Marin Headlands & Mount Tam
Marin County · near Mill Valley / Sausalito · SF Bay Area
Gravel & Bikepacking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Year-round (wettest in winter; fog in summer)
What is here
- Terrain
- coastal
- Amenities
- Birthplace of mountain biking · Golden Gate & ocean views · Vast fire-road network · Redwood canyons & state parks
- Best for
- Iconic, accessible fire-road riding by the Golden Gate
- Features
- Where mountain biking was born · Golden Gate Bridge vistas · Endless fire roads · Redwoods to coastal ridges
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Coastal fog & wind · Busy trails/shared use · Steep fire-road grades · Winter mud
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · singletrack
- Surface
- mixed
- Remoteness
- 1
- Riding
- The birthplace of mountain biking — a dense network of fire roads across coastal ridges and redwood canyons with Golden Gate views, minutes from San Francisco
- Terrain note
- Sea level to 2,570 ft (Tam summit); mixed fire roads; coastal fog & wind
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- The BIRTHPLACE of mountain biking, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco — a dense network of fire roads across coastal ridges and redwood canyons up to Mount Tam (2,570 ft), with world-famous Golden Gate views. Mellow doubletrack to steep climbs; welcoming yet iconic, minutes from the city. Coastal fog/wind, busy shared trails, winter mud. State park camping in the hills. Historic, scenic, endlessly connectable — essential Bay Area riding.
- Trip lengths
- day
The guide
The Marin Headlands and Mount Tamalpais, rising straight across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, are hallowed ground — the b…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Marin Headlands & Mount Tam — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.92, -122.6