Marin Headlands (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)

The following description was written by Dave Block (DBlock@sfo.ms.ch2m.com):

As background, I live in Mill Valley and ride Mt. Tam and the Headlands quite frequently.

Here are two nice loops in the Headlands. Both start from Tennessee Valley. To get to Tennessee Valley, take 101 to the Hwy 1 exit. the exit goes under the highway, then curves up to the left. The first turn on the left is Tennessee Valley Road - it is well marked. Take this road all the way to the parking lot.

Here are the two rides:

1. Tennessee Valley - Gerbode Valley

From the parking lot, start up the dirt road toward the stables (horse paddock on your right). Take a left onto Old Marincello Vehicle Road. Climb 1.7 miles, with a beautiful view of Sausalito and Strawberry Point off to your left. At the top of the hill, the trail merges with the Bobcat trail. The merge takes you left, then keep taking rights as the trail intersects several others over the next 0.7 miles. Then enjoy a rolling downhill into Gerbode Valley, 2.0 miles. At the bottom of the hill, there is a short flat section, then take a right onto the Miwok trail. Climb 1.1 miles, then left onto Old Springs trail. 1.3 miles back down to Tennessee Valley, come out by the stables. Note: the equestrians will love you if you walk your bike past the stable area.

2. Tennesse Valley (north ridge)

Neither of these loops are terribly long, but they both involve some big climbs. They are both fire road, so not very technical, and, as always in Marin, be courteous to hikers and equestrians and watch out for rangers with radar!

The following description was written by John Gardiner (sfbt@crl.com):

My favorite non-technical ride in the Headlands goes like this:

Park on the SF side of the Bridge. There is a non-metered parking area on the west side of the bridge, off Lincoln Blvd. I believe.

Bike along the paved path that starts by the north side of the parking lot. Follow it until it takes you under the Bridge and then onto the west side, bikes-only of the Bridge.

Bike across the Bridge, become amazed at the views and praise God for allowing to you be fortunate enough to live in such a beautiful area :) Follow the bridge all the way until the end, and enter the parking lot on the left.

Turn right and bike through the lot and up the hill until you get to an intersection. Turn left and bike up that steep, relentless hill for ~1.5 miles. Make sure you look to your left and admire the breathtaking view of SF and the Bridge. You will come to an intersection of two paved roads. between the roads, there is a dirt lot and a trail head (sorry, I forget its name). Take that trail down for a couple of miles. The trail crosses a paved road. After crossing that road, follow the trail another ~1/2 mile until it intersects the Bobcat Trail. Turn right on Bobcat and climb relentlessly for ~3 miles. Near the top you will want to stay on Bobcat by veering to the left.

When I do this loop, I often turn off where Bobcat intersects Marincello Trail, take Marincello Trail to Tennessee Valley, turn right on Tennessee Valley Road, take it to the bike trail which leads to Sausalito and bike back over the Bridge. You can also turn around @ Bobcat/Marincello and do the aforementioned route in reverse.

Note: All of these trails are fireroads. And, as always in Marin, the rangers are extremely vigilent about speeding.

But I like the Headlands as a mellow change from always barreling down fierce singletrack.

A follow-up to John's reply:

1. Note that the last climb on the Bobcat trail is off limits to Bikes - if you want to go on to Tenessee Valley, you must veer right onto the Marincello.
2. My Version of this Loop: At the bottom of the Coastal Trail (the first dirt descent described by John) turn left onto the road and follow it for about a half mile. Find the trail on the right just after the barrier appears. Cross the little bridge and turn right. About 1/4 mile further on veer left onto the Miwok trail. You now have a tough but do-able 20 minute climb. At the very top of the trail (after a bend to the right and a nasty 20 ft climb) enjoy the view of two valleys and the tops of downtown SF.

   N.B. If you're looking at the Olmstead map, it looks as if you have to turn around now. NOT SO. Carry on about 1/4 mile down to a fork. The trail that climbs to the right (the Bobcat-Miwok connection) is closed to us (and so posted; you'd have to be crazy to try it anyway), but you can turn to the left onto Old Springs (?) and enjoy an almost singletrack descent into Tennessee Valley. Go carefully through the stables (I get off and walk if there are horses on the road) and find the Marincello Trail twenty or so yards down on the right. A 25 minute climb (easy-ish) will bring you back to the Bobcat Trail and a great descent back into Rodeo Valley. Before you descend, turn around and look back. Chances are the fog will be crawling over the hilltops, and the view from here is surreal.

   N.B. There is no drinking water in Tenessee Valley (as far as I can see), so make sure you have enough.

For more information

• The National Park Service's page for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (of which the Marin Headlands are a part)
• More web pages describing this park: from "MTBR.com"; from "BTC Marin"; from "Bay Area Hiker"; from Scott Kendall

©1995-2019 Ross Finlayson