Marin Headlands

Just a mile back from the coast, northeast of Rodeo Valley, lies a land that many hikers adjudge to be GGNRA’s wildest. Lovely Gerbode Valley, named for Marin Headlands preservationist Martha Gerbode, is the centerpiece of the park’s backcountry.

Standing in Gerbode Valley today, it’s hard to imagine that in the mid-1960s bulldozers were poised to cut this land into streets and suburbs. Developers dreamed of building a city for 18,000 residents-complete with shopping centers and freeways-right here in this sweeping bowl of grassland. Conservationists had other ideas, and thanks to their efforts the land passed from military to National Park Service administration. The dream of a “New City by the Bay” fizzled, and a wilder, better dream prevailed: open space for all.

The Marin Headlands backcountry is the park’s beating wild heart. From the valley floor, golden grasslands stretch to the ridges, where wind-carved slopes give way to coastal scrub and patches of coyote brush. In spring, wildflowers flare: poppies, lupine, and owl’s clover splash color across the hillsides. The valley is also prime raptor country. During fall migration, hawks by the hundreds spiral overhead, catching thermals as they prepare to cross the Golden Gate. Turkey vultures float lazily above, while ravens ride the wind with acrobatic flair.

Keep your eyes peeled for four-footed residents, too. Black-tailed deer browse the meadows, coyotes slink along the ridges, and bobcats sometimes prowl the margins of the valley. This is also prime habitat for the endangered mission blue butterfly, which relies on lupine species found here.

From the ridgetops above Gerbode Valley, the hiker is treated to views that stretch in all directions: Mt. Tamalpais presiding over the north, the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge rising to the south, and on a clear day, the faint shimmer of the Farallon Islands far out at sea. It’s a reminder that this valley isn’t just a pocket of open space-it’s the keystone of a larger wildland network that makes the Bay Area such an extraordinary place to hike.

And while many visitors stick to the coast or the bridge overlooks, the Gerbode loop on Bobcat and Miwok trails rewards those willing to step into the heart of the Headlands. Here the Marin Headlands reveal their true character: wild, windblown, alive with history and nature, and saved-thankfully-for us all.