Local Sights

Visitor Center

Down the road from the Marin Headlands Hostel is the Marin Headlands Visitor Center, housed in the old Fort Barry chapel. The center provides information on the Headlands' flora and fauna, its Native American history, and the numerous nonprofit organizations located in the park. Visitor Center staff can recommend hiking trails and other nearby attractions. Maps, guidebooks, postcards, and other items are available for sale.

The Visitor Center is open daily, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Guests visit the Marin Headlands to experience the beauty of the surrounding national park, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Hiking is a popular activity, and miles of trails wind through the Marin Headlands, from forested mountains to crashing surf. The hostel is also a convenient base for exploring nearby Mount Tamalpais State Park and Muir Woods National Monument.

Free trail maps are available at the hostel's front desk. Recommended excursions include the short 15-minute hike from the Visitor Center, along the south shore of the lagoon and out to the beach, and for bird watchers, the trail near Hawk Hill, which is a prime spot for observation.

Attractions

Point Bonita Lighthouse

Join a docent-led tour of the nearby Point Bonita Lighthouse and learn about famous shipwrecks and the difficult life of its keepers. Point Bonita began operating in 1855 with a second-order lens that reaches 18 miles across the water--the most powerful in San Francisco Bay.

Tours are available on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, 12:30-3:30 p.m.

Nike Missile Site

During the tense years from 1953 to 1979, the United States Army built and operated a total of 280 Nike missile firing batteries in the United States, emplaced as the last line of defense against Soviet bombers. Today, site SF-88 in the Marin Headlands has been turned into a museum, and is the only restored Nike Missile Site in the country.

Visit SF-88 and see the tools of the Cold War up close. The site is open Wednesday through Friday (plus the first Sunday of the month), 12:30 - 3:30 p.m., with guided walks beginning every half-hour.

Youth programs

Tailored programming is available to youth and student groups, from outdoor wilderness adventures to intercultural activities like World Travel 101, Cultural Kitchen, the Community Walls mural project, and Girl Scouts badge work. For details, please see the Programs section of the Golden Gate Council website.