MARIN COUNTY • 8 MIN BY FERRY FROM PIER 41

SAUSALITO & HEADLANDS

Mediterranean village + wild bluffs + Cold War missiles — all staring back at San Francisco.

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Houseboats & artists

Waldo Point Harbor: 400 floating homes from WWII shipyard scraps. Hippies, Otis Redding (wrote “Dock of the Bay” on a Sausalito houseboat, 1967).

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Marin Headlands

Hawk Hill raptor migration, black-sand Kirby Cove, Point Bonita Lighthouse (1855) on a sea cliff reached by tunnel + suspension bridge.

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Nike Missile Site

SF-88: only restored Cold War missile base in US. Volunteers demo launch elevators monthly.

🗺️ Perfect day trip (no car)

  1. 9am ferry Golden Gate Ferry → Sausalito ($14). Stand starboard for bridge close-up.
  2. 10am Bridgeway stroll: galleries, Bay Model (huge Army Corps map).
  3. Noon Bus 17 → Headlands: Battery Spencer photos, Hawk Hill.
  4. 3pm Back for ice cream + sea lions at Plaza Viña del Mar.
  5. Sunset ferry — Alcatraz + skyline glow. Bring jacket, always.

🌊 Know before you go

Battery Spencer: best bridge photo spot, sunrise empty.

Kirby Cove: reserve campsite months ahead — swing with bridge view.

Bike it: rent at Fisherman's Wharf, ride bridge, ferry back (one-way bike ticket).

⚠️ Headlands = microclimate chaos: 20°F colder + wind. Layers, not shorts.