Info and more inside chapel of yore.
On the eastern edge of Rodeo Lagoon, the Marin Headlands Visitor Center occupies the former Fort Barry Chapel. In addition to the usual maps, brochures, and rangers dispensing advice, exhibits provide details about the Coast Miwoks, local natural history, and the area’s time as a military installation. A bookshop sells field guides to local birds and vegetation and titles about West Coast military history. You can also purchase trail mix, dried fruit, and other snacks.
Demo Garden
Tall eucalyptuses shade a picnic area out front. There’s also a station to refill your water bottle. A demonstration garden below the trees showcases native vegetation. Labels name the plants and their historical functions (e.g., yarrow being used for blood clotting).
Tip: Restrooms anchor the west end of the center’s parking lot, near the trailhead for the Rodeo Lagoon Trail Loop and Rodeo Lagoon to Point Bonita Lighthouse hikes.
Info
Marin Headlands Visitor Center
948 Fort Barry, Sausalito 94965
Marin Headlands Hikes
Battery Mendell to Battery Townsley
Coastal, Wolf Ridge, Miwok Trails Loop
Rodeo Lagoon to Point Bonita Lighthouse
Rodeo Lagoon Trail Loop
Tennessee Valley
This story first appeared online in 2017; it was fact-checked and updated in 2022.