Hike to the Bay Area’s Only Official “Black Sand Beach” (Marin Headlands)

Eric Brooks, special to SFGATEHere’s a great free weekend hike idea from SFGATE’s Eric Brooks. A California beach is down a single-lane road in the Marin Headlands that visitors tend to overlook. While black sand beaches are often associated with other places, such as Iceland and Hawaii, the Bay Area has one of its own.  You’ll have to venture through a thick layer of San Francisco fog, scale down 391 steps and time a visit to avoid king tides in order to see Black Sands Beach for yours For more details on this hike including photos and detailed directions, check out the article Most drivers miss the turn to this ‘hidden’ Bay Area black sand beach from SFGATE Secluded and rare, this Marin shoreline just past Hawk Hill and before Point Bonita is among a few in California officially called a “black sand beach” and the only one in the Bay Area. To earn the designation, a black beach must contain a specific type of underwater rock that turns into dark sand over millions of years. Getting There: Upper Fisherman’s Parking Lot, Black Sands Beach Trail, Mill Valley, CA – Always check the tide chart first For more hikes in the Bay Area and around California, check out SFGATE Outdoors. Bay Area hike ends with climbing redwood ladder over a waterfall This easy hike lets you touch an iconic Bay Area landmark The ruins of a 1910s sanitarium are hidden in the East Bay hills I followed a rumor and hiked to a hidden Bay Area labyrinth Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.