Living in Marin County

I grew up in Marin, and I’ve raised my own family here. These guides are the things I tell friends who are thinking about making the move: where to sail, where to ride, which clubs have waitlists, where to eat, and what the numbers say about life here.

Guide	What’s inside
Why Live in Marin?	Home values, health, open space, homelessness and more, with sources
On the Water	Yacht clubs, marinas, sailing, wing foiling, kayaking and paddleboarding
Marin Clubs Guide	Tennis, swim, golf and fitness clubs, with waitlists and initiation fees
Hiking, Biking, Beaches & Surfing	Mt. Tam, Muir Woods, Point Reyes, road rides, mountain biking and the coast
Food & Drink	MICHELIN-listed restaurants, oysters, breweries and farmers markets
Wine Country Weekends	How close Napa, Sonoma and Healdsburg really are
Marin Events & Traditions	A month-by-month calendar of every town’s traditions, Fourth of July by town, and farmers markets by day
Nightlife & Live Music	Sweetwater and Mill Valley nights, Fairfax music, classic dive bars and the new cocktail spots
Marin Microclimates	Fog belt or sun belt: town-by-town weather and what it means for the house you buy
Private Schools	Marin’s independent and Catholic schools, tuition and the admissions calendar
Summer Camps for Kids	Kids’ camps across Marin, from mountain biking to Shakespeare
Giving Back in Marin	Where our family volunteers, and how new families can get involved
Marin Town Guides	Schools, commute and prices for every town

Marin County at a glance

Marin is the county just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. Almost 85 percent of its land is protected from development through open space purchases, federal parkland, watershed lands and strict agricultural zoning, according to Visit Marin. That is the single biggest reason life here feels the way it does. Our towns are real towns, separated by ridges and open space, not one continuous suburb.

• Open space everywhere. More than 150 miles of trails and fire roads in the Mt. Tam watershed alone, and more than 70,000 acres of Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast. See my outdoors guide.
• Life on the water. Sailing out of Belvedere and Tiburon, more than 400 houseboats along Richardson Bay, and wing foilers off Paradise Cay on summer afternoons. See on the water.
• An easy ferry into the city. About 30 minutes from Tiburon and 35 from Larkspur to the San Francisco Ferry Building.
• Wine country next door. Sonoma is about 40 minutes from San Rafael without traffic, and northern Marin is part of the Petaluma Gap wine appellation. See wine country weekends.
• Strong public schools. Niche ranked Redwood High #1 and Tamalpais High #2 among Marin public high schools for 2026. See my high school comparison.

What surprises people after they move here

I’ve helped a lot of people make the move from the city, and the same things come up again and again in the first year.

• The weather changes by the mile. A Mill Valley canyon can sit in fog while San Anselmo and Novato are sunny and warm. I tell buyers to visit a house at 8 a.m. and again at 4 p.m. before they decide.
• The trailhead really is at the end of the street. In San Anselmo, Fairfax and Mill Valley, many neighborhoods climb right into open space.
• The best clubs have waitlists. The Mill Valley Tennis Club lists a 6+ year tennis waitlist, and the Tiburon Peninsula Club is open only to residents of Tiburon, Belvedere and Strawberry. My clubs guide has the details.
• Southbound 101 at rush hour is real. Plan on heavy traffic toward the bridge from roughly 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. That is why so many people fall in love with the ferry.
• Small downtowns matter. Larkspur’s Magnolia Avenue is a National Register historic district, and the Mill Valley square, downtown Sausalito and Tiburon’s Main Street each have their own character.
• Wine country becomes a habit. Being on the right side of the bridge turns Sonoma into an easy Saturday.

If you are still choosing where to live, start with why Marin, then the town guides and my side-by-side town comparisons. If you already know what kind of life you want, jump straight to the guide above that fits.

Frequently asked questions

Is Marin County a good place to live?

For a lot of people, yes. Almost 85 percent of the county is protected open space or farmland, Niche ranks Redwood and Tamalpais as the top two public high schools in the county, and San Francisco is a short ferry ride or drive away. The trade-offs are cost, the 101 commute at rush hour, and insurance for homes near open space or the Bay.

What is the weather like in Marin County?

It depends on where you are. Southern Marin, especially the canyons of Mill Valley and Sausalito, gets more summer fog. Central and northern Marin, like San Anselmo, San Rafael and Novato, tend to be sunnier and warmer. Visiting a neighborhood at different times of day is the best way to know.

How far is Marin County from San Francisco?

Sausalito is the first town north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and Mill Valley is about 20 minutes from the bridge outside rush hour. The ferry from Tiburon reaches the Ferry Building in about 30 minutes. Novato, the northernmost city, is about 29 miles from San Francisco.

Sources

• Visit Marin: The Bay and protected open space

Want the local’s tour?

Send me a note through my contact form. I love showing people around.