Daily: 7:00 a.m. to Sunset, year round.
Mount Tamalpais State Park
This park unit is partially open. Please take the time to read the information contained on this webpage to find out what is open and closed, and what COVID-19 guidelines are in place. - (August 20, 2021)
What is open now?
- Parking Lots
- Trails
- Kiosk
- Bootjack and Pantoll campgrounds
- Steep Ravine Cabins
- Group camping
- Gravity Car Barn
What is currently closed?
- East Peak Visitors Center
COVID-19 Guidelines - (February 16, 2022)
Recreate Responsibly
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:
Recreate Responsibly
Protect yourself, family, friends and your community by following these prevention measures:
- Know Before You Go – Prior to leaving home, check the status of the park unit you want to visit to find out what restrictions and guidelines are in place. Have a back-up plan in case your destination is crowded. Stay home if you are sick
- Plan Ahead – Some restrooms will be temporarily closed to keep up with cleaning schedules. Bring soap/hand sanitizer.
- Play It Safe – Find out what precautions you should take when exploring the outdoors, especially if this is your first time visiting the State Park System. Learn more at parks.ca.gov/SafetyTips.
- Be COVID-19 Safe – State Parks continues to meet guidance from local and state public officials as COVID-19 is still present and still deadly. Effective March 1, 2022, state guidance recommends that all individuals, regardless of vaccine status, continue masking in indoor settings, such as museums and visitor centers. Universal masking remains required in specified high-risk settings. Please plan ahead as local county guidelines may differ from state guidance and visitors are urged to follow county guidelines when required. Read the latest COVID-19 guidance at COVID19.ca.gov.
- Leave No Trace – Leave areas better than how you found them by staying on designated trails and packing out all trash. Do not disturb wildlife or plants.
Phone Number
(415) 388-2070
Park Hours
Dogs Allowed?
Yes
Dogs allowed only in developed areas. Dogs not allowed in the following areas: trails, dirt roads, and backcountry areas.
Driving Directions to Mount Tamalpais State Park
The park is located North of San Francisco's Golden Gate. From Highway 101 take Highway 1 to the Stinson Beach exit and follow signs up the mountain. See Park Brochure Map for other entrances.Visitors will be able to reserve campsites and lodging six months in advance from the current date. Bookings may extend from the arrival date to the desired departure date – based on availability and the park’s maximum stay rules.
Upcoming Park Events
OVERNIGHT FACILITIES
Environmental Campsites
Family Campsites
Group Campsites
Hike or Bike Campsites
Alternative Camping
Environmental Campsites
Family Campsites
Group Campsites
Hike or Bike Campsites
Alternative Camping
TRAIL USE
Hiking Trails
Horseback Riding
Hiking Trails
Horseback Riding
DAY-USE ACTIVITIES & FACILITIES
Historical/Cultural Site
Picnic Areas
Env. Learning/Visitor Center
Exhibits and Programs
Fishing
Guided Tours
Interpretive Exhibits
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
Beach Area
Swimming
Vista Point
Nature & Wildlife Viewing
Windsurfing/Surfing
Museums
Family Programs
Geocaching
Historical/Cultural Site
Picnic Areas
Env. Learning/Visitor Center
Exhibits and Programs
Fishing
Guided Tours
Interpretive Exhibits
Scuba Diving/Snorkeling
Beach Area
Swimming
Vista Point
Nature & Wildlife Viewing
Windsurfing/Surfing
Museums
Family Programs
Geocaching
OTHER FACILITIES & VISITOR INFORMATION
Parking
Restrooms
Drinking Water Available
Parking
Restrooms
Drinking Water Available
Welcome to Mount Tamalpais State Park
Just makin up poems in my head as I climb toward Mount Tamalpais.
See up there, as beautiful a mountain as you’ll see anywhere in the world,
a beautiful shape to it, I really love Tamalpais.
– The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac
Tri-County Partnership to Create a Cleaner Coast
MARIN, SONOMA AND MENDOCINO COUNTY PARTNER TO CREATE A CLEANER COAST Teaching Leave No Trace Practices to Growing Visitor Audiences in Coastal Communities. Learn more by reading the Tri-County Partnership Press Release (6/15/2022).
Just north of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais State Park rises majestically from the heart of Marin County. Its deep canyons and sweeping hillsides are cloaked with cool redwood forests, oak woodlands, open grasslands, and sturdy chaparral.
The breathtaking vistas from Mount Tamalpais’s upper mountain include the Farallon Islands 25 miles out to sea, the Marin County hills, San Francisco Bay and City, the East Bay, and Mount Diablo. On rare occasions, the snow-covered Sierra Nevada Mountain Range can be seen 150 miles away.
The park offers superlative hiking, picnicking, wildlife watching. Up top, on most weekends volunteers at the East Peak Visitor Center provide information, sell merchandise and snacks. Volunteers at the nearby Gravity Car Barn relate the stories of the old Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway. A couple of miles below, a beautiful outdoor theatre, the Mountain Theater, hosts outdoor plays and astronomy programs.
First-come/first-serve camping is available at Pantoll or Bootjack Campgrouds. Visitors can also reserve a group campsite at Alice Eastwood Group Camp or a rustic cabin or seaside campsite at the Steep Ravine Cabins and Environmental Campground thorugh our agency Reserve California.
Arrive early to avoid heavy weekend and holiday traffic. Better yet, take the West Marin Stage Coach.
Weather
Spring and summer temperatures are warm, with average highs in the 80s and 90s. Fall and winter can be cool, with temperatures in the 50s. Fog is common.
Important Rules
DRONES are prohibited at Mount Tamalpais State Park per Superintendent's Order 22-660-002.
Mushroom collecting is not allowed at Mount Tamalpais State Park. All natural and cultural park resources (rocks, flowers, wood, animals) are protected by law and must not be disturbed or removed.
Dogs (except for service animals) are ONLY allowed on paved roads, Old Stage Fire Rd, Verna Dunshee Trail, in developed areas, campgrounds, and picnic areas. Pets must remain on leash at all times.
Bicycles are allowed only on fire roads and Coast View Trail.
Be alert for: poison oak, rattlesnakes, mountain lions, and ticks.
Smoking, camping and fires are never permitted in the upper mountain. If not under red flag alert, fires are permitted on the lower mountain only in provided firepits.
Horses are allowed only on fire roads and where specifically posted.
Camping in vehicles is PROHIBITED in all parking lots.
Accessibility
Some of the park’s wheelchair-accessible features include:
- The accessible 0.75-mile-long Verna Dunshee Trail at East Peak has fantastic views. Accessible tables, restrooms and drinking fountains are nearby. :
- Spectacular vistas may also be seen from an accessible 0.4-mile portion of the Old Mine Trail from Pantoll Station.
- Pantoll and Bootjack campgrounds each have accessible camping, restrooms and parking.
- Cabin #1 and environmental campsite #7 at Steep Ravine are accessible.
- The Mountain Theater has a wheelchair platform on the right side of the theater. The Mountain Play Association offers signed performances and descriptive services during the first three play performances each season. For more information, call the Mountain Play Association at 415-383-1100.
Visitors with disabilities who need assistance can contact the Pantoll Visitor Services Kiosk at 415-388-2070 before their trip.
Special Event Permits
To organize weddings, athletic events, large gatherings, or other special events, please contact: dkopler@parks.ca.gov.
Trail Updates
DEER PARK FIRE ROAD
Beginning August 15, 2022 and until further notice, parks staff will be continuing repairs and maintenance on Deer Park Fire Road. The road WILL NOT BE CLOSED but heavy equipment and trucks will be present on the road while work takes place. Work will take place only on weekdays.
This is a continued effort from 2020, and will consist of maintenance to the road that has been damaged by wet condition usage and natural displacement over time.
REDWOOD CREEK TRAIL OPEN
The 80 foot bridge that connected the Miwok junction to Frank Valley Road (towards Muir Woods) HAS BEEN REPLACED and the Redwood Creek Trail is now OPEN entirely to hikers! The trail is still closed to equestrians between Santos Meadows and Miwok Trail Junction. BIKERS can NOT use any section of the trail.
LOWER FERN CREEK TRAIL
The section of the Lower Fern Creek Trail between Plevin Cut and Lost Trail is CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE due to hazardous conditions. Please see map below. If you have questions regarding the trail closure, please contact the Pantoll Kiosk at (415) 388-2070.
