Harmony in the headlands: find cultural and natural wonders beyond the Golden Gate Bridge - Travel and Recreation
Lisa TaggartThe Marin Headlands, the dramatic bluffs and canyons just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, are a perspective-altering place. From lookouts at Battery Spencer, it seems you might just be able to reach out and touch the bridge's north tower; from beachfront Kirby Cove, the same structure looks impossibly mammoth and far away.
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It's a spot for visions too, with views that can take in the Sierra Nevada on clear days and reach endlessly westward. And the headlands are rich in another sense: Keep your ears open here and you'll hear the world's best sounds.
Waves rush and roll onto Rodeo Beach in a steady murmur. Sand squeaks underfoot. If you stand at the base of the bluffs separating the lagoon from the ocean, after awhile a delicate flutter--the quiet churr of feathers hitting feathers--will announce a pod of seasonally migrating brown pelicans riding the updraft overhead.
The headlands' 13,000 acres of open space, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area west of Sausalito, are Northern California's landscape at its most grandiloquent. Dramatically steep hills drop to hidden valleys and pocket beaches. Peaks offer views of the orderly houses across the Golden Gate and the wind-ruffled, wide-open expanse of the Pacific Ocean. In Tennessee Valley, you're as likely to see bobcats as horseback riders; hiking in Gerbode Valley, you're not likely to see anyone else at all.
Through a volatile century of international relations beginning in the 1870s, the coastal area of this land was a military outpost dedicated to the protection of the bay. After the Civil War, the army began building bunkers in the hills. In the 1950s, a Nike Missile Site was established, though no missiles were ever fired here in combat.
After the Cold War ended, the National Park Service began managing the space; now trails link museums, art studios, and environmental centers. Abandoned bunkers, graffiti-covered monuments from an earlier era, are enveloped this month by delicate new green grasses, orange poppies, and purple lupine. You can combine a hike with a stop at one of the headlands' intriguing cultural outposts for a spring weekend adventure that blends the area's past and future.
Voices in the wind
At the expanding Bay Area Discovery Museum on the headlands' east side, past and future coexist beautifully. The 17-year-old center, devoted to educating and entertaining children ages 10 and under, will complete a year-long, $19 million remodel this fall (the museum remains open during construction), including a new theater, store, indoor toddler play area, and art studios. High-pitched cries of happy chaos fill the kid-scaled construction sites and animal-themed structures that explain the headlands' past, including the traditions of the native Miwok tribes, area shipwrecks, and the place's wild residents, from seals to sea stars.
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A different kind of cry welcomes visitors at the Marine Mammal Center, a rehabilitation hospital near Rodeo Beach for sick and injured elephant seals, harbor seals, otters, and sea lions. At this time of year, the center is filled with injured and abandoned pups, which volunteers tend to while visitors look on.
Nearby, a woman's alto voice fills the gallery space at the Headlands Center for the Arts, a nonprofit artist residency. During regularly scheduled open houses (the next one is April 25), dozens of visitors gather in three studio buildings to appreciate sculptures, paintings, videos, and live performances. On monthly salon evenings, visitors dine and talk with artists.
"It's so inspirational to be surrounded by such magnificence," says painter, musician, and film-maker Clare E. Rojas of her studio's environs. The winner of the center's Tournesol Award--a $10,000 grant and one year of studio space at the center--Rojas says being at the headlands has helped her find focus in her work.
Musician Lee Ellen Shoemaker also finds focus here, in the form of a midcentury microphone. Known as the Tunnel Singer, she has been coming for more than 10 years to a Hawk Hill tunnel at Construction (Bunker) 129 to perform short, one-woman concerts. The tunnel is one of two that lead to gun pits built during World War II to house the headlands' biggest guns, weapons capable of firing up to 27 miles. Before construction was finished, the guns were deemed unnecessary, so they were never installed.
Inside the tunnel, Shoemaker begins her high, melancholy melody against a backdrop of redwoods. A trio of bikers outside stop in their tracks, amazed; a small crowd gathers. It's a mournful, ethereal sound, one you might hear in a medieval cathedral.
The concrete walls reverberate until the music nearly gains texture and form. It's like looking out at the world from inside a flute--an experience to transform your view of tunnels, and of the headlands as well.
Getting there
The headlands run north and west to Shoreline Hwy. (State 1) from Marin's southern tip under the Golden Gate Bridge. From San Francisco, exit U.S. 101 at Alexander Ave., continue north, then head west to Bunker Rd. to the Marin Headlands Visitor Center (below), where you'll find maps and books on the area.
Cultural and natural attractions
Bay Area Discovery Museum. As of July, the 2 1/2-acre Lookout Cove and outdoor Tot Spot will open; all other attractions can be visited in the meantime. 9-4 Tue-Fri, 10-5 Sat-Sun; $7, under 1 free. 557 McReynolds Rd., East Fort Baker, Sausalito; www.baykidsmuseum.org or (415) 339-3900.
Headlands Center for the Arts. Dinner and discussion of artist David Ireland's work, Mar 7 (dinner $15, discussion $10; reservations required). Annual Dinner at the Hearth fundraiser Mar 27 ($100; reservations required). Project spaces 9-5 Mon-Fri, 12-5 Sat-Sun; free. Building 944, Fort Barry, Sausalito; www.headlands.org or (415) 331-2787.
Marin Headlands Visitor Center. This month the center sponsors wildflower walks, birding talks, and full-moon hikes (call for details). 9:30-4:30 daily; free. Building 948, Field Rd. at Bunker Rd., Fort Barry, Sausalito; www.nps.gov/goga/mahe or (415) 331-1540.
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The Marine Mammal Center. 10-4 daily; donations appreciated. Fort Cronkhite, Sausalito; www.marinemammalcenter.org or (415) 289-7325.
Nike Missile Site. Open house Mar 7. Volunteers are welcome to assist with restoration, groundskeeping, and engineering efforts every Sat. Guided walks Wed-Fri. Call for hours; free. Field Rd., just up the hill from Marin Headlands Visitor Center; www.nikemissile.net or (415) 331-1540.
Point Bonita Lighthouse. Lighthouse is at end of a steep 1/2-mile trail. 12:30-3:30 Sat--Mon; free. Contact the Marin Headlands Visitor Center for more information.
The Tunnel Singer. Lee Ellen Shoemaker usually performs, weather permitting, Sundays at noon at Construction (Bunker) 129, at the top of Hawk Hill (before the one-way road descent) on Conzelman Rd. To confirm performance dates and times, check www.tunnelsinger.com or call (415) 665-4543.
Headlands hikes
From Battery Spencer. On this 1 3/4-mile round-trip hike, the descent from the parking lot leads to Kirby Cove, a pocket beach with a from-below view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Nearby campsites are available ($25 per night, reservations required; 800/365-2267). From San Francisco, exit U.S. 101 at Alexander Ave., turn left at end of ramp to go under highway, then turn right on Conzelman Rd. and follow it 1/4 mile to the trailhead.
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From Bay Area Discovery Museum. Uphill from the east side of the museum, a 3/4-mile trail (1 1/2 miles round trip) climbs to lookout spots over Battery Cavallo. Trail starts at east side of museum.
From Construction (Bunker) 129 tunnels. The short climb to the top of Hawk Hill, above Construction (Bunker) 129 tunnels, offers great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the opportunity to see hawks Aug-Nov. From gun pit beyond the tunnels, follow signs up the hill.
From Rodeo Beach parking lot. The Coastal Trail climbs 1 1/2 miles (3 miles round trip) to the top of Hill 88 for views of Rodeo Beach, Bird Island, and the Farallon Islands. Take main trail from the fire gate in the parking area.
From Tennessee Valley Rd. The easy downhill slope along Tennessee Valley Trail (2 miles one way) is one of the nicest strolls in the headlands, with a pretty beach as its end reward. Trailhead is at the end of Tennessee Valley Rd., off State 1.
Recommended reading
Produced by the Headlands Center for the Arts in 1989, Headlands: The Marin Coast at the Golden Gate (University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque; $15 at the Headlands Center for the Arts; 415/331-2787 ext. 28) is a nice history of the area, including interviews with soldiers stationed at the headlands and a timeline from Miwok occupancy through the military's withdrawal.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY SEAN ARBABI
COPYRIGHT 2004 Sunset Publishing Corp.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group