Stinson Beach(Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Stinson Beach Park)

Stinson Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, picnicking, swimming, hiking, volleyball, surfing, bodysurfing, bodyboarding, paddleboarding, skimboarding, kitesurfing, windsurfing, parasailing, rafting, jet-skiing, water-skiing, boating, kayaking, canoeing, and wildlife watching.

This beach is ideal for surfers and the water here offers a fun Stinson Beach surfing experience – the best time for surfing here is during winter and spring.  You can check the online Stinson Beach surf report to check the seasonal patterns of the surfing waves here.  In addition to surfing, the beach is also ideal for rafters and bodyboarders in summers.  This beach is also ideal for windsurfers, particularly during afternoons when north-westerly winds are blowing. 

If you are planning to swim, kayak, canoe, or paddleboard here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and particularly dangerous waves.  In addition, shark attacks have also been reported near this beach.

If you like beachcombing, we recommend visiting this beach in the morning during low tides in winters because you can find many kinds of shells here.  If you like hiking, there are multiple hiking trails nearby that offer a fun nearby Stinson Beach hike, along a unique way to explore the rugged coastal North California landscape.  If you like taking pictures with excellent views, Stinson Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Northern California shoreline and the Pacific Ocean, particularly during sunset.  

Stinson Beach is ideal for visitors looking for a quieter beach experience in winters because this beach sees fewer visitors during these times.

Stinson Beach has many disabled-friendly features for visitors with disabilities including a disabled-friendly boardwalk, and disabled-friendly benches, restrooms, and picnic areas – most of the disabled-friendly features of this beach are located near its northern and central portions.  In addition, this beach also offers beach wheelchairs for visitors with disabilities – if you want a beach wheelchair, you can visit the National Park Service’s website for more information on getting a beach wheelchair. 

Getting to Stinson Beach is easy – this beach is located near 3514 Shoreline Highway and there are multiple free parking lots nearby. 

 We recommend being careful while driving to the beach because the road to this beach can be winding and foggy.  We also recommend visiting this beach early during summers because the parking lot here fills up quickly in summers. 

We recommend consulting a Stinson Beach tide chart before visiting this beach because some narrow portions of this beach can get waterlogged during high Stinson Beach tides.  It is also important to note that the Stinson Beach weather can be unpredictable and this beach can also get foggy even during summers.

The beach and the town of Stinson Beach are named after a local landowner named Nathan H. Stinson, who purchased the land around this beach in 1866.  The area near this beach hosts many fun activities including Stinson Beach Arts and Crafts Fair, an annual event named “Cuisine on the Green" that is held in a nearby park, and the Stinson Beach Documentary Film Festival.

There are many attractions near Stinson Beach.  Muir Beach Overlook is a clifftop observation area that offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the rugged northern California shoreline and the Pacific Ocean.  Mount Tamalpais State Park is a state park that has a 2,571-feet tall mountain named Mount Tamalpais and it also offers many fun activities including hiking, biking, camping, wildlife watching, and picnicking – this state park offers a unique insight into local biodiversity and it also has an amphitheater.  Bolinas Museum offers interesting exhibits highlighting the unique history of the community of Bolinas and Marin County.  Duxbury Reef is a coastal area that is located near a beach park named Agate Beach County Park and this coastal area offers many interesting tide pools – these tidepools are home to a large variety of plant and animal species including many kinds of seaweed, chitons, and sea urchins.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Muir Woods National Monument is a 554-acre national monument that is a 22-minute drive away and it has 240 acres of redwood forests – you can see many kinds of animals here including woodpeckers, squirrels, deer, skunks, and otters.  This national monument offers a memorable way to explore the rugged Northern Californian landscape and local biodiversity.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Stinson Beach.  Parkside Cafe offers many amazing dishes for lunch and dinner including steaks, seafood, salads, flatbread, and roast chicken.  Coast Cafe offers excellent seafood, sandwiches, and burgers.  Smiley’s Schooner Saloon Hotel & Kitchen offers excellent coastal cuisine that is infused with Hispanic influences.  Breakers Cafe offers many amazing dishes for breakfast and lunch including burgers, sandwiches, wraps, soups, tacos, seafood, and chicken dishes.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, the Parkside Snack Bar offers many amazing dishes including burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, and seafood dishes. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Stinson Beach, there are many great nearby moderately priced and modestly-priced options.  The 3-Star Mountain Home Inn offers many amenities including a bar, a restaurant, a terrace, and massage services.  Another moderately priced hotel is the 3-Star West Point Inn that offers amazing views of the Marin Headlands and the surrounding North Californian landscape.  The ELEVEN Bread & Breakfast at 11 Wharf Road is conveniently located close to some of the major landmarks in the nearby town of Bolinas and it also has a restaurant.  Another moderately priced hotel is Smiley’s Schooner Saloon, Hotel & Kitchen that is an adults-only accommodation with an old-world charm and features a saloon-style bar with a pool table, live music, and karaoke nights.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, The Stinson Beach Redwood Haus Inn (also called Redwood Haus Bed & Breakfast Inn) offers many amenities including a complimentary breakfast, barbeque facilities, pianos, guitars, a DVD library, and a lobby with a large flatscreen TV.  Another great hotel near the beach is Sandpiper Lodging Stinson Beach – also sometimes unofficially called Sandpiper Lodge Stinson Beach – that offers many amenities including a garden with a barbecue, a picnic table, outdoor sitting area, and a shower.