Cool, foggy days may have fewer beachgoers, but offer their own special atmosphere.
It’s possible to make a 7-mile walk from a visit to Stinson Beach by going end to end and back, but we’ve probably maxed out at four miles. Many people set up tents and picnic cloths on the beach, but there are also picnic table areas near the parking lots, which are also close to cafes and shops.
The twists and turns of the drive home, whether you take Route 1 or Panoramic Highway, add to the stunning scenery of a visit to Stinson Beach.
(Stinson Beach Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Connections” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777