Marin Headlands & The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA)
The GGNRA is a sprawling series of adjacent national parks that spread from the urban coastline of San Francisco northwards to Alcatraz Island, the Marin Headlands, Muir Woods and the Point Reyes National Seashore. We focus here primarily on the Marin Headlands sections of the GGNRA, the area that surrounds Sausalito.
Much of the area of the Marin Headlands historically was dedicated to army bases used for the defense of San Francisco Bay against attack. Over the last thirty years these bases were gradually decommissioned and then combined with other areas to form the GGNRA.
Additional Marin Headlands content can be found here by clicking on Fort Baker, Fort Barry and Fort Cronkhite, Nike Missile Site Museum, Point Bonita Lighthouse, or Tennessee Valley.
Independent facilities within the Marin Headlands include the Bay Area Discovery Museum (targeted at younger children) and the Marine Mammal Center where injured and abandoned seals and sea lions are rehabilitated for release back into the wild. The Cavallo Point Lodge is a hotel located within the park, converted from part of the decommissioned Fort Baker.
We also have a page about Fort Baker, which is adjacent to the southern edge of Sausalito.
Our pages on access, biking and parking for the Golden Gate Bridge can also be of use for visiting the Marin Headlands for hiking etc. since the Bridge and Highway 101 run through the area.
Marin Headlands Visitor Center
948 Fort Barry, Sausalito, CA 94965 Phone: 415-331-1540
Hours: Open All Year 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, except for Thanksgiving (Thursday-Friday) and Christmas (December 25-26).
Free parking in lot.
Apart from the parking lot and restrooms, the Visitor Center has exhibits pn both the natural history of the area (checki ng out the contents of local pond water under a microscope) and its cultural history (a Miwok shelter where present-day Coast Miwok people talk about their lives). There's also a gift shop with books and field guides about the region.
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.
There is also a Youth Hostel in the Marin Headlands. Still kind of a hidden retreat, but getting more and more noticed. See www.MarinHostel.org for more details and pricing ($24-$26 for dorms, $72-$78 for private rooms).
Posted by: Rose | 07/01/2009 at 10:48 AM