Bolinas
Bolinas, Marin County · near Bolinas · SF Bay Area
Surfing
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Best season
- Fall and winter · Oct–March for groundswells
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Surfing detail
- Break types
- beach · point
- Swell
- Northwest and west · 3–6ft · Protected cove filters bigger swells
- Tide
- Any tide · Gentle break across most conditions
- Wind
- Sheltered from prevailing winds more than most NorCal spots
- Crowd
- Light. The locals famously tear down road signs to the town to discourage visitors. Take that as the tone-setter: arrive respectfully, don't take photos of the community, and act like a guest.
- Board
- Mid-length or longboard · Relaxed wave for any board that isn't a high-performance shortboard
- Wetsuit
- 5/4mm hooded suit Nov–March · 4/3mm rest of year · Marin County water is cold
- Intl tip
- The drive to Bolinas from San Francisco through the Marin Headlands and along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard is one of the great NorCal coastal drives — dramatic ocean views, redwoods, and rolling grassland before the road drops into Bolinas's hidden cove.
The guide
Bolinas is where the California coast gets weird in the best possible way. The town famously removes road signs directing visit…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Bolinas — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.9102, -122.7041