The Lovell Loop is well known among Mill Valley residents for walking your dog, going on a run or…read morejust just going on a really relaxing walk. I live nearby and I have two dogs so "doing the loop" is a multi-weekly routine that I get never tired of. (Note: you'll be walking on a one-lane asphalted road for most of this loop.) As it is a loop, there's no definite start or end point but if you're in downtown Mill Valley, I suggest you start at the fire station...because right across from it is wether Lovell Avenue begins. You then stay on Lovell Avenue for a very long time. There's gonna be a pretty steep ascend after a while and you're gonna be climbing for some time. But trust me, it's all worth it, as you're soon gonna be rewarded with views over the canyon. When you get to house numbers 300-400 you will notice that the road starts to level out and basically from here on you'll be gently meandering through the canyon. (It's so peaceful...especially in the early weekend mornings or evenings.) When you have reached 800 Lovell Loop you have the choice to go for a shortcut: down the Cascade Canyon along the waterfall. But I suggest you continue on Lovell until it intersects with Cascade Drive at 1002 Lovell Ave. (Here is where the infamous Zig Zag trail starts, which will bring you up to the Mountain Home Inn on a super-steep climb.) But in order to complete the Lovell Loop, you walk down Cascade Drive... Soon you will come to the intersection of the Tenderfoot Trail, which is well-known amongst mountain bikers as one of the first-ever established technical trails. This also will bring you up to the Mountain Home Inn...on a much more gently pace than the Zig Zag trail though. But again, the Lovell Loop continues slightly downhill along the Miller Creek. Especially in the spring after all the rain, this is a pretty intense little river! Soon you will come to the parking lot for the Cascade Falls. And this is where you would've come out, if you'd taken the shortcut earlier. (It's actually only a couple minutes walk to the waterfall, so you might as well check it out now.) Now you have several options to continue your walk. If you have somewhat good shoes, I suggest to take the "Three Wells Trail", which starts kitty corner from the parking lot at Cascade Falls (you'll see a little foot bridge crossing the creek). Walk along this trail and you'll eventually join up with Cascade Drive again. If you're on high-heels, I suggest you continue on Cascade Drive. Note: after a short while you will come to an intersection with Throckmorton Avenue - I suggest taking the right pathetic and continuing on Cascade Drive. At the bottom of the hill, when you're crossing a small bridge, is where the "Three Wells Trail" merges again. Now you continue on Cascade Drive all the way to Old Mill Park. The road winds along the creek and you will see some pretty spectacular houses here. (Local gossip says that Tyler Florence used to live in the bungalow-style house where Marion & Cascade intersect.) Once you've reached Old Mill Park, join the main road, which is Throckmorton, and you will soon be in downtown Mill Valley again. I suggest a pit-stop at Beerworks, where they not only serve delicious home-brewed beers, but their food is also amongst the best in Marin. Cheers!

Scout Hall started out as a SALOON. In the early 1900's the building was outside the quarter-mile…read more"dry zone." It was in a local area known as "Jagtown." (Jagged = Intoxicated) At that time Mill Valley was a VERY DRY town. East Blithedale, outside the dry zone, was lined with bars called "blind piggeries." McGunnis Tavern (?), now known as Scout Hall, was just one of these very unsavory places of business. After the Saloon closed, the building saw duty as a house, a stable and finally a laundry. Around 1920 it was purchased, set-up as a non-profit corporation and became Scout Hall, Inc. Although not affiliated with the "Scouts," the non-profit organization designated the building for the benefit of local youth programs. In 1929 this grand old building saw double duty as a shelter for Mill Valley residents who were displaced by the great fire that nearly destroyed the entire little village of Mill Valley. Today the Grand Old Lady has served her community in many ways and is now in dire need of renovation - once again she needs a face lift. There is a capital campaign afoot in Mill Valley to raise the $$ needed to bring this lovely lady back to her former beauty. If you remember the saloon (if you do you are dang old) If you lived in it when it was a house (still dang old) If you stabled you horse here (probably dead by now) If your clothes were laundered here (probably have new ones by now) If you found shelter here with your family during the fire (lucky you) Then dig down in those jeans and help this lady spruce up. And, if you, your kids or grandkids have been lucky enough to have this building for Scout or other youth events, then you need to dig even deeper down in those pockets and come up with some cold hard cash. Full circle Mill Valley folks. She's always been there for You. Be there for Her now. www.scouthall.org

The library is great, but someone threatened to stab by dog with his keys as we were leaving. It's…read moreshockingly disgusting. I visited on Saturday, November 9th, as our friend was using restroom in the library(she lives in Mill Valley, so she knows the area). We patiently waited outside as passerbies walked by to pet my dog and compliment her. My dog is a 10 year old German Shepherd, and she has been trained extensively since 1 year old, and because of this, she doesn't approach people unless we give her the command to. We understand that if people are scared of her breed, they just have to tell us, and we're happy to give them space. After all, she's a really well-behaved and gentle dog. She has been attacked by countless other dogs(now almost a a human), but she has never attacked any other dog or human. We've worked hard with lots of training to make sure she's doesn't become reactive from all the sudden attacks. So, it's shocking when a grown man threatens to stab your dog with his key! He had kids, too. What a terrible example for his kids. This is what happened: Our friend returned from the restroom, and we started walking down towards downtown. We chatted as we walked and noticed a family behind us, walking on the sidewalk. We moved to the side to let them pass. Unknowingly, the little girl is scared of dogs. With the narrow sidewalk, we tried to move aside, but there was limited room. Instead of speaking to us or asking for more space. The man brought out his key and moved it towards my dog in a threatening manner. Hovering the sharp end of the key 1 inch from my dog. We were so shocked that we didn't have time to react! We wished he would've asked for space instead of threatening us! The only reason we knew anything was because the little girl said, "I'm scared of dogs." With the man's key so close to my dog, we couldn't even give them space! Unfortunately, the description isn't very helpful. It was a middle-aged man, about late 40s. A young boy and girl. Kindergarten age. With a black mid size SUV(like a Toyota Rav4 size). They were leaving the library around 1 pm. The thing is, it's a rather dog friendly town. My friend has two dogs. We met many other dogs, but to think, someone who lives here and is raising his kids here would do that! So, if you bring your dog here... Just know someone might try to stand your dog.

They say it takes a village... and I must say, Mill Valley is sure one helluva village…read more Like all towns across the state and country, the Corona Virus has taken its toll on people's lives and livelihoods. So it was really heartwarming to see Mill Valley biz owners and residents work together to close off the town square for weekend outdoor dining & entertainment. Every Friday - Sunday this summer, folks can eat al fresco at their favorite downtown establishments (Piazza D'Angelo, Gravity Tavern, Urban Remedy, etc.). They closed off Miller Street from 5pm - 9pm and set up outdoor tables six feet apart from one another & heat lamps. They even set up an acoustic band in the Depot to entertain the crowd. The square was packed! The mood was lively. People were eating & drinking and having a grand ol' time. It almost felt like Europe. You would've almost forgot that we were in the middle of a pandemic if it wasn't for all the face masks. Congrats to everyone who worked hard to put this all together. It truly was a team effort. Hopefully (when the virus is gone), they'll continue this outdoor dining for years to come. Way to go, Mill Valley. Very proud of our community.

This was an interesting find in Tiburon, it looked like a small castle…read more A short walk up a small hill from the downtown area, Lyford's Stone Tower sits right on the coast with a direct view of Angel Island. Inside the Tower, there is a plaque explaining it's history, which is actually quite interesting. In front of the Tower, there are some benches if you want to enjoy the scenery for a bit , which is what we did while we were here.

Well worth a visit! A 10 minute walk from Main Street and the plaque shares its fascinating…read morehistory. Check it out when you are in the area!

A haiku about Mill Valley…read more There's a mill (I've seen it) and a valley (since it's lower than Mount Tam) I heart Old Mill Park and the old library in the middle of the redwoods.

The City of MiIl Valley is becoming known as a very challenging place to do anything. On the whole…read morethey are loathe to genuinely assist. Unfortunately, most do not live locally and tend to have a chip on their shoulder. Getting anything past the building front desk is a bureaucratic nightmare. All residents can do is wait until this set of public officials work through the system and move onto another unsuspecting municipality.

Have to agree with Corey C. here, the view here is RIDICULOUS. I stood there with my mouth agape…read morefor a good five minutes. There were several other people doing the same. The golden hour was upon us, and the city was bathed in beautiful light, while a big tanker was cruised by next to several beautiful sailboats. Pretty much everything was closed by the time we were wandering around, and there seem to be far fewer shops here than what Corey mentions - mostly real estate offices now. That's okay, because it saves my pocketbook and still gives me a cute area to stroll through.

Ark Row is a block of quaint shops located in downtown Tiburon. My favorite thing to do here is to…read morecome at night, when everything is closed, with a hot drink and check out the window displays. If you keep walking past the shops and turn left along the water, you will be rewarded with an AMAZING view of the bay which, on a clear night, has the moon reflected in the water, framed by the city lights of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge.

This monument is a tribute to Daniel O'Connell, a poet and Sausalito resident who worked for the SF…read moreChronicle in the late 19th century. The stone bench and mosaic tile on the ground are restored and beautiful, and appear to be in pristine condition as of April 2024. The lovely poem engraved onto the memorial was written by O'Connell several months before his death in 1899. With lovely plants and shrubs, creating a garden-like environment, it's a nice little historical piece hidden among the neighborhood homes at the cross of Atwood, Bulkley, and Harrison Ave.

Quaint little town in the north bay - well worth a day trip, especially if you add in a visit to…read moreAngel Island State Park. We parked at the privately run city lot at the far end of Main Street ($10 for three hours, $2 per hour afterward) and walked around. There are a few cute cafés and eateries and plenty of postcard-worthy photo ops everywhere you look. We ate at Caffe Acri (separate review) before and after our ferry to Angel Island State Park (separate review). On the drive out, we stopped by Blackie's Pasture (our horse-crazy little one insisted!). We will certainly be back.

Lovely town to visit....even better to live here if you can afford…read more Views of the city are spectacular. Blacks Pasture is great for your four legged friend as well

4th of July was my kiddo's birthday so we were looking for things to do as well as celebrate…read moreIndependence Day. My husband found this place and we decided to make reservations for the tour. Once the tour got started we listened to how many different types of seals the center accommodated with rescues that were elephant seals, harbor seals, California sea lions and on occasion otters. We had a chance to see some of the patients from an elevated platform. The volunteers also made the animals' food, ran the gift shop and of course were our tour guides. Because the place thrives largely on donations, we bought plenty from the gift shop including stuffed seals, whales, magnets, snow globes, and stickers. Fun free place to bring the kiddos, not to mention the beautiful views you see in and out of the way.

We had an amazing experience at The Marine Mammal Center! We reserved our free, timed-entry tickets…read moreonline for a Sunday at 1 PM, and the staff was incredibly flexible and welcoming when we arrived. This place is a phenomenal animal hospital and education center, and it's clear the volunteer staff cares just as much about the visitors as they do about the animals. They provide a laminated map so you can explore at your own pace, but we highly recommend paying for the guided tour. Our tour took us past the large Elephant Seal statue and a view inside the treatment labs and fish kitchen. From the second-level observation deck, we watched the staff care for patients in their pens--they can hold and treat hundreds of seals, sea lions, and endangered species at a time. We loved reading the success stories of animals they've rescued and released, like Lincoln, through the before-and-after flip boards. We left with a whole new appreciation for the incredible work they do here. Please visit, learn, and support this fantastic organization!