50-Plus Boots and Brushes: Hiking and Painting in Beautiful Marin County, California

The Trip

The Sierra Club acknowledges Marin County, California, as the ancestral homeland of the Coast Miwok people. The Coast Miwok were hunters and gatherers who over time inhabited some 600 village sites in the region between Sonoma’s Bodega region and southern Marin. 

Hike along coastal trails, absorb the ambiance of a redwood forest, follow a sparkling creek, and possibly sight elephant seals! Capture the beauty of summer in the mountains using watercolor materials that fit into your day pack. Instruction and supportive critiques will be offered by an expert artist-in-residence. The program is designed for adults with beginning to intermediate painting skills.

Based at a cozy private lodge halfway up Mount Tamalpais, we’ll sleep, relax, practice yoga (optional), dine, and paint in our beautiful lodge. Mornings begin with a yoga session, watching the sun rise over conifer treetops, eating breakfast, and traveling to our trailheads. Our hikes will take us to destinations with spectacular views, including the Pacific coastline, and the San Francisco Bay, through groves of majestic redwood or eucalyptus trees.  We’ll eat lunch in a park setting or along a trail. 

Marin County is truly an anomaly in that so much land has been conserved. Just a half-hour’s drive from the traffic and congestion of San Francisco lies a land of historic dairy farms, a 2,500-foot mountain, dozens of trails, and a lagoon where harbor seals lounge on sandbars while egrets and herons feed.  The area is so beautiful that it may be hard to choose what to capture in watercolor! Our pace will be leisurely, with ample time to stop and reflect, paint, take pictures, and store memories. 

This is the perfect trip for those who love to paint “en plein air.” Enthusiastic beginners and experienced artists in search of new subjects will enjoy a week of watercolor painting and instruction and easy-to-moderate hikes in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Angel Island, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, and Point Reyes National Seashore. 

On a typical day, we will enjoy a hearty breakfast and pack a bag of lunch and snacks to sustain us through the day. We will carry our equipment to our destination, occasionally discovering items along the trail to use in our painting. Short demonstrations and instructions from our artist-in-residence will allow you to apply new techniques to your day’s paintings. Each day you’ll come away with artistic pieces reflecting the spirit and beauty of nature. 

The day finishes with a return hike or drive to the Lodge around 4:00 p.m., just in time for you to shower and relax before dinner. In the evenings, some may wish to continue painting, others may wish to relax in front of a roaring fire or curl up with a good book.

Plan to arrive on Sunday, July 21st, around 4:00 p.m. to unpack and get settled before a 5:00 p.m. social hour, dinner at 6:00 p.m., and our 7:30 p.m. orientation session. The trip ends after breakfast on Saturday, July 27th. 

All hikes and programs are subject to change depending on a variety of factors, including trail conditions, participants’ abilities, weather, and the availability of instructors and speakers. 

Getting There

Our lodge is located at an elevation of about 500 feet and lies about 30 miles north of San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The best option for those traveling by air is SFO, where great public transportation options are available. The leader will provide more information to those who register. 

Travel to and from the lodge and each trailhead is the responsibility of each participant. Sierra Club leaders are not allowed to make carpool arrangements for participants. With the consent of each participant, a contact list will be provided for that purpose. Please do not make travel arrangements until the leader has confirmed you as a trip member and the trip has been confirmed to run. 

Accommodations and Food

This trip is based at a rustic but charming private lodge near Mill Valley, California, located on the Panoramic Highway, tucked into the redwoods near Mt. Tamalpais State Park and Muir Woods. It is furnished with a very large hardwood floor area where we can practice yoga. The lodge also has a large stone fireplace in a comfortable living room, a porch area, and a large outside deck. Sleeping arrangements are in dorms of four to six beds, with a few private curtained bedrooms for couples. Please bring towels, sheets, and a pillowcase (or a sleeping bag if you prefer). Blankets and pillows are provided. 

Our experienced cook plans healthy, hearty, vegetarian-friendly meals, and following Sierra Club Outings customs, we will all assist by taking turns with the preparation and clean-up. We will prepare our lunches each morning to carry with us on the trails. The cook will work with you to accommodate specific dietary requirements as much as possible.  However, any dietary restrictions must be discussed in detail with the cook well in advance of the trip, and it may not be possible to make all the requested accommodations. 

We may have one night out for dinner. The dinner that evening will be at your expense ($30-$40). All other meals will be included, starting with dinner on the first day and ending with breakfast on the final day. 

Because the lodge is privately owned and operated, it will not be possible to add days before or after the trip dates. So please do not arrive early. 

No smoking is allowed on the premises.

Trip Difficulty

The yoga instruction will accommodate all fitness levels. Your body will dictate your comfort level.

Our hikes each day, although usually less than two to four miles round trip, will be on well-established trails with hiking surfaces that are often uneven and might have exposed rocks, tree roots, and encroaching brush. You will need comfortable, well-broken-in hiking boots.

Equipment and Clothing

For yoga practice, bring comfortable, loose-fitting clothing, and a yoga mat. 

For hiking, you will need a day pack that is large enough to hold lunch, water, and additional layers to keep you warm and dry in case of rain or fog, as well as your art supplies. Hiking shoes or boots should be well-tested and comfortable, with adequate tread to grip the terrain. Weather can range from a perfect 72 degrees and calm, to cool and damp, with an ocean breeze. Temperatures can vary quickly. A more detailed packing list of clothing, gear, and accessories will be sent once you have been accepted for the trip. 

A couple of months or so before the trip, the art instructor will send you a list of recommended art supplies. The average cost is $50 and is not included in the overall trip price. You must carry all your art tools to each site. Sketchbooks are always a plus.

References

Books:

• Martin, Don and Kay, Hiking Marin 

Maps: 

• Olmstead, Gerald, Trails of Mt. Tamalpais and The Marin Headlands

Websites:

• http://www.nps.gov/goga/marin-headlands.htm
• http://www.nps.gov/pore (Point Reyes)
• http://nps.gov/muwo/ (Muir Woods)
• Marin's First People - Marin Arts and Culture Collection | Marin Convention & Visitors Bureau (visitmarin.org)

Conservation

San Francisco Bay and its outlying areas contain many wetlands, old-growth forests, and geological features. Much has been lost to development since the Gold Rush days, but much has been saved, mostly due to the heroic efforts of individuals and local environmental organizations.  Marin County is a shining example of this. More than 60 percent of its land is protected in public ownership and easements through national parks, state parks, watersheds, county open spaces, and land trusts.  We will experience firsthand this assemblage of public lands and learn how much of it came about.

Your leaders are volunteers. We have a long-term dedication to the Sierra Club, conservation, and enjoyment of the outdoors. We hope to impart to you some of our love for the area we are visiting and for the work of the Sierra Club. We believe the Sierra Club outings programs provide an excellent opportunity to enjoy the fruits of past conservation victories and learn about current concerns. While together, we hope each of you will share an environmental concern impacting your local area. 

On the trip, we will practice Leave No Trace principles that will minimize your impact whenever you choose to explore the wilderness. At our lodge, we will recycle and reuse as much as possible. 

Since any traveling leaves a carbon footprint, check out the information that the Sierra Club offers about carbon offsets at: http://content.sierraclub.org/outings.national/carbon-offsets.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal opportunity provider and when applicable will operate under permits obtained from U.S. federal land agencies.