Mt. Tamalpais

     It may be known as the Sleeping Maiden for its languorous silhouette, but Mt. Tamalpais will awaken your senses, whether you hike, bike or merely drive its redwood- and pine-covered slopes. There are taller mountains in the Bay Area, but none as well-loved or oft-visited as “Tam.”
     The easy way to bag this 2,571-foot peak north of San Francisco is to drive to the East Peak in Mt. Tamalpais State Park, first by exiting Highway 101 at Highway 1 in Mill Valley, then making right turns at the Panoramic Highway and Ridgecrest Boulevard. At the parking lot, on weekends you can check out the small visitor center and new gravity car barn, with its railcar that once helped transport weekenders from San Francisco up the mountain. Upon arriving, hike the moderate, quarter-mile climb up a wide dirt path to the fire lookout tower. The panoramic view, when it isn’t foggy, takes in the full sweep of the Bay Area: San Francisco, the Golden Gate and far beyond.
     Several ambitious hiking and mountain biking routes will lead you to the top of Tam, notably the six-mile-long Old Railroad Grade from Mill Valley and Eldridge Grade from Ross. But some of the prettiest spots on the mountain are well below the peak on its mid-mountain web of shady trails. Your best bet is to pick a trail that looks good on a trail map, in a guidebook or at MtTam.net, and start hiking. Most Tam trails are well-marked, whether on the State Park’s slopes between Mill Valley and Stinson Beach, in popular Muir Woods National Monument’s redwood paths, or near the five lakes above Ross and Fairfax on Marin Municipal Water District land.
     The mountain is a leading actor in the lore of mountain biking and trail running. Tam is arguably the birthplace of the mountain bike, where pioneering bike designers like Gary Fisher, Joe Breeze and Tom Ritchey developed balloon-tired, multi-gear racing bikes capable of handling its steepest, rockiest trails. Tam is also home to America’s oldest trail run, the Dipsea, a 6.8-mile run on the Mill Valley-to-Stinson Beach trail of the same name, which is also a spectacular hike. The Dipsea Race’s 100th running: June 13, 2010.
     Nearly as old is the Mountain Play, performed every year since 1913 in the 3,750-capacity Mountain Theater, a stone amphitheater near the summit. A different play is chosen each summer and sellouts are common. 
      HelloSanFrancisco tip: Besides your windbreaker (the mountain has several microclimates), don’t forget your camera. The mountain can be stunning, especially when wisps of fog embrace it like scarves, as shown above in landscape photographer Brad Rippe’s images.  
 

- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.