Attractions

Come spend a few, blissful days at our hotel exploring adjacent Muir Woods and Mt. Tamalpais trails and wandering nearby Pacific Ocean beaches.

Local villages filled with surf shops, boutiques, restaurants and art galleries are just a ten minute drive away.

Also within easy reach are San Francisco, Pt. Reyes National Seashore and the Sonoma/Napa wine country.

The Inn is an ideal central location for exploring the region’s best attractions.

Climb the mountains and get their glad tidings; Peace will flow into you as sunshine into flowers; the winds will blow their freshness into you and storms their energy, and cares will drop off you like autumn leaves.
~John Muir

Top Ten Attractions

No. 1

Muir Woods National Monument Named after naturalist John Muir, the woods are home to a rare virgin stand of ancient redwoods — the world’s oldest living things. Staying at the Mountain Home allows you to hike directly down into the woods.
No. 2

Mt. Tamalpais The majestic landmark of Marin County, Tamalpais is the Bay Area’s tallest mountain. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “there is no place on earth as beautiful as Tamalpais”.
No. 3

Hiking Come explore Mt. Tamalpais’ wandering trails found right outside our door.
No. 4

Mountain Biking Mt. Tamalpais is the birthplace of mountain biking – it is the ‘mountain’ in “mountain biking”. Why not ride the original fire road where it all started? The Old Railroad Grade goes right by us.
No. 5

Cataract Falls One of the joys of being at the inn during the rainy season (November – May) is the annual appearance of waterfalls. The best for viewing is Cataract Falls; to access the 6-mile loop, drive your car down Panoramic to the Rock Springs trailhead.

No. 6

Muir Beach Muir Beach is a beautiful Northern California Beach, sequestered in a cove and a ten minute drive from us. Nearby attractions include the Green Gulch Zen Center with its meditation garden and our sister inn, The Pelican Inn, an authentic 16th century Tudor-style inn. Stop by the pub for darts, drinks and tasty pub fare.
No. 7

Beach Villages Stinson Beach is also a ten minute drive away. It feature a long crescent beach and tiny surf side village. A few miles further up the road is the unmarked road to Bolinas, famously lost in time as a 60’s hold-over.
No. 8

Point Reyes A half-hour north on Hwy. 1 is Point Reyes. Here you can find oyster farms, cheesemakers and Point Reyes National Seashore.
No. 9

Bay Villages All of the above attractions are found on the quiet rural west side of Mountain Home’s ridgeline in “West Marin”. On the east side of our ridge are the SF Bay villages of Tiburon, Sausalito and our own woodsy village of Mill Valley. These bustling small villages are filled with tourists, locals, boutiques, restaurants and art galleries.
No. 10

Day Trips The Inn is an ideal central location for exploring the region’s best attractions. You can spend days exploring the above but if you want even more, the Golden Gate Bridge is only 20 minutes away to the south and the Sonoma/Napa Wine Country about an hour’s drive to the north. Scroll below for more suggested attractions.

To See & Do

No. 1

Mt. Tamalpais East Peak Hike or drive to the top of Mt. Tamalpais where you’ll be rewarded with a 360 degree 1/4 mile walk with stunning views of east, west, north and south Marin. There is also a small museum – the Gravity Car Barn – that features a video, pictures, and a replica of the gravity car that took people on thrilling rides as part of the “Crookedest Railroad in the World”. The museum is staffed by volunteers and typically opened weekends, noon – 4pm.
No. 2

Mountain Play Broadway musical revivals performed by professional actors and a live 14 person orchestra from May 21 through June 17 at the beautiful outdoor stone theater on Mt. Tamalpais. This year’s play was Into the Woods, next year’s play TBA. Purchase tickets at www.mountainplay.org.
No. 3

Marin Organic Farm Tours Tour and meet with Marin’s local organic farmers. www.marinorganic.org
No. 4

McEvoy Ranch Olive Grove and Gardens tour A beautiful ranch located west of Petaluma, they offer a small number of orchard and garden tours with lunch from April to October. www.mcevoyranch.com
No. 5

Audubon Canyon Ranch An egret and great blue heron rookery open during nesting season, mid-March through early July. Located across from Bolinas Lagoon on Hwy 1. www.egret.org

No. 6

Point Reyes Lighthouse Historic lighthouse first built in 1870 and restored in 2003. www.nps.gov
No. 7

Whale Watching From the Muir Beach overlook, watch grey whales migrating to and from their breeding grounds in Baja California during the first two weeks in January and first two weeks in March.
No. 8

Live Theatre Two live theatre houses are right down the hill from us in Mill Valley. 142 Throckmorton Theater provides a setting for comedy shows, music ensembles and more. www.142throckmortontheatre.com The Marin Theatre Company is a professional regional theatre company. www.marintheatre.org
No. 9

Frank Lloyd Wright architecture The Marin Civic Center was Frank Lloyd’s Wright last commissioned public work. He wrote: “We know that the good building is not the one that hurts the landscape, but is one that makes the landscape more beautiful than it was before that building was built. In Marin County you have one of the most beautiful landscapes I have seen and I am proud to make the buildings of this County characteristic of the beauty of the County.” 90 minute docent-led tours of the Civic Center are offered every Friday at 10:30am, leaving from the second floor Café, Room 233. $12 for adults; $7 for seniors and students. They also will arrange a special docent tour for groups. www.marincounty.org/depts/cu/tours

Muir Woods

Right outside our hotel door you can hike down into the lush, green and quiet Muir Woods National Monument, home to a rare virgin stand of ancient redwoods.

Mt. Tam’s deep canyon walls protected these redwoods from the logging industry that decimated America’s old growth forests in centuries past. Feel an immeasurable peace and serenity as you wander among thousand year old trees—the world’s oldest living things. And lift your eyes up as you enter the majestic stand of trees at the bottom; you’ll understand why it is called Cathedral Grove.

Mt. Tamalpais

Mt. Tamalpais, also called “The Sleeping Indian” for a mystical Indian Princess who lies asleep at the top, was home to the Miwok Indian people for many years.

It was a sacred mountain to them. Their God, Coyote, resided at its peak. Today, the mountain still yields a pull for people wishing to replenish their spirit. Offerings from Buddhists and others can be discovered alongside Tamalpais’ trails, waterfalls and streams. The Dalai Lama has prayed for peace at its peak.

Many come to enjoy the natural world: walking among ancient trees, full moon gazing, or hiking / mountain biking the magnificent trails of Mt. Tamalpais.

Mountain Biking on Mt. Tamalpas

Mt. Tamalpais is considered the birthplace of mountain biking; it is the ‘mountain’ in ‘mountain biking’. Early pioneers of the sport, who started on Mt. Tam, went on to become major influences in the industry. Mt. Tam’s perfect combination of accessible fire roads (originally train tracks and located right outside our door), views and terrain is ideal for the sport. Guests are welcome to keep their own mountain bikes here — or rent them from the local bike shops — and ride the trails where fat tires first appeared.

Road racers might be interested in knowing that the Tour of California has gone right past our door. It’s not unusual to see top professional bike teams flying down our road in training for this and the Tour de France.

Beaches

We are ten minutes from the beautiful Muir and Stinson beaches.

Muir Beach

Muir Beach is ideal for beach-combing and has a lovely cove setting. To reach it, exit the inn, turning left onto Panoramic Hwy. Go 2 miles to the four-way intersection and then turn right down onto Muir Woods Road. When it dead-ends, turn left and then right onto Pacific Way. Follow it to the end, at the ocean.

Stinson Beach

Stinson Beach is best for those wanting to enter the water, either by surfing or wading. To reach it, turn right at the inn, staying on Panoramic until it dead-ends on Hwy. !. Turn right and the village of Stinson Beach is there at your left.

Local Villages

We are ten minutes from the Pacific Coast surf town of Stinson Beach. On our eastern side, Mill Valley lies at our feet. A few minutes further out are the bay towns of Tiburon and Sausalito. All are quaintly charming and worth a look.