Sausalito

Sausalito is a small waterfront town on the Marin County shore of San Francisco Bay, about 8 miles (13 km) north of San Francisco in California. The most scenic way to reach it is the ferry: Golden Gate Ferry sails from the Ferry Building and the Blue and Gold Fleet from Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf, each taking about 30 minutes with one-way fares of roughly 14 to 17 dollars. Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge takes 20 to 30 minutes, but parking along Bridgeway, the main waterfront street near Princess Street, is scarce at weekends.

The town's appeal lies in its views back toward the San Francisco skyline, its Mediterranean-style hillside homes and its working marina. Bridgeway is lined with galleries, boutiques, ice cream shops and waterfront restaurants. Visitors can stroll to Gabrielson Park and the Vina del Mar Plaza with its elephant statues, wander the Marinship area and its artisan studios, or walk out to the houseboat communities along Waldo Point. The Bay Model Visitor Center, a hydraulic scale model of the Bay-Delta system, is a short distance north and is a favorite with families. The Sausalito Ferry Landing area also offers bicycle rentals for the ride back toward the Golden Gate Bridge or across it to the city.

A straightforward day arc starts with a late-morning ferry, a walk along Bridgeway and an unhurried seafood or sandwich lunch on a deck over the water. The afternoon suits gallery browsing, a climb up the staircases into the hillside neighborhoods for photographs, or a cycle through Marin's Richardson Bay shoreline path. Many visitors take a late afternoon ferry back so that the sun sets behind the Golden Gate on the return trip.

Sausalito is pleasant year round, and the clearest days tend to fall in September and October when summer fog recedes. Weekends in summer are busy, so weekday visits feel calmer. It also combines easily with Muir Woods, which is reachable by shuttle from nearby Marin City on weekends.