Marin Headlands, CA

Marin Headlands are located on the Northwest side of the Golden Gate Bridge, just North of San Francisco off of Highway 101.

The Marin Headlands are located on the West side of Highway 101 on the North side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Vast amounts of land are located in the Marin Headlands for recreation and most of it is open to mountain bikers. The Headlands are a huge watershed area that has been set aside for water, recreation, and wildlife. This sign is located on the East side of 101 off of the Sausalito exit just about a half of a mile north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Angel Island, in the background, is located just inside the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. This island was a prisoner-of-war camp for the Japanese, German, and Italian prisoners during the World War II era. People actually ride their bikes on the Island by taking a ferry out to the historical gem.

Countless fireroads are located here and a ride can last all day without repeating any trails. Some excellent single-track can be found here as well. Unfortunately, most of it has been closed to mountain bikers in the past 10 years. The fireroads will keep you busy and a good ride is not hard to find. This is the trailhead for the Bay Area Ridge Trail which is huge! From here your options are limitless.

The very popular Bobcat Trail is located off of Bunker Road on the very southern tip of the Marin Headlands peninsula and climbs fairly steadily for about 3 miles. It is a packed fireroad and it will lead you northeast towards the top of the hill. Once you are on top the views are unbelievable. From here you can either chose to turn around and come back down which is really fun and makes the ride short or you can keep going on several different routes. A challenging ride that takes you down into Tennessee Valley requires that you descend down the Marincello trail. You will come out right by the Miwok horse stables. From the stables you can chose to ride down to Tennessee Cove which is nice and relatively easy.

If you decide that you want to continue on riding instead of going all the way to Tennessee Cove you can ascend back up another good climb on the Coastal Trail. This trail can be picked up off of Tennessee Valley trail about a half of mile shy of the beach. This is a steep climb that ascends about 900 feet and puts you back up on top of the mountain. The view over the cliffs and ocean is one for the camera. It is hard to believe that an huge city is just a few miles away with views like these. Since you are already on top you can chose to do a loop that will bring you right back to the Miwok horse stables.

If you continue on the Coastal Trail for about a mile and a half you can chose to take a right at the Coyote Ridge trail which brings you down to the Miwok Trail. The Coyote trail is really fun and descends quickly onto the Miwok trail.

If you make a right down Miwok, you get to do some single-track that drops you right to the horse stables where you were just a short time ago. The trail is very packed and fast. It switches back several times and some of the turns can be tricky so be careful and watch out for the stairs. Doing this loop from the horse stables in Tennessee Valley is a great ride and it is not quite as demanding as starting from the Golden Gate bridge area. You can take US 101 north from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Mill Valley/Stinson Beach/Highway 1 exit and continue straight for six-tenths of a mile to Tennessee Valley Road. Make a left and continue for two miles to the Miwok Horse Stables to the parking lot.

Views like this showing Marin City, Tiburon, and Highway 101 make you realize how lucky you are to be riding and not stuck in traffic below. This ride was completed in December with no one around.  I started in Sausalito and completed the loop in 2.5 hours.  I recommend  acquiring trail maps of the Headlands and Marin from one of the local and numerous bike shops in the area. Other rides include Mount Tamalpais, Pine Mountain, and Eldridge Grade.  Have fun!!!