Reflections

Mill Valley Film Festival Mill Valley Lumber Yard

Mountain Play Muir Woods National Monument

Mill Valley Located along the shores of Richardson Bay and the eastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais, the charming village of Mill Valley was named for mill workers who once called it home. Mill Valley was also once the site of the Mount Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway, founded in 1896, which took tourists from Mill Valley to the East Peak of Mt. Tam and to view the coast redwoods at Muir Woods, the national monument that is now visited by 1.2 million people a year. Outdoor activities, from hiking to mountain biking, abound in this picturesque mountain town, which hosts the notoriously challenging Dipsea Race, the second-oldest footrace in the United States. Locals and visitors also flock to Mill Valley for the chic boutiques and restaurants located along the town’s main drag, Throckmorton Avenue, and at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard. And, it’s a cultural hub: The annual Mill Valley Film Festival draws international celebrities; the Marin Theater Company puts on critically acclaimed productions; Sweetwater Music Hall showcases notable musical acts; and Mountain Play performs theatrical productions in an open-air amphitheater on Mt. Tam during the summer months. LOTUS ABRAMS

THE STATS

POPULATION: 14,000+

MAYOR: John McCauley

NOTABLE RESIDENTS: Sammy Hagar and the late Jack Kerouac and Jerry Garcia

FUN FACT:

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a group of Marin teenagers known as “The Larkspur Canyon Gang” rode vintage single-speed, balloon-tire bikes on Mt. Tamalpais, which is generally regarded as the birthplace of mountain biking.

WANT MORE? Get to know every corner of Marin with a different town each month in Reflections — and read more about them at marinmagazine.com/cities-towns.