Stinson Beach, California

I’m behind on writing about our Fall Break trip in October to Stinson Beach, California, but I didn’t want to let it drop because I love that part of the country! So here it goes…

Whenever we fly to San Francisco, we take a pit stop in Oakland to connect with two different sets of dear friends. We usually eat Ethiopian food with one set and go to the Adventure Playground or eat rolled ice-cream with the other set. I love planning trips around which friends we will get to connect with.

Stinson Beach is just north of San Francisco, so it’s a relatively easy commute out there. You pass through the small redwood town of Mill Valley, which is stunningly beautiful and quaint. Being immersed in redwood trees feels so grounding and calming to me.

It is quite the windy path from Mill Valley over the hill to Stinson Beach, but it’s worth it. Stinson is a tiny little beach town with waves and forests and good tacos all in one place.

We stayed in a little house on AirBnB within walking distance of the beach. We had pretty lazy and easy days: walks to the beach, relaxing on the beach, TV/nap time, back to the beach, meeting up with friends. Matt and I have a ton of friends in the Bay Area, so between us it seems like we had someone to meet up with nearly every day.

We frequently drive into Mill Valley and make sure to stop at Old Mill Park with a picnic. The kids can swing and slide under redwoods. There’s also a small creek for them to explore.

We drove into the small town of Bolinas to meet up with a friend of a friend. While we waited in the restaurant, we ended up connecting with some locals (which is hard to do because apparently the town of Bolinas is very insular and likes to keep itself private—hence the reason why they take down the city signs leading people toward the area).

The locals told us about a great hiking spot, so we went a couple days later. We had to drive down an unpaved road, park right by someone’s house, and then climb down a steep cliff trail to get to an incredibly isolated beach (Agate Beach).

Our trip was full of friends, fresh air, beautiful scenery, and quality time together. I couldn’t ask for anything more (except for the Siren Canteen to be open next time!)