Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach (Marin County) · near Stinson Beach / Bolinas · SF Bay Area
Surfing
At a glance
- Skill level
- beginner
- Best season
- Fall for cleanest peaks · Often uncrowded on weekdays
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Surfing detail
- Break types
- beach
- Swell
- NW with some S wrap · 2–6ft · Punchy, fun beach-break peaks
- Tide
- Works across tides · Mid tide best
- Wind
- Morning glass · Afternoon onshore
- Crowd
- Popular Marin weekend beach but often uncrowded midweek. Beginner-tolerant. Watch for sharks (Red Triangle).
- Board
- Longboard or soft-top for beginners · Shortboard on bigger days
- Wetsuit
- 4/3mm minimum, 5/4mm in winter · Water 50–58°F
- Intl tip
- Stinson Beach sits below Mount Tamalpais (hiking, paragliding) and next to the Bolinas Lagoon. The town has a couple of small surf shops and good casual food. Combine with a Mount Tam drive or a visit to nearby Muir Woods for a complete Marin day.
The guide
Stinson Beach is Marin County's classic surf-and-swim day-trip beach — a long stretch of sand with fun, punchy beach-break peak…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Stinson Beach — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.901, -122.644