This story is part of our May 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.

It’s Friday night. My husband and I would not ordinarily push our children through a long drive, but nothing beats the brisk smell of the ocean air in the morning as your fingers wrap around a hot cup of coffee. We spent the long work week stealing corners of time to pack and check items off our list. We didn’t hit the road until 6 or 7 p.m., which is late, but we didn’t want to drive through Bay Area traffic at rush hour. We wiggled the kids into their pajamas, turned on “Hush Little Baby” and headed to the coast.

I am not sure whether it’s the tricky access or the fact that social media has not yet fully found it, but something about the sleepy town of Stinson Beach still feels undiscovered. Once you leave the main highways, the only route is a series of curvy roads that wind in and out of the redwood forest. At night, you can’t see the tall trees, but during the day, they close in around you. The forest is so thick, you spend an hour in near-total darkness, with hardly a glimpse of sky until the canopy opens and the stars appear.

The town has a handful of restaurants off one main road. We always make an obligatory stop at Stinson Beach Books, and during our last trip, the fourth-generation local and shop owner Bonnie gave us the perfect Mother’s Day recommendation for my mom. A couple of small homewares and clothing stops offer the right amount of shopping for a weekend getaway.

If you plan it right, you can sign up for lessons with Stinson Beach Surf Club or find an affordable secondhand wetsuit at Live Water surf shop. They have all the best gear and boards, but I appreciate a secondhand option whenever I’m starting a new hobby.

Another reason to visit in May is the Muir Woods Half Marathon, which begins and ends at Stinson Beach. The course climbs more than 1,800 feet through the redwood forest, follows the Dipsea trail into Steep Ravine, and at one point requires runners to climb a wooden ladder to reach the next section of trail. It is one of the hardest races I have ever run, and it’s impossible to miss. It starts on the beach and finishes in the beach parking lot. That Saturday afternoon, the restaurants fill with runners looking for protein and a cold beer.

The cherry on top of the weekend is always lunch at The Pelican Inn. The Tudor-style inn and pub sits just beyond the dunes of Muir Beach, built to emulate the coastal English West Country. We serendipitously discovered the spot several years ago while searching for beer and fries on our way home from Stinson Beach. It was my first real Mother’s Day, as my son was barely four weeks old for the first one. We were grateful to learn that, while the restaurant often books out its Mother’s Day buffet, the pub operates on a first-come, first-served basis to accommodate the busy weekend. Guests can bring picnic baskets and spread out on the lawn while ordering drinks and food from the pub.

Even if you’re not going for Mother’s Day, Muir Beach is worth stopping for and can easily be done in a day if you don’t want to commit to a whole weekend. It has a small cove with tide pools full of sea urchins, and the beach allows fire pits, setting a romantic scene for chilly Bay Area days.

–

Stay up to date on business in the Capital Region: Subscribe to the Comstock’s newsletter today.