Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The only 'real' restaurant in town, everyone jockeys for outdoor seats among the flower-
boxes for fish and chips, barbecued oysters, or buttermilk pancakes with damn good cof-
fee. Live music Thursday and Sunday nights.
Getting There & Away
goes daily ($2) from the Marin City transit hub (weekend and holiday service from the
Sausalito ferry) to downtown Bolinas. By car, follow Hwy 1 north from Stinson Beach and
turn west for Bolinas at the first road north of the lagoon. At the first stop sign, take anoth-
er left onto Olema-Bolinas Rd and follow it 2 miles to town.
Olema & Nicasio
About 10 miles north of Stinson Beach near the junction of Hwy 1 and Sir Francis Drake
Blvd, Olema was the main settlement in west Marin in the 1860s. Back then, there was a
stagecoach service to San Rafael and there were
six
saloons. In 1875, when the railroad
was built through Point Reyes Station instead of Olema, the town's importance began to
fade. In 1906 it gained distinction once again as the epicenter of the Great Quake.
The
Bolinas Ridge Trail
, a 12-mile series of ups and downs for hikers or bikers, starts
about 1 mile west of Olema, on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. It has great views.
In the former Olema Inn, a creaky 1876 building, hyper-local
Sir & Star
(
415-663-1034;
www.sirandstar.com
;
cnr Sir Francis Drake Blvd & Hwy 1; mains $20, prix fixe Sat/other
nights $75/48; 5-9pm Wed-Sun, plus earlier hours in summer; )
restaurant delights with
Marin-sourced seasonal bounty like Tomales Bay oysters, Dungeness crab and duck 'faux'
gras. Reservations recommended.
About a 15-minute drive inland from Olema, at the geographic center of Marin County,
is Nicasio, a tiny town with a low-key rural flavor. In the town center, its music venue,
Rancho Nicasio
( 415-662-2219;
www.ranchonicasio.com
; 1 Old Rancheria Rd; 11:30am-3pm
& 5-9pm Mon-Thu, to 10pm Fri, 11am-3pm & 5-10pm Sat, to 9pm Sun)
, is a rustic saloon that regu-
larly attracts local and national blues, rock and country performers.
Getting There & Away
