If you plan it perfectly on the third Saturday of the month, there’s a particularly rewarding day trip opportunity across the bay that combines ocean views, local history, and adorable marine animals.
Start at the Marine Mammal Center, the largest marine mammal hospital in the world, which opens at 10am. Here you can learn about how staff rehabilitates injured and ill animals from around the Bay Area.
Then, drive a few miles over to the Point Bonita Trail, which opens only from 12:30 to 3:30pm on third Saturdays. You can take the short hike down for a dramatic and elusive view of the historic 1855 lighthouse.
To see both Marin destinations, you’ll need to time the trip perfectly. Keep reading for the breakdown.
Visiting the Marine Mammal Center
The nonprofit Marine Mammal Center has been rescuing, treating, rehabilitating, and releasing sick, injured, and orphaned marine mammals since 1975. Staff take care of local species including sea lions, northern elephant seals, harbor seals, and sea otters all year round.
A free, self-guided visit is available with reservation from 10am to 4pm, allowing guests to explore interactive exhibits and learn about the Center’s veterinary and scientific work.
You can also book one of the popular guided tours or behind-the-scenes experiences, which often sell out, but are generally available on the hour between 11am and 3pm.
Visiting the Point Bonita Lighthouse
The Point Bonita Lighthouse has been guiding ships near the Golden Gate since 1855, when California’s Gold Rush-era population boom made the treacherous coast increasingly busy. It was the third lighthouse built on the West Coast, and its unusual low-slung position near the waterline was deliberate, in order to pierce the notoriously dense Marin fog.
The Point Bonita Trail is only open to the public on the third Saturday of the month from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. Visitors can hike half a mile down to the lighthouse viewing platform, although the suspension bridge is closed for maintenance, so you cannot walk out to the lighthouse itself.
The trail is free to visit, but make sure you check the National Park Service calendar to confirm that the elusive Point Bonita Trail hours are listed that month.
Pack a picnic for an impromptu lunch at one of the nearby battery viewpoints or Rodeo Beach. If you can get the timing just right on a third Saturday, you’re all set with the ultimate day-well-spent in the Marin Headlands.