The beaches and forests of west Marin

Visiting San Francisco, or living near as many of us do, is a treat: the city is beautiful, full of fabulous restaurants, museums, great views and big hills making for tiring walks. Heading north over the Golden Gate bridge is a must, the small towns of Marin are lovely – Sausalito, Larkspur, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Tiburon – but it is west Marin where the hiking and riding are truly special and not to be missed.

A number of horse riding operations offer rides, though I’d only recommend a couple of them at most.

The terrain is varied – from fire roads to single tracks along canyon edges. There are some flat open spaces but there are lots of hills and leaf strewn paths for trotting and cantering. The forests of Manzanita, Douglas fir, Oak, Bay and Buckeye,  and the invasive but widely spread eucalyptus trees and broom, vary with the season.

In the spring the hills are green and there are countless wild flowers (iris, shooting stars, poppies, columbine, lilies to name a few ) and mushrooms (edible and poisonous) popping up through the undergrowth. Ferns abound and lots of morning glory start to appear.

In the summer the hills are gold but the forests are still cool – often drenched in a light mist – enabling many flowers to continue to bloom.

In the fall wild huckleberries abound, as well as blackberries, the latter are often intertwined with poison oak- be careful when picking. Depending on the trail you might see an osprey nest, lots of red tail and coopers hawks, maybe an eagle near the lakes. Sometimes we see a bobcat, though coyotes are more prevalent, and of course there are Tule Elk and mule deer.  There are a couple of beaches that allow riding, and this can be fantastic if the tides are low and it isn’t too cold!

Everything I mention here can all be seen by hikers, but it’s much more fun on a horse. 🙂