the beach today
Marin County Guide

Stinson
Beach

Marin Coast Life

The classic Bay Area beach escape -- a long, west-facing stretch of sand in Marin County with a small town, good restaurants and the most reliable sun north of San Francisco. Mount Tamalpais rises behind, and the Pacific breaks gently on a sandy shore.

Today on the Sand

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Water Temp

84°

warm · gentle surf

UV Index

9

very high · 10am–4pm

Beach Crowd

Busy

holiday weekend

Beach Toolkit

Beach Conditions

Surf, tides & water temp

Parking Finder

Garages, lots & meters

Sunset

Sunset countdown & live cam

Dining

Where to eat after the sand

Things to Do

Cruises, sails & tours

Events

What's on this week

Beach Rules

Dogs, drinks, fires, drones

Pick Your Sand

north to south

Main Beach (NPS)

The long central NPS beach with lifeguards in summer and picnic areas

Family

Seadrift Beach

Private residential beach at the east end of the lagoon spit

Private

Bolinas Lagoon Overlook

The south end overlooks the lagoon entrance with shorebird views

Wildlife

Dolphin Cruises

Open →

Compare daily sails from the marina — wild dolphins on nearly every trip.

Beyond the Beach

day trips

Mount Tamalpais

15 min

2,571-foot peak with panoramic views of the entire Bay Area and Pacific coast

Bolinas

10 min south

Deliberately off-the-map town famous for removing its highway signs to discourage visitors

Muir Woods

30 min

Ancient coast redwood grove in a fog-filled canyon, a national monument since 1908

Point Reyes National Seashore

45 min

Wild peninsula with tule elk, lighthouse, Drake's Beach and rugged coastal cliffs

see you on the sand

Water temp, surf and UV are live from NOAA & Open-Meteo; sunset is computed locally for Stinson Beach. Crowd level is a weekday/weekend estimate.

Right now at Stinson Beach, the water is 61°F, surf is running 3–4 ft and the air is 62°F. Wind is 4 mph from the SSW and the UV index peaks at 5 (moderate) today. Unprotected fair skin burns in about 31 minutes right now. Today’s tides: High 5:08 AM, Low 8:50 AM, High 3:14 PM, Low 11:10 PM. Dogs are not allowed on this beach.