Phoenix Lake in Ross is one of my favorite places to hike and has become part of my regular…read moreroutine. It's easy to get to, and if you arrive before 9:30 am, you usually have a good chance of finding a parking spot. Even if the lot is full, it's worth waiting a few minutes because spaces often open up as hikers finish their walks. My friends and I love hiking here, and we also enjoy mountain biking on the trails from time to time. The trails are well maintained, the scenery is beautiful, and the peaceful atmosphere makes every visit enjoyable. During the week, it's especially quiet, making it the perfect place to relax, get some exercise, and enjoy nature. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful outdoor destination in Marin. I highly recommend Phoenix Lake to anyone looking for a peaceful hike with stunning surroundings.

I've loved coming to Phoenix Lake since I moved to Marin in the 70's…read more I used to ride my bike from my house in San Rafael hitch up my bike when I got to the lake and then do a run around the lake and then ride my bike home. Trust me, I only hike it now! Today I added in a few new to me trails including the Yolanda Trail, 5 Corners & Shaver Grade. A mix of open exposed trails to a gorgeous canopy of redwoods & terrific views of Mt. Tam

3/21/2026 On the way back from Cataract Falls Trail in Fairfax, CA, we decided to stop by the…read moreCascade Falls we visited last year with no water, all dried up. Since the Cataract Falls had water this time, we believed Cascade would too. It wasn't far from Cataract Falls, but if we drove from the East bay it would take more than an hour through 880 north 80 - 580 - Fairfax downtown. The hardest part of the trail is to find the parking space on the road to the trail. All along the street has no parking signs, we had to park almost a mile from the gate of the trail park. The hike is about 1.5 miles and uphill but not too hard. There are 2 trails to get to the Falls, on the way to the fall we used the right trail, on the way back, we used the left trail. The left trail is easier, wider than the right trail, both are on either side of the creek. This time, the water is there, very nice, although not many people there due to parking we guess. Anyhow, it's a quest that's successfully achieved for us. We had lunch at the top of the falls, all by ourselves which was nice. The next one will be Burney Falls. https://youtu.be/eHk-oivo32w

Serenity now! Get ready for a great hike, a wonderful workout with such an incredible nature view…read moreof magnificent trees, rocks, water, ferns, birds, clean air, etc etc Cascade Fall trail is near Mill Valley, California. There are several paths from easily to moderately challenging route, it takes an average of 30 min to complete. This is absolutely my favorite trail for solitude, mindfulness. birding, hiking, and walking, Parking is a bit tough but if you can get there early, you can easily find a spot. The trail is open year-round and is beautiful to visit anytime. Dogs are welcome, but must be on a leash. Enjoy!

This is a great neighborhood park and open area in the downtown part of Ross. We often encounter…read morefriendly people and dogs while here. Plenty of parking along the street, and sidewalk that runs along the roadside, or more paths interior to the park and rec buildings. There's also a sports park on one end. Our pup loves to walk here, as there's a good amount of shade, plenty of big trees to sniff the bases of, and plenty of cool, green grass to lie in after our walk.

I've been here a handful of times. From here I start my journey into a most magical walk up a…read moreslight grade, past the country club, and to the lake. It's a joy to come and it's always relaxing and a great workout too! Real estate here is breathtaking.

Carson Falls are epic! Carson Falls drops about 80 feet…read more along Carson Creek. In the winter after storms: totally amazing! The creek swells and the falls roar. You don't just see it, you feel it in your mind and heart! I love the power of water falls! In the summer, the water falls are quiet, delicate, still stunning. Your peaceful serenity moment with zero crowds makes your heart melt with smiles. Bring your lunch. Or a book. Or just simply enjoy the magic of living! It's about 3 miles round trip. 2 hours. Steady but happy climb, totally doable! The kind of "easy enough for any day of the week, rewarding enough to brag about hike. Chase this one right after a huge storm must be spectacular! Trust me. You'll see why Marin locals try to keep it quiet. Who's adding this to their hiking list?

This is a case where the journey is more important than the destination…read more Carson Falls is located in a remote part of Marin County. When I was into mountain biking, I read a book about the biking trails in Marin. On a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the toughest, the Pine Mountain area is a 6! Pine Mountain Road is not only remote, it's rocky. If you get in trouble out here, you're REALLY in trouble. I'll stick to hiking, thankyouverymush. First stop: Carson Falls. I went in March, there had already been a few showers that year, so I wasn't worried about the lack of water. I was spectacularly underwhelmed. I think the falls are around 25 feet tall, and it wouldn't take much for the creek to run out of water. The rock where you can gaze at the falls while eating lunch is nice, and the immediate area is home to an endangered yellow-legged frog. Oh well, so much for this destination. The journey - the acreage surrounding the falls - truly is spectacular. Especially in Spring, when the grass is still green. Forests alternating with low manzanita. The last quarter mile before Carson Falls is deep redwoods. Views of canyons, ridgelines, the Meadow Club Golf Course, both Alpine and Kent Lakes, and Marin suburbia in the distance. You can even see Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tam in the same shot. I made it up to Pine Mountain, which requires bushwhacking to get to the actual summit, and found two mysterious rockwalls hidden among the manzanita. If camping was allowed here, there are plenty of nice backpacking spots, but this is an area for storage of Marin drinking water so camping is out. The Carson Falls and Pine Mountain area is really nice if you're looking for a different outdoors jaunt. It's not undiscovered by any means, but it does offer an experience that's different from most in Marin County - or the entire Bay Area, for that matter.

This review is for the MTB trails on Camp Tamarancho, not the camp itself…read more It's a very challenging trail and I love it out there. Lots of bikers and not too many hikers. Beautiful scenery and mixed terrain. A lot of good people are putting in lots of hours to make this trail what it is. Especially for the Endor Flow Trail, which is awesome! Tips: - This is an intermediate/advanced trail. If you are a newbie, you'll probably have more fun at China Camp (which is also awesome). - You have to park in Fairfax and ride up. Don't try driving up the hill... it doesn't work. You can park in the neighborhood near scenic. I really like parking at Deer Park or further away and riding a bit before starting to climb, but that's just me. - Most people go in the clockwise direction. I recommend that! - Try the flow trail! Just remember to put your seat down. - Don't forget your pass. You can pick one up online or at the bike shops in Fairfax. - Be safe! I want to give it five stars, but I think I should leave that for Downieville, Northstar, Moab, Whistler, etc... when I make it to those places (eventually).

I can't say anything about the camp itself but I can say the surrounding trails are just gorgeous…read moreand the Mountain biking is awesome One of the joys in life is my daily hikes up there and we are very fortunate in Fairfax do you have AJ as the Ranger

I've always been a fan of the outdoors. But within about the last year or so, I've become a real…read moreenthusiast of the outdoors. Over that time, my favored outdoor activity has evolved from hiking to trail running. It's a matter of conditioning. It's not the trails, it's me. I cut weight, got more wind & now love the sensation running through all that beauty & splendor that is Nature. & there's a whole lot of that in Marin. In my ever-expanding quest to run the beautiful Earth, I found Yolanda Trail as a way to reach Phoenix Lake from San Anselmo. The point A was a bit out of necessity. Downtown San Anselmo has charging stations for my EV. The point B was a product of time & morbid curiosity. I hadn't been out to Phoenix Lake in a while & had read online that it was badly depleted due to our historic drought. Might as well go for a run to check it out. Going this route meant taking Oak Ave., a steeply-inclined residential road that eventually led to a gate & private community beyond. At this point, cars are a no-go but hikers, runners & bikers are OK. So long as you don't act like a total A-hole on someone else's street. Oak Ave. ends at Worn Springs Road & then the trail begins right across. Be ready for the Sun & have enough fluids. From this point to Lake Phoenix, there's partial shade in places but there's a lot of exposure to wide open sunshine too. The trail itself is mostly narrow but not technical. I ran it in regular street running shoes (rather than hiking boots or trail running shoes) & did just fine. There are decent inclines/ declines, but nothing too challenging for hiking & moderately challenging for trail running. From Worn Springs Road, the scenery stays interesting by constantly changing from valley vistas to hillside views to spread out tree canopy. Apparently, Yolanda Trail may also be a lesser-known route to Phoenix Lake as I didn't come across many other folks. All the way, out & back, from where I parked the car was almost 8 miles. From Worn Springs Road to Phoenix Lake & back was about 1/2 that. It was a beautiful day. It felt great to be outside. It was a solid workout. Yolanda Trail is a nice addition to my ever-expanding catalog of ways to run the Earth.

Best place to rent any water sport/ boating !! We had the most amazing time at Berryessa simply…read morebecause of this team! They fill up the gas for you (only place around that doesn't charge you for gas) and if you run low while you're out on the water they come fill you up. I want to especially shout out Tessa and Jennifer in the front. We ended up changing our reservation and they were so accommodating and helpful. Jeremy and John/Jessie made me feel so comfortable with all of my questions and really cared about my family and so being safe and comfortable. Will use them next time we come out!!!

Extremely disappointed with this rental company. The customer service was unprofessional and they…read morehad no idea how to deal with customers respectfully. The tube they gave us was already torn before we even used it. As soon as we got on it, it ripped completely, even though we used it normally. Instead of taking responsibility for giving us damaged equipment, they blamed us and tried to charge us for it. They first demanded $230, and only after we argued with them did they suddenly lower the charge to $170, which makes no sense if we were actually responsible. I would not recommend renting from this place. Poor customer service, damaged equipment, and unfair charges. Save your money and go somewhere else.

Had a wonderful experience kayaking around the Fagan marsh with friends on a warm summer weekend…read more Booking was straightforward, Drew was very pleasant to coordinate with and had everything we needed to enjoy our hour and a half on the water. Looking forward to coming back to NVP for the bioluminescent tour.

We met Tanya downtown at the river walk and she set us up with a Fagan Marsh kayak trip the next…read moreday. Loved talking with Drew beforehand, learning about wetland restoration efforts and how quickly nature can rebound. The slough was peaceful and sparkling on this sunny October afternoon. We observed cranes and fish nibbling at surface snacks. In the distance, you can see Mount Tam and a bit closer--the Brazos railroad bridge. While there is much to see and do in Napa, this experience at the end of our trip was a definite highlight.

Secret Trail! This…read moreis one of my favorite areas for mountain biking. All of the lakes are are incredibly beautiful. You should know, however, that the parking is a real problem at Greene Park.. Even if you get there at 7 a.m. there are only a few spots left. Today, when I arrived promptly at 7 am, there were only two spots left. They were gone in a few minutes. The Coffin families have a great history in this area. If you get a chance you can research. It's a very interesting story. I recently discovered something unique about the Watershed. There is a secret way from this Watershed into the Cascade waterfall! Here's the secret way--please don't tell anyone else. Up above Concrete Pipe path, you can access Pine Mountain Tunnel Road. From there, there's a secret path--completely legal, to go to the Cascade Falls. There's one hitch however. You can't take your bike through Carey Camp Trail. You have to leave it there and hike in to go see the waterfall. Plan on an hour round-trip.

Great place to come on a bright sunny day. The parking lot is small but it didn't take long to find…read morea spot. Most of the hike is pretty exposed so if you are looking for a more shaded hike this is not the one. Still it's a great beginners hike made even more enjoyable by the lake which you can follow the trails around. The views are beautiful but as Janell mentioned, not so many high elevation views.

Natalie Coffin Greene Park is a quiet, scenic gem that's perfect for a peaceful walk or a bit of…read moremountain biking. There's a small parking lot near the entrance and a few paths that lead you right into the park. The shaded trails make it a pleasant stroll and it was surprisingly uncrowded even on a weekend, which made for a very relaxed visit. The area is clean and has a calm, natural beauty. Definitely a lowkey scenic spot worth checking out. Just a heads-up: some of the trails aren't very well maintained and a few of the small cross bridges have been removed, so watch your step. Still, it's a lovely place to unwind and enjoy some nature away from the crowds.

This was our first time at this particular park and we wanted to check out Phone Lake lake! We were…read moreactually out there rose garden nearby and I looked up on yelp what other good walks or trails were nearby and everyone kept boasting about Phoenix lake! Come early or prepared yourself to wait for someone to finish the hike which is about 20 minutes maybe 45 if you have a dog that wants to sniff everything along the way. Lol there's only about 20 parking spaces and the next area you can park in is a good mile away! Lol , unless you want a longer walk, be prepared to wait and politely turn off your car so you are not admitting aerosol into the park. There's actually a sign that says this which I've actually never thought of but I think it's cute and very quaint of them to add that particular sign. There are two trails you can go on a road road, our dog started off on the high road probably because horses can go on that road and my puppies liked the smell! Lol we ventured out towards the lake. My dogs got tired and we had to loop back. So sadly, we didn't get out to the lake this particular time, but we have to go earlier in the morning next time. There's also bathrooms that are regular bathrooms as well as a couple of benches in a waiting area along the way perhaps it's like a little cabin outdoor area picnic benches, but it looks like the park is used for something with a bigger group of people. We started our walk around 2 PM and this was our 6 mile walk for the day so I'm pretty sure they were tired. Since we have working dogs, they like to walk a lot but sometimes they get lazy. I was also very impressed with all the foliage coverage and the fact it was 2 o'clock in the afternoon and we weren't getting sunburned!! so I was very excited for that especially since our huskies have their own winter coats! Lol we will definitely come back here again to check out Phoenix lake and walk all the way out but probably first thing in the morning so we can get all the way there and back!