After having lived in San Francisco for over a decade we finally made it up Mount Tamalpais for the first time this weekend. While driving up to the visitors center I saw a sign that says “Greatest One-day Trip in America” and that may be both true and say something that took us way too long to realize.

It was pretty crowded (so clearly others knew about this park 🥰), so it took us about an hour to get from the Golden Gate Bridge up to the east peak parking lot - as there was quite some traffic including bicycles. 🚲⛰️🥵

Luckily driving up Mount Tam is its own reward, as every turn provides a new scenic view and there are plenty of spots where you (roadside) park to take in the sights or start a hike.

Even on this busy day there was plenty of space in the east peak parking lot. The (tiny) visitors center was closed, but the restrooms were open, and there’s plenty of signage (and a beautiful relief map) to show the trails.

Hiking the Verna Dunshee Loop Trail

We decided to hike the Verna Dunshee Loop, which is about 0.7 miles of well paved trail that takes you around the east peak.

On the southern part of the loop, you have gorgeous views over the Marin headlands, Mill Valley/Sausalito, all the way to Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco.

It was mesmerizing to see all the hills/mountains in San Francisco (Potrero, Candlestick, Twin Peaks, San Bruno Mountain) and then both the Pacifica State Beach and the downtown skyline and Bay Bridge all in one view. Seriously: pics don’t do this view justice, which is a good thing - because I forgot to take an overview pic. :-)

This is the best overview picture I took:

You see the Richardson Bay at the bottom, with the 101 going over it, the Marin Headlands with one pillar of the Golden Gate Bridge right behind it, the bay on the left with Alcatraz Island, the Bay Bridge, and then San Francisco in all its glory to the right of it.

And here’s one more zoomed picture, so you can see more of downtown San Francisco, but even less of the rest of the city. :-)

Scenic Railway and Gravity Trains

There used to be a railroad going up and down Mt Tam. Officially called the Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway which had many names/monikers such as “The Grandest Mountain Railway on Earth” and “The Crookedest Railroad in the World”. This railway operated from 1896 until 1930, giving visitors from all over the world spectacular sights of nature in a time when entertainment was not nearly as all-prevalent as it is today.

There was even an option to take one of the open-air, motorless cars down. These so-called Gravity Trains were operated by a brake operator and could take up to 30 people down the mountain at speeds of 10 to 12 miles per hour. I can only imagine that this must have been as terrifying as it was exhilarating.

The old tracks that remain are now often used as part of the extensive trails system on Mt Tam, so do check them out.

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It took us way too long to discover this incredible state park that’s just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, but now that we know about it - I can’t wait to go back, and to show it off to visitors!

If you find yourself in the North Bay with an extra day to spend, and you can’t (or don’t want to) get a ticket for Muir Woods (also gorgeous), consider Mount Tamalpais as a worthy (but very different) alternative way to enjoy all the best that Northern California nature has to offer.

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