I have lived in Homestead Valley since 1993 and there are many things I love about this part of Mill Valley. Definitely in the top five is our abundance of hiking trails. Over the years, we’ve had friends whose house it was faster to hike to than to drive. I used to leave the house every weekday morning at 6:00 am, meet my buddy on the trail and hike the “Homestead Loop” which took an hour. I don’t get up that early anymore for my walk, and have included a few others in my regimen, but my dog and I can be spotted on the trail about once a week after dropping the kids at school.
Our community is blessed to have the Homestead Valley Land Trust, and they put together a trail map that I think is an amazing resource for residents and visitors. It shows the Homestead trail where we now hike all the way to Amaranth, which then loops to four corners, and eventually drops us down on the Homestead-Lattie Lane trail (I didn’t know that was the name of it, we just call it Waterview). Then we turn back onto the Homestead trail to get home. This has evolved into an hour and a half work out that takes us through different terrains and microclimates, and is beautiful!
My family occasionally walks out the back door and hikes all the way to Muir Beach where we have snacks on the grass at the Pelican Inn or explore the tide pools (my husband drives there and runs back so we don’t have to walk both ways). While the map doesn’t take you that far, it could be the first step to many new adventures.