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Biking from Sausalito to Mill Valley & Tiburon
There are two variations on this route:
Longer Bike Ride: Some people start this trip in San Francisco and bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, riding through Sausalito to Mill Valley via the Mill Valley-Sausalito multi-use path to Blithedale Ave.. There you can turn east across Highway 101 and continue onto Tiburon Blvd. and ride down to the Tiburon ferry, which returns riders to San Francisco.
Sausalito-Tiburon Loop Bike Ride: Start by biking from Sausalito to Mill Valley and make it a round trip by circling the Tiburon peninsula via Tiburon Blvd. and Paradise Drive. Either way, it’s a beautiful ride with miles of paths and roads that run along the edge of San Francisco Bay. All the details on both trips are below.
Starting from downtown Sausalito (check this list for great places in town to stop for bike ride dining), follow Bridgeway all the way to the north end of town. It meets the Mill Valley – Sausalito Multi-Use Path there that runs north along the Bay into Mill Valley, the first leg of your ride to Tiburon. The map below shows the entire ride, and can be enlarged to show details.
After you pass under Highway 101 the Mill Valley – Sausalito Multi-Use Path goes past the Holiday Inn Express Mill Valley, then turns north to continue along the edge of the Bay through Bayfront Park from Sausalito to Mill Valley, finally meeting E. Blithedale Ave. Here you’ll turn right on Blithedale back towards Highway 101 to start your journey to Tiburon.
When E. Blithedale Ave. reaches Highway 101 it changes its name to Tiburon Blvd. on the eastern side of the freeway. Keep going on Tiburon Blvd., and soon you’ll find yourself riding along the edge of the Bay again. This will bring you to a sharp turn and the intersection between Tiburon Blvd. and Trestle Glen Road. We list this as a junction point because it where you will loop back onto this route if you continue past the Tiburon Ferry onto Paradise Drive to ride back to Sausalito.
Continue to follow follow Tiburon Blvd., which skirts the Bay for much of its route, all the way down into the town of Tiburon, where you turn right on Main St. to reach the pier for the Tiburon Ferry.
If you started your ride in San Francisco and don’t want to ride back to Sausalito the Tiburon ferry can take you back to Pier 39 / Pier 41 at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. The Tiburon Ferry offers service to the Ferry Building, but that route runs only on weekdays, not on weekends.
Round Trip from Sausalito to Mill Valley and around the Tiburon Peninsula
At the end of the Tiburon Peninsula, Tiburon Blvd. turns into Paradise Drive, which twists and turns along the edge of the Bay with great views. If you plan to loop back to Sausalito, it gives you another twisty-turny route along the Bay, with beautiful views. This ride involves about 350 feet of climbing. The video above shows the trip from the Golden Gate Bridge through Sausalito to Tiburon, while the time lapse below starts in Sausalito and goes all the way around the Tiburon peninsula.
