• Article
• Nov 12, 2015

Each week, travel writer Katie Morell will detail how to spend 50 hours in a different San Francisco Bay Area city for the Super Bowl 50 Host Committee’s #Perfect50 Hour Series.

Drive north over the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County and before long you will hit Larkspur, San Anselmo and Fairfax, a trio of tiny towns (no more than 12,000 residents each) with cute downtown areas, an abundance of hiking trails and plenty of tasty restaurants.

Just in case you are headed north for a holiday, we’ve detailed the perfect way to spend a 50-hour getaway in these three destinations.

Day 1

8:30 a.m. – Wake up in your cozy room at the San Anselmo Inn, a bed-and-breakfast style property located downtown. Enjoy homemade breakfast in bed and wash it down with a hot cup of coffee. Then, throw on a comfortable, breathable outfit (sneakers are key for a day of walking around) and head out on foot.

9:30 a.m. – San Anselmo is known as one of the best places on the West Coast to go antiquing. Spend the next few hours finding hidden treasures at shops like Dove Place, Antiques Legacy of San Anselmo, Sanford’s Antiques and Studiolo.

12:00 p.m. – After chatting up shop owners and finding the perfect birthday gift for your hard-to-buy-for-relative (everyone has one), walk over to 335 San Anselmo Avenue and up to the counter at Comforts, a café that serves healthy lunch options. The food here changes weekly, but if available, try a helping of the zucchini cakes, and then a grilled Portobello sandwich and the roasted sugar pumpkin (includes quinoa, chick peas, beets and toasted pumpkin seeds…when in Marin, right?).

1:00 p.m. – Time for a choose-your-own-adventure! If you are here on a Saturday, walk over to the Carnegie Library, a historic, circa-1915 building, and into the San Anselmo Historical Museum (open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturdays; 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Tuesdays) to check out exhibits explaining the region’s history.

If you aren’t there on a Saturday, ask the library for a walking tour booklet and spend the next few hours exploring downtown San Anselmo armed with insider knowledge about streets, buildings and parks.

A third option is to walk less than a mile to Robson-Harrington Park, an expansive lawn and garden with a stately mansion at its center built in the early 20^th century. The mansion was once the home to the family of Edwin K. Wood, a former shipping tycoon.

4:00 p.m. – After a day on the go, tuck into 411 San Anselmo Avenue, home of Eden Day Spa. Spend the next hour getting a massage or facial (the body wraps are also nice) and emerge glowing and ready for an enjoyable evening.

6:00 p.m. – Head back to the San Anselmo Inn to shower. Spend some quiet time catching up on your vacation novel and then change into casual dinner clothes and walk a block north to Marinitas, a Mexican and Latin American restaurant (reservations are recommended) with a warm and inviting atmosphere. Ask for a booth and order the guacamole and plantain garnachas, which include duck confit. Then dig into a helping of the carne asada tacos and vegetarian enchiladas. Wash down your spicy meal with the “Especial” margarita.

Day 2

9:00 a.m. – Wake up and put on some workout clothes. Don’t forget your hat, sunglasses and sunscreen. Skip breakfast in bed (moan) and hop in your car. Point your GPS to 57 Broadway Blvd., Fairfax, California, and less than 10 minutes later get out at The Hummingbird, one of the most popular breakfast spots in Marin.

You have a big day ahead of you so order a serving of fresh squeezed orange juice (the grapefruit juice is also tasty), a Belgian buckwheat waffle and the Fairfax Sunshine Breakfast (includes eggs, bacon, a pancake and hash browns).

10:30 a.m. – From there, drive a windy five miles west until you arrive at the start of the Cascade Falls Trail. Fairfax is famous for its incredible hikes and Cascade Falls is one of the best (if you have more time and serious hiking boots, Cataract Falls is also worth it).

Water bottle in hand, set out on Cascade’s 3.8-mile hike. Remember to bring your camera to capture holiday-card-perfect shots next to the falls.

12:30 p.m. – Drive back into downtown Fairfax and belly up to a table at Barefoot Café, an American food restaurant serving super healthy lunch options (ideal recovery food after your sweaty hike). Don’t leave without trying the shrimp and avocado sandwich or the free range roasted chicken salad.

1:30 p.m. – Less than a block away, walk into the Marin Museum of Bicycling and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. This place is really cool (and brand new—opened in June), especially for you cyclists out there. For just $10 per person, you can learn about various aspects of the history of the sport. (Note: the facility is open in the fall from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays.)

3:30 p.m. – Tuckered out, drive back to the San Anselmo Inn to relax and shower. Change into comfortable dinner clothes and when you are ready, get excited to check out the town of Larkspur.

5:30 p.m. – Drive four miles southeast to Larkspur and park inside the Marin Country Mart, a shopping and dining hub. Check out several of its stores, including James Perse, Union Made and Erica Tanov.

When finished shopping and ready to eat, grab a seat at Sushi Ko. This place has fantastic sushi rolls, so go for a bowl of miso soup and then a Gobo Roll, a Dynamite Roll (Hamachi, tobiko and avocado) and a Caterpillar Roll (prawns, cucumber and avocado).

7:30 p.m. – Finished with dinner, drive into historic downtown Larkspur (so adorable!) and settle into a seat at The Lark Theater, a 1940s-era art deco theater known for showing independent films. Check the online calendar before you go and enjoy the show!

Day 3

9:30 a.m. – Wake up late this morning, skip breakfast at the hotel and check out. Remember how cute downtown Larkspur was last night? Now is your chance to check it out in the daytime. Drive to 1139 Magnolia Avenue and walk into Rustic Bakery, a Marin favorite for ham and cheese croissants, breakfast paninis and scones (the mixed berry variety is divine!).

Spend the next few hours exploring Magnolia and bopping into stores like Gala Boutique and Nicolette. This is the perfect way to end your 50-hour getaway in San Anselmo, Fairfax and Larkspur.

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Katie Morell is an independent journalist based in San Francisco who writes about travel, business and social justice issues. Her work has appeared in Hemispheres, Fast Company, USA Today, Diversity Woman, BBC Travel and others. Read more of her work at www.katiemorell.com