Few have it better than us. Marin is a wilderness lover’s haven from the rest of the World’s chaos. With 80% of Marin’s lands preserved, it is no wonder that outdoor enthusiasts from hikers & bikers, kite-flyers and lepidopterists, all flock to our wonderful area in the North Bay. Below is a list of bests, as determined by Tom Stienstra of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Here are Tom’s picks for the Best in the Bay Area:

Hikes:

• Skyline to the Sea, headquarters to Berry Creek Canyon, Big Basin Redwoods
• Coast Trail, Point Reyes
• Montara Mountain Trial, San Pedro Valley
• Trail Camp Loop, Castle Rock State Park
• Steep Ravine Trail, Mount Tamalpais

Bike Rides:

• Bay Bridge Trail, Crystal Springs
• Skyline to the Sea, Rancho del Oso up Waddell Creek
• Tennessee Valley to the ocean, Marin Headlands
• Golden Gate Promenade to the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

Campgrounds:

• Tomales Bay boat-in, Point Reyes
• Sunset hike-in, Big Basin
• Wildcat hike-in, Point Reyes
• Sky Camp, Point Reyes
• Pantoll walk-in, Mount Tamalpais

Waterfalls:

• Berry Creek/Golden Falls, Big Basin
• Alamere Falls, Point Reyes
• Cataract Falls, Mount Tamalpais
• Carson Falls, Marin Watershed

Dog Walks:

• Sunol Preserve, Sunol
• Point Isabel, Berkeley
• Fort Funston, San Francisco
• Kent Pump Trail, Marin

Below are Tom’s picks for the Best In California:

Prettiest Lakes:

• Emerald Bay, Lake Tahoe
• Donnell Reservoir, Stanislaus Nat. Forest
• Tenaya Lake, Yosemite

Prettiest Rivers:

• McCloud River, Shasta County
• Smith River, Del Norte County
• Rush Creek Headwaters, Ansel Adams Wilderness

Hikes to Prettiest Views:

• Yosemite Point, Yosemite
• Mitchell Peak, Jennie Lakes Wilderness
• Glacier Point to Sentinel Dome, Yosemite

Family Destinations:

• Camp Richardson, Lake Tahoe
• MacKerricher State Park, Fort Bragg
• Lake Siskiyou, Mount Shasta

Fly Fishing for Trout:

• Sacramento River, Redding (by boat)
• Fall River (by pram)
• Pit River
• East Walker River

Rafting Rivers:

• Main Stem Tuolumne
• Salmon River
• Forks of the Kern
• Upper Klamath

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 7:05 am and is filed under About Marin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.