Metropolitan backcountry sounds oxymoronic until you consider that just across a pedestrian-friendly bridge from San Francisco, Marin features a collection of charming inns easily linked by wilderness trails you’ve probably gotten to know on day hikes. It got me thinking: Why couldn’t I simply walk across the Golden Gate Bridge for a European-style hut-to-hut hiking trip? After spending some time with trail maps, B&B brochures, and bus schedules, I fashioned my own route: three days, carrying little more than snacks, a credit card, and a change of clothes.
DAY 1: San Francisco to Muir Beach: 16.4 milesThere’s something vagabondish about crossing the Golden Gate Bridge wearing a large backpack. But as I slipped onto the Coastal Trail and ascended to the ridge above Rodeo Valley, the outfit suddenly suited my surroundings. For the next 12 miles, red dirt paths roller-coastered up and down the headlands, banking exposed grassy slopes. Etched into steep bluffs that glow with Technicolor hues during the golden hour, the Pirate’s Cove Trail connected Tennessee Valley with Muir Beach and dropped me, finally, at the Pelican Inn, where I wondered for a moment if I’d stumbled into the Scottish Highlands. The innkeeper led me through the dimly lit pub crowded with Saturday-evening pint drinkers to an upstairs room taste-fully appointed with English antiques.
DAY 2: Muir Beach to Stinson Beach: 6.3 milesMy stiff muscles, given only fleeting relief by English ale and a hot bath, warmed up slowly on the moderate walk inland from the Pelican Inn along Redwood Creek before working steadily up the Dipsea Trail. The reward was a view that spanned from the East Bay toward the Far East. Continuing in the direction of Stinson, the Dipsea descended a steep ravine, crossed moss-covered footbridges, and passed beneath redwoods before emerging above town. I followed the sound of the waves to the Redwoods Haus B&B.
DAY 3: Stinson Beach to Mill Valley: 11.6 milesAfter an eggs-and-potatoes breakfast, I followed the Matt Davis Trail, which swung me up above town. Splayed ferns clustered on the slopes; moss enveloped scraggly oaks. The path exited the forest and traversed an undulating mountainside, cutting a rust-colored track through thick, green-gold grass. The horizon was a hazy blue, making the landscape seem airbrushed. I stopped in for lunch at the roadside Mountain Home Inn before plunging into Mill Valley, where a bus took me back across the bridge.
How to go offroading in MarinMountain Home Inn: 810 Panoramic Hwy., Mill Valley, 415-381-9000,
mtnhomeinn.com, rooms from $110, closed Mon.–Tue.; Pelican Inn: 10 Pacific Way, Muir Beach, 415-383-6000,
pelicaninn.com, from $190, including English breakfast; Redwoods Haus B&B: Belvedere at Hwy. 1, Stinson Beach, 415-868-1034,
stinson-beach.com, from $195, including breakfast.
Transportation: Golden Gate Transit Bus #17 stops at Mill Valley Depot every hour en route to Marin City; connect in Marin City to lines 70, 80, or 10 for San Francisco;
goldengatetransit.org.
Trail Route:DAY 1: San Francisco to Muir Beach
Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, then take the underpass on the west side of the span to the Coastal Trail (trailhead is across the parking lot). Take the SCA Trail to the Alta Trail, staying high on the Bobcat Trail to the Miwok Trail. Continue on the Miwok Trail to the Wolf Ridge Trail, then the Coastal Trail, which descends into Tennessee Valley. The Coastal/Pirate’s Cove Trail leads to Muir Beach.
DAY 2: Muir Beach to Stinson Beach
The Redwood Creek trailhead is a few hundred feet north of the Pelican Inn on Hwy. 1. Take the Redwood Creek Trail to the Deer Park Fire Trail. Ascend Deer Park and join the Dipsea Trail, following it all the way to Stinson Beach.
DAY 3: Stinson Beach to Mill Valley
The Matt Davis trailhead is at the end of Belvedere, two blocks from Redwoods Haus B&B. Take the Matt Davis Trail to Pantoll, continuing to the Mountain Home Inn. The inn is located at the intersection of Edgewood Ave. and Panoramic Hwy. Proceed down Edgewood Ave. until it dead-ends. The Tenderfoot Trail is a small, unmarked path off to the left at a fire hydrant, just before one of the last homes on the road. Zigzag back down the mountain until you reach Cascade Dr. Stay right along the residential street to Old Mill Park on Throckmorton Ave., in downtown Mill Valley.
