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Voykit pocket guide · United States
Stinson Beach
Go for one day from San Francisco or Mill Valley, or one night if you want the beach at sunrise; skip as a base — it is a village, not a hub.
Stinson Beach is a small West Marin village on Highway 1, north of the Golden Gate Bridge, with a wide sandy beach, a handful of cafés and a few places to sleep. Almost everyone comes for a day; a single night buys you empty morning sand and a sunset without the drive back in the dark.
- Country
- United States
- Best months
- Sep–Oct (warmest, clearest); May–Jun for green hills
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug fog and parking queues; winter storm closures on Highway 1
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- USD
- Money
- Currency is the US dollar (USD, $). Cards and phone payments work almost everywhere; carry a little cash for tips and small vendors.
- Daily spend
- Budget $40–70 excl. bed · Mid $80–140 excl. bed · High $180+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile cover the country; prepaid SIMs at their stores and Walmart/Target (passport required), or an eSIM before you fly.
- Emergency
- Police, fire, ambulance 911 · Marin County Sheriff (non-emergency) 415-479-2311 · Poison control 1-800-222-1222
- Plugs
- Types A, B · 120 V · 60 Hz · Chargers are dual-voltage; hair dryers and straighteners from 230 V countries need a converter.
- Tipping
- Sit-down restaurant: 18–22% of the pre-tax bill.; Bar: US$1–2 per drink or 20% of the tab.; Taxi / ride-hailing: 15–20%, in the app.; Hotel housekeeping: US$3–5 a night.; Porter / valet: US$2–5 per bag or car.; Tour guide: US$10–20 per person for a day tour.; Counter service / tablet prompts: Optional; 0–15%.
- Water
- Tap water is drinkable nearly everywhere; boil or treat water from streams in parks.
- Toilets
- Free public toilets are scarce in big cities; use cafés, department stores, libraries, stations. Rest areas on highways are free.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | $4–6 |
| Breakfast plate at a village café | $14–22 |
| Sandwich or burger lunch | $15–25 |
| Beach parking, per day | $10–15 (check) |
| Rideshare San Francisco → Stinson Beach | $70–110 (check) |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | $10–30 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- SFO · San Francisco International
- About 1 h 15 min by car via US-101 and Highway 1; longer on summer weekends
- OAK · Oakland International
- About 1 h 30 min by car; check traffic on the Richmond–San Rafael bridge
Typical fares
- West Marin Stagecoach 61, Sausalito → Stinson Beach
- about $3 one way, a few runs a day (check)
- Beach parking, per day
- $10–15 (check)
- Rideshare San Francisco → Stinson Beach
- $70–110 (check)
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
The village is walkable in 10 minutes. Everything else — Mount Tam, Bolinas, Muir Woods — needs a car or bike; the West Marin Stagecoach route 61 runs from Sausalito and Marin City a few times a day (check the timetable). Highway 1 is two lanes with blind curves: drive it in daylight.
See and do
Known for
- Wide sandy beach on the Pacific
- Highway 1 coastal drive
- Mount Tamalpais trailheads above the village
- Bolinas Lagoon and birdlife
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Bolinas | Car or bike on Highway 1, north | 15 min by car |
| Muir Woods National Monument | Car via Highway 1 and Panoramic Hwy | 40–50 min |
| Mill Valley | Car via Panoramic Hwy and Highway 1 | 30–40 min |
| Sausalito | Car via Highway 1 and US-101, or Stagecoach 61 to Marin City then bus | 35–50 min |
| Point Reyes National Seashore | Car north on Highway 1 | 1 h |
Sleep
- Village centre (Shoreline Hwy and Arenal Ave)
- Walk to the beach and both cafés; the only real choice if you have no car.
- Marine Way and Belvedere Ave
- Cabins and small lodgings a 2–5 min walk from the sand.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Thank you | Thank you |
| Where is the beach access? | Where is the beach access? |
| Is the water safe to swim? | Is the water safe to swim? |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card? |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and 'hi, how are you?' — reply 'good, thanks'; avoid: Treating the question as a real health enquiry
- Restaurants: Tip 18–22% and wait for the check; avoid: Leaving without tipping
- Personal space: Keep an arm's length in queues; avoid: Standing close to strangers
- Politics and religion: Listen more than you speak; avoid: Opening with hot-button topics
- Smoking: Smoke only in marked areas; avoid: Smoking near doors or in parks where banned
Scams and watch-outs
- Parking is limited and fills early on warm weekends; check whether the lot is paid and enforced before you rely on it.
- Rip currents and cold water (about 12–14 °C): swim near lifeguards, and note that lifeguard cover is seasonal — check before you swim.
- No cell signal in parts of the canyon on Highway 1; download offline maps.
- Fog can drop visibility on the coast road within minutes.
A calm, low-crime village. The real risks are the ocean (cold water, rip currents, seasonal lifeguards), the two-lane coast road in fog, and leaving valuables visible in a parked car.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Stinson Beach yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Wide sandy beach on the Pacific
- Highway 1 coastal drive
- Mount Tamalpais trailheads above the village
- Bolinas Lagoon and birdlife
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Marin Transit — West Marin Stagecoach route 61: marintransit.org/routes/61.html
- Visit Marin — West Marin: www.visitmarin.org/
- National Park Service — Golden Gate (Muir Woods reservations): www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/muirwoods.htm
- Wikivoyage: Stinson Beach, revision 4857694 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=4857694
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Stinson Beach
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
- Police, fire, ambulance911
- Marin County Sheriff (non-emergency)415-479-2311
- Poison control1-800-222-1222
No embassies in West Marin; consulates-general are in San Francisco.
Tipping is expected: 18–22% at sit-down restaurants, $1–2 a drink.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/stinson-beach). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.