Stinson Beach, CA

How I have gone this far into my adult life without going to Stinson Beach is beyond me! I even went to High School in Marin County, and still...never made it out to the beach. This past Sunday was our first ever trip to Stinson, and it was worth the wait. I didn't have extremely high expectations...it's mid-December so I was prepared for freezing temperatures, strong winds and grey skies, but we needed to get out of the house and start exploring!! So at 8 in the morning we made the decision to take our first trip to Stinson!

The drive from Berkeley was about 1.5 hours and the last 15 miles is really beautiful as you wind through the hills of Marin. If you are prone to motion sickness...you might want to take some precautions because the roads are very windy (we got lucky and only one of our kids threw up! so glad I packed a change of clothes!).

The town of Stinson is very small, but has everything you really need. We took a walk down the strip of shops and enjoyed walking through Stinson Beach Books, which is a great little book store with a surprisingly large assortment of children's books and toys. There are half a dozen restaurants in town, as well as a small market if you need to pick up some picnic basics. We decided to get take-out from The Lunch Box and we were really happy with both the quality and the price! We split the TriBeca sandwich, a fruit salad, couscous and quinoa salad with fresh tomatoes and cucumber and got a small container of their Cookies n' Cream gelato for dessert. Everything was delicious!

The beach entrance (and parking lot) are just behind the shops, so it is an easy walk to the water once you have your food. We spent the next few hours taking in the views of the beach, enjoying our picnic and watching the kids run around and play in the sand. The weather was beautiful for December - 60 degrees with calm winds and the occasional break from the clouds that actually made it kind of warm!

Adelaide exploring the beach

 yoga poses :)

It was a great day with the family and has really gotten me excited about what new adventures lay ahead of us!

Until next time...

Interested in exploring the area more? Check out our trips to nearby Muir Woods and the beautiful Muir Beach Overlook.

The Details: Lunch at the Lunch Box: $23  Gas/Toll: $10. We brought additional snacks for the kids, and easily could have cut costs further had we prepared ahead of time and brought our own picnic lunch. Not bad!!