Stinson Beach & Bolinas Lagoon: Marin's Secret Coast

The only sandy Pacific beach in Marin County, backed by the Bolinas Lagoon on its north end and the lagoon's bird-watching trails. The beach itself is 3.5 miles of open Pacific coast; the water is 55°F year-round but the sand shelters from the northwest wind and warms in the afternoon. The lagoon behind the north end of the beach is a tidal estuary supporting great blue herons, egrets, brown pelicans, and the largest wintering shorebird population in the Bay Area.

A 1,014-acre wildlife preserve on the eastern shore of Bolinas Lagoon, protecting the largest great blue heron and great egret nesting colony in the Bay Area — 200+ nesting pairs visible from the Schwarz Grove overlook from March through July. The lagoon below the preserve is a major Pacific Flyway stopover; the preserve's research program has monitored the heron colony continuously since 1962, making it one of the longest-running avian population studies in the US.

The Bay Area's most resolutely private community has maintained its unincorporated, un-signposted character since the 1970s by repeatedly removing official highway signs and resisting every development proposal. The village of 1,200 residents has a general store (The People's Store), two restaurants, a library, and a surf break that enforces informal local priority. The lagoon at the south end of the village is prime bird habitat; the beach at the north end has consistent beach break.

A Bolinas restaurant that serves the village's year-round community rather than day-trippers — the fish and chips, the hamburger, and the local craft beers are the menu constants. The dining room is small; the ambiance is genuinely unpretentious in a way that most 'unpretentious' Bay Area restaurants are not. One of the few restaurants in the Bay Area where the entire table knows each other's name.