Used to come here often growing up and watching the motorized boats zoom across the Lake. In my…read moreteens, I would bring bags of grass clippings from our yard and dump them in the lake to watch the Mud Hens aka the American Coot scurrying to eat the clippings. There was no such thing as compost bins back then and the houses had one large round metal garbage can to dump everything. The Lake is still maintained really nice and was able to go inside the Spreckeks Lake Clubhouse where members who race their boats come to gather.

I took a side quest stroll around Spreckles lake today, and though the weather didn't permit the…read morebest photos, it was nevertheless a peaceful and pleasant experience. There are exercise bars for stretching and a few beautiful massive eucalyptus trees. The only area for improvement here is the pavement is too uneven. This is definitely not a safe place to roller skate.

Such a beautiful lake and park, with a grassy field ideal for picnicking, and a few ducks on the…read moreday I visited. There are several benches set up along the border of the lake for visitors to relax and admire the views. A rough trail on the far side of the lake made for a somewhat challenging hike, climbing over giant rocks and weaving through trees and debris. It wasn't too bad though. The sandy beach area of the park is fenced off and only open seasonally, with a small fee to enter ($5 for adults, $3 for kids and the disabled, free for babies). But the beach cafe can be accessed from outside the gates and offers various menu items like coffee, tea, hot cocoa, smoothies, lemonade, pretzels, hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and ice cream. Lake Anza is free to visit, and offers free parking in a sizable lot. Restrooms are seemingly well kept too. I enjoyed my time here this past weekend.

This is an idyllic place to hike and picnic in Tilden. There is a lake (pond?) that has a swimming…read morearea, but I personally don't think it is especially clean for that. But there are lots of turtles and birds to watch. For picnics, there are tables and a large grassy expanse for laying down a spread and also playing frisbee. For a hike, the loop around the lake (pond?) is perfect for kids and adults who are able to climb rocks and scramble comfortably along a few narrow strips of the trail. There is a bridge and an area where kids like to explore the creek. There are other paths off the lake, but those do tend to have more mountain bikes. This is an especially nice park when we have our late summer weather in September and October. Plenty of parking.

A post on NextDoor.com caught my attention. Someone had just moved to the neighborhood and was…read moreasking how they could hike without paying the $8 parking fee they'd noticed in some areas. The deluge of responses made it clear: if you're paying to park in Marin County, you're doing something wrong. With only a single exception in memory, I don't think I've paid to hike anywhere in the county and these days all I do is hike. But, if you want to hike the grounds of the Mount Tam Watershed it is true that there's a $8 cost to that. You can get around this by purchasing an annual parking pass or checking a pass out from the Marin County Library system. Bon Tempe Lake is my favorite hike within this area of the Mt. Tam Watershed. With an easy to follow, well-trod, 4.8 mile path around the lake's perimeter, and situated only minutes from downtown Fairfax, Bon Tempe is a quintessential Marin experience. You're in nature, beside a gorgeous, placidly serene lake yet only 10 minutes from a good brunch or latte. There's nothing difficult about the hike around the lake and though it isn't flat, it's elevations are quite gentle. If you need more, add a loop around Lake Lagunitas (the two paths intersect) to increase your hike by another 1.2 miles. Fishing is allowed here (but no swimming) and the parking area - for Bon Tempe in particular - fills up early on weekends. All the more reason to make time for Bon Tempe on a weekday. There's lots of hiking options here in the Watershed but for my money, the half-shaded-half-sunny path around Bon Tempe is the loveliest of them all.

This is actually just one of several reservoirs that make up the Mount Tamalpais Watershed. There…read moreare also creeks and a dam that add to the features. One of the main roads to get up there is just above the town of Fairfax in Marin County. It is a windy road but short, like 10 minutes or so. There are also a lot of bikers who like this area, so watch out on those narrow roads. Once you get closer to the park, the pavement stops and you will have to drive on large gravel for quite a bit, so don't be bringing your high end luxury car here. Lol Once there, an $8 parking fee through a kiosk awaits. I did a 6 mile loop starting at the dam and starting on Alpine lake. Easy start for the first mile or so, with most of it being lakeside. Then the middle 3 miles goes deeper into the forest cover and is more strenous, a constant climb that will speed up the heart rate. Love doing this amongst forest air. Deep in city confines...not so much. The descend will bring you back to where Alpine Lake and Bon Tempe Lake meets, by the dam. The top of hike is exposed and rocky but still gorgeous. Actually reminded me a bit of Tahoe with rocky trails and exposed blue skies. There will be a view of the lower elevations of Southern Marin County. There will also be many glimpses of neighboring Mt. Tam. And after that great morning workout, I was able to have a nice relaxing outdoor meal at one of the many charming independent restaurants in Fairfax, just 10 minutes down the road. Great way to start my stay-cation.

Connie is our go-to person at Ducey's on the Lake. She is awesome and provides great service every…read moretime we go up there. We are going up again Memorial day 2026 to stay in one of the suites overlooking the lake. We love this place. -Randy & Carol

Great place to go if you like noisy, trashy hicks who scatter their trash everywhere and try to…read moreoutdo each other on the obnoxiousness level. Stayed here once and can't see any reason to ever, ever, come back.

Just past SF this park has so many different trail options perfect for all hiking levels. The…read moredownside is this place gets PACKED! My sister and I arrived before 8am at the Watershed parking lot and barely found a space. We did the trail that took us to the West Point Inn for the pancake breakfast and round trip was close to 5 miles so it was a great workout. There's gorgeous views and well! On the way back to the 101 however it's a mess. The road on the way down is crowded with parked cars, which makes driving through challenging. That's the only thing about this park, other than that I'd love to come back in spring when everything is green and vibrant!

My first association of Mt Tam is from Cowgirl Creamery's best seller, Mt Tam Triple Cream with…read moreHeart cheese. Ever since then, I've wanted to hike this peak, today I have achieved my wish. Early June with mild coastal temp, 50s-60s. Started up Matt Davis Trail in the foggy forest, to Pantoll Campground, to West Point Inn where we can look down to the top of the fog layer, to the Fire Lookout building at the Peak. Then we came down reverse but split off to Steep Ravine and Dip Sea trail after the campground. I've also always wanted to climb that ladder. This hike provided views of the Pacific ocean on the West as well as views of Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on the East side. I thoroughly enjoyed the cool lush forest, but actually my favorite section was the single track along the slope of the open area after the Mt Tam State Park sign.

I didn't know this area is called Annabel Lake! My husband and I walk around the lake, about a…read moremile around with our doggos. It's got dog poop stations, facts about the lake, lots of places to sit and relax and there's a coffee shop open on the weekdays. We usually park near the Target, Super Duper Burgers and then just walk over. It's a nice relaxing stroll.

Good fishing, just fill out the waiver before you go fishing and make sure you have venmo because…read moreeach pass is $30 for a year of fishing. A lot of bluegill and some decent bass.

Such a pretty area in GG Park. It's a paved loop trail that goes around the lake and I believe it's…read morea few miles total. Plenty of parking, but do come early as it gets quite busy. There's a gift shop and little boat rental place. Bathrooms in the parking lot near the boathouse. Lots of birds here- please give them space so they keep coming back to this special oasis in the city. They add much of the charm here!

One of my favorite lakes in Golden Gate Park to walk around. I believe it used to be called Stow…read moreLake. There are a couple of the circular loop paths to take and the outer path takes around 30 minutes to complete one look. Along the way, you get great views of birds, fishes, and boats. You can rent the paddle boats to circle around the lake. After the outer loop, you can walk over a bridge to do the inner loop which offers great views once you walk to the top. There are plenty of small attractions to see including a Chinese Pavilion. Parking does get kind of difficult at times.

Fantastic park one of the best places to chill relax and swim. I come here normally when I want to…read morefeel away from everything but it only takes 5 dollars the most.

Wish I had known about this lake early in the summer. Possibility for 6 lifeguards but when I went…read morethere were 3. It's very clean. They have "all kids" swim then adult swim. I love it!