Explore Where You Live
40 years ago, when I got my drivers license, I set out to explore the entirety of west Marin. My goal was to drive every back road in and around the west Marin area with the intention of living up to my motto of “exploring where I live.”
My love and appreciation of everything west Marin drove me, literally, to spend countless hours, days, months and years touring the area and familiarizing myself with incredible places to hide away, relax and enjoy the artisan culture that has become the foundation of west Marin. Over the years I have explored all routes north, south, east and west ranging from the Golden Gate Bridge all the way up towards Jenner.
Years later, I would start a West Marin touring company called TourDayMarin in order to share my knowledge and encourage and guide folks who live so close to paradise but for whatever reasons haven't been able to take the time to explore it themselves.
With that said, it wasn’t until I arrived at Slide Ranch some 40+ years later for a job interview that I would discover that Slide was open to the public. For many years, I had driven by the entrance to the ranch and always wondered “what was down there” not knowing that it was actually open to the public and part of the GGNRA network of parks and open from sunrise to sunset to explore.
Over the years of working here I can’t tell you how many people, locals included, have mentioned that they finally decided to drive down the driveway exclaiming “ I've driven by so many times and never knew what was down there and that it was open to the public.”
In the spirit of “exploring where you live”, I want to encourage you to come visit a piece of paradise situated along the West Marin coast just minutes from Muir beach and the Pelican Inn.
Located at 2025 Shoreline Highway, Slide Ranch offers you the ability to walk the 134 acres that house Slide Ranch. Slide Ranch itself is a non-profit organization that connects children and people of all ages to the outdoors and partners with community groups, families and educators to provide transformative learning experiences on our organic farm and national park land along the California coast.
Here you can visit with our goats and sheep. They are always happy to have a head or butt scratch through the barn fence. We also have chickens and ducks, who, depending on the time of year, free range the ranch to everybody's enjoyment. The tidepools at Slide ranch are hard to beat with the only other option for accessible tidepools, locally, on the Duxberry reef at Agate Beach in the Bolinas Area. Feel free to explore our almost one acre organic garden that is used to feed our residents and is also incorporated into our programs throughout the year as we educate participants on where their food comes from and how easy it is to grow your own. Chill out at our picnic tables located near our yurt overlooking the Pacific Ocean. If the seasonal timing is right, it’s an amazing place to watch the whales commuting up and down the coast. Hang out on the deck of the Farm to Table center and gaze out at the Farallon Islands while eating a self packed lunch or take a five minute walk out to “the dome” and our beautiful meadow overlooking the ocean. There are a few picnic tables out there that are rarely used on the weekends and if you’d like to camp here - you can find details on making a reservation on our website.
I like to think that Slide Ranch offers something for everybody and yet it’s truly a place that “everybody” isn’t aware of. Take a break from all the stressors of life, pack yourself a lunch and add Slide Ranch to your list of ‘must do’s” as you set out to explore “where you live”. No longer do you need to drive by the entrance to our driveway and wonder what is down there.
