To get outdoors in Marin, it can feel like you have to become a transit planner. Transit in the Bay Area generally does a very good job at having timetables and real-time data on Google Maps, Apple Maps, and the Transit app, so simply using those apps to determine how to get to a specific trailhead is perfectly doable. However, if you know which buses serve the trailheads you are considering, you can understand how many transfers and how long it might take to get to a given park more easily.
When riding Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit buses, it’s important to tag on when you board and tag off when you get off. The buses charge distance-based fares, and forgetting to tag off can result in a much higher fare than expected. If you forget to tag off, you can contact Clipper customer sevice for a refund of the excess.
There are parks everywhere in Marin. The most famous, however, are mainly located along the two West Marin Stagecoach routes 61 and 68.
The Shuttle is the easiest and most convenient way to get to world-famous Muir Woods. Operating only during the peak season, around March to October, the shuttle runs from either Larkspur Landing ferry terminal or the Sausalito Ferry terminal, depending on the day. Weekend service departs from Larkspur Landing, acting mainly as a parking overflow shuttle, while weekday service offers tourist-oriented ferry connections.
The Muir Woods Shuttle requires advance reservations, and certain runs on busy days do book out.
For more information, visit the Muir Woods Shuttle website »
Route 61 serves Mount Tamalpais, Muir Woods, and beaches from Stinson Beach up to the Bolinas Lagoon. The major transfer points for Route 61 are the Sausalito Ferry Terminal (GGT 130 and Sausalito Ferry) and the Marin City Hub (GGT 130 & GGT 150).
Route 68 serves Samuel P. Taylor State Park, Tomales Bay State Park, and Point Reyes National Seashore. The major transfer point for Route 68 is San Rafael Transit Center.
If the ferry schedule lines up with your plans, it is by far the most alluring way to go hiking. For hiking directly off the ferry, Angel Island cannot be bested; Old St. Hilary’s Preserve and the Morning Sun Trailhead in the Headlands are just over a half-hour walk from the Tiburon and Sausalito ferry terminals respectively, but otherwise you will need to transfer to a bus, in which case it’s almost certainly better to take a Golden Gate Transit bus from San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. Golden Gate Transit runs buses half-hourly or better for most most of the day seven days a week, but not all routes serve all transit centers in Marin. All San Francisco departures below are the time of departure from the Salesforce Transit Center.
Read more about the 101, 130, and 150 buses on Golden Gate Transit’s website »
The Muir Woods Shuttle runs from March to October weekends and holidays from the Larkspur Landing Ferry Terminal, and June to August weekdays (except holidays) from the Sausalito Ferry Terminal to the main Visitor Center of Muir Woods National Monument. For more information, to check availability, and reserve a spot on the shuttle, visit the Muir Woods Shuttle website »
Sausalito (weekdays)
Outbound: Connections work decently well for the first three ferries of the day. Consider leaving extra time to explore Sausalito, as the ferry landing can be crowded, and the shuttle service recommends arriving 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. Otherwise, catch hourly Golden Gate Transit 130 buses northbound from San Francisco and across the Golden Gate Bridge to Bay & Bridgeway to catch any of the shuttle runs.
Inbound: The final ferry departing Sausalito leaves at 6:30pm. However, if you miss the last ferry, Golden Gate Transit 130 buses run hourly back to San Francisco until nearly midnight.
Ferry Connections at Larkspur (weekends)
The ferry is the fastest way to connect to the shuttle and should be the preferred option unless you want to get to the park earlier than possible with it.
Outbound: Shuttles depart on an inconsistent but approximately half-hourly cadence from 8:30am until mid-afternoon. The earliest ferry from San Francisco departs at 10:45am and arrives at 11:20am, which provides a short connection to the 11:30am shuttle; the shuttle company recommends arriving 15min before scheduled departure, so for comfort and to account for delays the 12:00pm shuttle may be preferred.
Inbound: The last San Francisco-bound ferry from Larkspur departs at 6:00pm. The shuttle has an estimated travel time of around 30-45 minutes, so when choosing a shuttle time, a departure time of 5:00pm or earlier offers a safer connection.
Bus Connections at Larkspur (weekends)
There is an hourly connection possible from San Francisco. The transfer at San Rafael Transit Center is tight and there is not an alternative to waiting an hour for the next bus.
To return, catch the Marin Transit 228 at the same stop and transfer to a southbound Golden Gate Transit 101 at San Rafael Transit Center.
Weekday bus transfers
Transfer at Marin City Hub.
| GGT 130/150 San Francisco departure | GGT Arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 7:02am | 7:49am | 8:25am |
| 10:59am | 11:46am | 12:10pm |
| 11:57am | 12:47pm | 1:10pm |
| 1:53pm | 2:43pm | 3:10pm |
| 3:44pm | 4:38pm | 4:45pm |
| 5:13pm* | 6:12pm* | 6:35pm* |
*the connection to the 6:35pm bus is from GGT 130. All other weekday connections are from GGT 150.
Weekday bus transfers (starting August 10th)
For Golden Gate Transit 130 buses, transfer in downtown Sausalito at Bridgeway & Bay. For Golden Gate Transit 150 buses, transfer at Marin City Hub.
| GGT route | San Francisco departure | GGT arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130 | 7:17am | 8:02am | 8:35am |
| 130 | 11:17am | 12:03pm | 12:10pm |
| 130 | 12:14pm | 1:01pm | 1:10pm |
| 150 | 2:41pm* | 3:35pm* | 3:40pm* |
| 130 | 3:59pm | 4:48pm | 5:00pm |
| 150 | 5:55pm* | 6:44pm* | 7:10pm* |
Weekend bus transfers at Marin City
| GGT 130/150 San Francisco departure | Marin City arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:20am* | 7:23am* | 8:15am* |
| 8:52am | 9:45am | 10:00am |
| 10:46am | 11:46am | 12:05pm |
| 11:47am | 12:46pm | 1:05pm |
| 12:47pm | 1:46pm | 2:00pm |
| 2:08pm* | 3:19pm* | 3:25pm* |
| 3:46pm | 4:44pm | 5:10pm |
*the connections to the 8:15am and 3:25pm buses are from GGT 130. All other weekend connections are from GGT 150.
Weekend bus transfers (starting August 10th)
For Golden Gate Transit 130 buses, transfer in downtown Sausalito at Bridgeway & Bay. For Golden Gate Transit 150 buses, transfer at Marin City Hub.
| GGT route | San Francisco departure | GGT arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 130 | 6:28am | 7:05am | 8:05am |
| 150 | 8:52am | 9:43am | 10:00am |
| 150 | 10:43am | 11:41am | 12:05pm |
| 150 | 11:42am | 12:41pm | 1:05pm |
| 150 | 12:44pm | 1:41pm | 2:00pm |
| 150 | 1:43pm | 2:40pm | 3:00pm |
| 150 | 3:45pm | 4:41pm | 5:10pm |
Ferry connections
The 61 is not timed to meet ferries in Sausalito. However, it’s a cute town that over a million people visit every year, so it would be entirely reasonable to take a ferry to Sausalito and wander around until the next departure.
Weekday ferry transfers at Sausalito
| San Francisco ferry departure | Ferry arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 7:40am | 8:10am | 8:15am |
| 10:15am | 10:45am | 12:00pm |
| 12:10pm | 12:40pm | 1:00pm |
| ✗ | ✗ | 3:00pm |
| 2:45pm | 3:15pm | 4:35pm |
| 5:45pm | 6:15pm | 6:35pm |
Weekday ferry transfers at Sausalito (starting August 10th)
| San Francisco ferry departure | Ferry arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 7:40am | 8:10am | 8:35am |
| 10:15am | 10:45am | 12:10pm |
| 12:10pm | 12:40pm | 1:10pm |
| 2:45pm | 3:10pm | 3:30pm |
| 4:20pm | 4:50pm | 5:00pm |
| 5:45pm | 6:15pm | 7:00pm |
Weekend ferry transfers at Sausalito
| San Francisco ferry departure | Ferry arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|
| ✗ | ✗ | 8:05am |
| ✗ | ✗ | 9:50am |
| 10:15am | 11:15am | 11:55am |
| ✗ | ✗ | 12:55pm |
| 12:35pm | 1:05pm | 1:50pm |
| 2:15pm | 2:45pm | 3:15pm |
| 4:00pm | 4:30pm | 5:00pm |
Weekend ferry transfers at Sausalito (starting August 10th)
| San Francisco ferry departure | Ferry arrival | Marin Transit 61 departure |
| ✗ | ✗ | 8:05am |
| ✗ | ✗ | 9:50am |
| 10:15am | 11:15am | 11:55am |
| ✗ | ✗ | 12:55pm |
| 12:35pm | 1:05pm | 1:50pm |
| ✗ | ✗ | 2:40pm |
| 4:00pm | 4:30pm | 5:00pm |
From San Francisco, the Golden Gate Transit 101 express bus takes around 1 hour from the Salesforce Transit Center in San Francisco to reach San Rafael and is consistently the best option for transferring to the Marin Transit 68.
Weekday transfers at San Rafael
| GGT 101 San Francisco departure | San Rafael arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:32am | 7:25am | 7:45am |
| 8:27am | 9:25am | 9:45am |
| 9:27am | 10:25am | 10:45am |
| 10:27am | 11:25am | 11:45am |
| 11:27am | 12:25pm | 12:45pm |
| 1:27pm | 2:25pm | 2:45pm |
| 3:21pm | 4:25pm | 4:45pm |
| 5:20pm | 6:25pm | 6:45pm |
Weekday transfers at San Rafael (starting August 10th)
| GGT 101 San Francisco departure | San Rafael arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:35am | 7:25am | 7:45am |
| 7:31am | 8:25am | 8:45am |
| 9:30am | 10:25am | 10:45am |
| 10:30am | 11:25am | 11:45am |
| 11:29am | 12:25pm | 12:45pm |
| 1:26pm | 2:25pm | 2:45pm |
| 3:17pm | 4:25pm | 4:45pm |
| 5:23pm | 6:25pm | 6:45pm |
Weekend transfers at San Rafael
| GGT 101 San Francisco departure | San Rafael arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:36am | 7:25am | 7:30am |
| 7:27am | 8:25am | 8:30am |
| 10:22am | 11:25am | 11:30am |
| 11:22am | 12:25pm | 12:30pm |
| 1:23pm | 2:25pm | 2:30pm |
| 3:26pm | 4:25pm | 4:30pm |
| 5:26pm | 6:25pm | 6:30pm |
Weekend transfers at San Rafael (starting August 10th)
| GGT 101 San Francisco departure | San Rafael arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:38am | 7:25am | 7:30am |
| 7:32am | 8:25am | 8:30am |
| 10:27am | 11:25am | 11:30am |
| 11:27am | 12:25pm | 12:30pm |
| 1:26pm | 2:25pm | 2:30pm |
| 3:26pm | 4:25pm | 4:30pm |
| 5:27pm | 6:25pm | 6:30pm |
East Bay to Marin transit is possible either via the Golden Gate Transit 580 bus across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, or by heading into San Francisco and taking a bus across the Golden Gate Bridge: transfer at Civic Center BART to Golden Gate Transit 101, 130, and 150 buses one block away at the northeast corner of Larkin & Grove. The following charts describe connections from buses heading westbound across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge on the 580 bus.
Read more about the 580 bus on Golden Gate Transit’s website »
Like to ride your bike? There are secure bicycle lockers available at San Rafael Transit Center on Tamalpais Ave just north of 4th St for $0.05/hour through the BikeLink app. It’s around 11.6mi one way from the Richmond BART station to the bike lockers in San Rafael, and you can ride one way and bring your bike on the bus the other way.
The Muir Woods Shuttle runs from March to October weekends and holidays from the Larkspur Landing Ferry Terminal, and June to August weekdays (except holidays) from the Sausalito Ferry Terminal to the main Visitor Center of Muir Woods National Monument. For more information, to check availability, and reserve a spot on the shuttle, visit the Muir Woods Shuttle website »
Larkspur Landing (weekends)
There is an hourly connection possible from the East Bay.
To return, catch the Marin Transit 228 at the same stop and transfer to an eastbound Golden Gate Transit 580 at San Rafael Transit Center. This is a 14-20min transfer.
Sausalito (weekdays)
The quickest way from the East Bay to Sausalito is to head into San Francisco, and then continue on north from there. See San Francisco: Muir Woods Shuttle for more information on how to get from San Francisco to the Sausalito shuttle stop by bus or by ferry.
To take the bus from the East Bay to Sausalito without heading into San Francisco, catch the GGT 580 bus to San Rafael Transit Center and transfer to the Marin Transit 17 bus. This local bus takes approximately 45 minutes to complete its local route to the Sausalito Ferry Terminal.
Starting August 10th, transfers between the Golden Gate Transit 580 and Marin Transit 68 are scheduled as a “pulse”. Each meet is short enough to avoid long waits, but long enough to allow for comfortable transferring. From Del Norte BART to getting on the Marin Transit 68 is consistently just over one hour.
Weekday transfers at San Rafael
| Del Norte BART departure | Golden Gate Transit arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:16am | 7:06am | 7:45am |
| 8:16am | 9:10am | 9:45am |
| 9:36am | 10:16am | 10:45am |
| 10:36am | 11:16am | 11:45am |
| 11:36am | 12:16pm | 12:45pm |
| 1:36pm | 2:16pm | 2:45pm |
| 3:36pm | 4:16pm | 4:45pm |
| 5:46pm | 6:16pm | 6:45pm |
Weekday transfers at San Rafael (starting August 10th)
| Del Norte BART departure | Golden Gate Transit arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:41am | 7:37am | 7:45am |
| 7:42am | 8:40am | 8:45am |
| 9:42am | 10:25am | 10:45am |
| 10:42am | 11:20am | 11:45am |
| 11:42am | 12:21pm | 12:45pm |
| 1:42pm | 2:21pm | 2:45pm |
| 3:42pm | 4:24pm | 4:45pm |
| 5:42pm | 6:21pm | 6:45pm |
Weekend transfers at San Rafael
| Del Norte BART departure | Golden Gate Transit arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:36am | 7:10am | 7:30am |
| 7:36am | 8:17am | 8:30am |
| 10:36am | 11:19am | 11:30am |
| 11:36am | 12:20pm | 12:30pm |
| 1:36pm | 2:20pm | 2:30pm |
| 3:36pm | 4:20pm | 4:30pm |
| 5:36pm | 6:20pm | 6:30pm |
Weekend transfers at San Rafael (starting August 10th)
| Del Norte BART departure | Golden Gate Transit arrival | Marin Transit 68 departure |
|---|---|---|
| 6:44am | 7:20am | 7:30am |
| 7:43am | 8:20am | 8:30am |
| 10:42am | 11:21am | 11:30am |
| 11:42am | 12:21pm | 12:30pm |
| 1:42pm | 2:21pm | 2:30pm |
| 3:42pm | 4:21pm | 4:30pm |
| 5:42pm | 6:20pm | 6:30pm |
Transfers to the 61 are complicated, as the GGT 580 and Marin Transit 61 do not directly connect. Depending on the particular departure, there are several options for which bus is best to take to transfer between them; on weekends, there’s generally a decent transfer via the Golden Gate Transit 150 bus at Marin City.
Starting August 10th, transferring to the Marin Transit 61 requires taking the GGT 580, to the Marin Transit 71, to the Marin Transit 61. Transfers from the GGT 580 to the Marin Transit 71 are scheduled as a “pulse”. Each meet is short enough to avoid long waits, but long enough to allow for comfortable transferring. The 61’s inconsistent schedule means the second transfer is not as reliable, and trips should be planned around that.
Weekday transfers
| Del Norte departure | 580 arrival at San Rafael | via | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:56am | 7:46am | Marin Transit 71 at 7:59am | 8:25am |
| 10:36am | 11:16am | GGT 150 at 11:45am | 12:10pm |
| 11:36am | 12:16pm | GGT 150 at 12:45pm | 1:10pm |
| 1:36pm | 2:16pm | GGT 150 at 2:45pm | 3:10pm |
| 3:36pm | 4:16pm | Marin Transit 17 at 4:29pm | 5:01pm |
| 5:36pm | 6:16pm | Marin Transit 17 at 6:29pm | 7:01pm |
Weekday transfers (starting August 10th)
| Del Norte departure | 580 arrival at San Rafael | Marin Transit 71 transfer | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:41am | 7:37am | 8:00am - 8:15am | 8:45am |
| 10:42am | 11:20am | 11:30am - 11:43am | 12:20pm |
| 11:42am | 12:21pm | 12:30pm - 12:43pm | 1:20pm |
| 2:42pm | 3:23pm | 3:30pm - 3:43pm | 3:40pm |
| 3:42pm | 4:24pm | 4:30pm - 4:43pm | 5:10pm |
| 5:42pm | 6:21pm | 6:30pm - 6:43pm | 7:10pm |
Weekend transfers
| Del Norte departure | 580 arrival at San Rafael | via | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:36am | 7:10am | GGT 150 at 7:45am | 8:15am |
| 8:36am* | 9:17am* | GGT 150 at 9:45am* | 10:00am* |
| 10:36am | 11:20am | GGT 150 at 11:45am | 12:05pm |
| 11:36am | 12:20pm | GGT 150 at 12:45pm | 1:05pm |
| 12:36pm* | 1:20pm* | GGT 150 at 1:45pm* | 2:00pm* |
| 1:36pm | 2:20pm | GGT 150 at 2:45pm | 3:25pm |
| 3:36pm | 4:20pm | GGT 150 at 4:45pm | 5:10pm |
*Due to a short transfer for the 10:00am and 2:00pm Marin Transit 61, transfer at the Manzanita Park and Ride/Shoreline Hwy & Pohono St.
Weekend transfers (starting August 10th)
| Del Norte departure | 580 arrival at San Rafael | Marin Transit 71 transfer | Marin Transit 61 departure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6:44am | 7:20am | 7:30am - 7:45am | 8:15am |
| 8:42am | 9:20am | 9:30am - 9:45am | 10:00am |
| 10:42am | 11:21am | 11:30am - 11:45am | 12:05pm |
| 11:42am | 12:21pm | 12:30pm - 12:45pm | 1:05pm |
| 12:42pm | 1:21pm | 1:30pm - 1:45pm | 2:00pm |
| 1:42pm | 2:21pm | 2:30pm - 2:45pm | 2:50pm |
| 3:42pm | 4:21pm | 4:30pm - 4:45pm | 5:10pm |
Transfer tables on this page were updated in July 2025 using the August 10th schedule updates from Marin Transit, Golden Gate Transit, and Golden Gate Ferry. Verify timetables before leaving; in general, agencies update their timetables twice annually in January and in August.