See Also: Biking in Sausalito
Fast Forward SummaryTM: There are two variations on this route:
Longer Bike Ride: Some people start this trip in San Francisco and bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, riding through Sausalito and then up the Bay-side bike path to Blithedale Ave. in Mill Valley. There you can east and continue onto Tiburon Blvd. and riding down to the Tiburon ferry, which returns riders to Fisherman's Wharf.
Sausalito-Tiburon Loop Bike Ride: Start in Sausalito and make it a round trip by circling the Tiburon peninsula via Tiburon Blvd. and Paradise Drive. Either way, it's a beautiful ride with miles of paths and roads that run along the edge of San Francisco Bay. All the details on both trips are below.
Starting from downtown Sausalito (check this list for great places in town to stop for bike ride dining), follow Bridgeway all the way to the north end of town. It meets a dual-use path there that runs north along the Bay into Mill Valley, the first leg of your ride to Tiburon. Here's a satellite image of the first part of the trip, leading up to where you travel under Highway 101 and the Richardson Bay Bridge. The bike path is the straight line along the edge of the Bay, starting at Gate 6 1/2 Road at the northern edge of Sausalito (in the lower right corner of the map). What looks like a gap in the upper left is actually a bridge over the creek.
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
After you pass under Highway 101 the bike path goes past the Larkspur Hotel Mill Valley, then turns north to continue along the edge of the Bay through Bayfront Park up into Mill Valley, finally meeting E. Blithedale Ave. Here the bike path ends, and you turn right on Blithedale back towards Highway 101 to start your journey to Tiburon.
The map below shows this leg of the trip. If you have any problem finding where the maps align: The upper left corner of the map above matches the lower right corner of the tall map below.
When E. Blithedale Ave. reaches Highway 101 it changes its name to Tiburon Blvd. on the eastern side of the freeway. Keep going on Tiburon Blvd., and soon you'll find yourself riding along the edge of the Bay again. This will bring you to a sharp turn and the intersection between Tiburon Blvd. and Trestle Glen Road. We list this as a junction point because it is a loop-back point if you continue past the Tiburon Ferry onto Paradise Drive to ride back to Sausalito.
The map below (which is on a larger scale that the two prior maps, so it covers a greater distance) shows this part of the ride along Tiburon Blvd. from Highway 101 to Trestle Glen Blvd.
Continue to follow follow Tiburon Blvd., whick skirts the Bay for much of its route, all the way down into the town of Tiburon, where you turn right on Main St. to reach the pier for the Tiburon Ferry. In the map below the intersection of Tiburon Blvd. and Trestle Glen is in the upper left, and the Ferry pier is in the lower right.
If you started your ride in San Francisco and don't want to ride back to Sausalito the Tiburon ferry can take you back to Pier 41 and Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. The Tiburon Ferry does not offer service to the Ferry Building.
Round Trip from Sausalito around the Tiburon Peninsula
At the end of the Tiburon Peninsula, Tiburon Blvd. turns into Paradise Drive, which twists and turns along the edge of the Bay with great views. If you plan to loop back to Sausalito, it gives you another twisty-turny route along the Bay, with beautiful views. When you reach Trestle Glen Blvd., turn left and it will take you back to Tiburon Blvd. You can retrace your route back to Sausalito from there... only this time the view of San Francisco across the Bay will be in front of you.
The map below -- in a larger scale than the two preceding maps and a much larger scale than the maps at the top of this article -- shows how the loop works from Tiburon Blvd. to Paradise Dr. to Trestle Glen Blvd. and then back to Tiburon Blvd.
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