Tamalpais Valley (

Miwok The Miwok (also spelled Miwuk, Mi-Wuk, or Me-Wuk) are members of four linguistically related Native Americans in the United States, Native American groups indigenous to what is now Northern California, who traditionally spoke one of the Miwok lan ...

: ''Támal Pájiṣ'') is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Land

Tamalpais Valley is located at . and is about 509 acres in size, with an elevation of . The nearest cities are

Mill Valley Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mill Valley is lo ...

to the north and

Sausalito Sausalito (Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's p ...

to the southeast. Traveling by car, Tamalpais Valley is located about 10 minutes from the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

and fifteen minutes from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. California State Route 1 (also known as Shoreline Highway and the Pacific Coast Highway) runs through the Valley and is the road most often used to access western Marin County. Nearby landmarks include the

Golden Gate National Recreation Area The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the Unite ...

(GGNRA),

Mount Tamalpais State Park Mount Tamalpais State Park is a California state park, located in Marin County, California. The primary feature of the park is the Mount Tamalpais. The park contains mostly redwood and oak forests. The mountain itself covers around . There are ...

Muir Woods National Monument Muir Woods National Monument ( ) is a National monument (United States), United States National Monument managed by the National Park Service and named after naturalist John Muir. It is located on Mount Tamalpais near the Pacific Ocean, Pacific ...

Tennessee Valley The Tennessee Valley is the drainage basin of the Tennessee River and is largely within the U.S. state of Tennessee. It stretches from southwest Kentucky to north Alabama and from northeast Mississippi to the mountains of Virginia and North C ...

, and Muir Beach. A large portion of Tamalpais Valley is federal parkland – the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The area's wooded canyons host diverse wildlife, including deer, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, coyotes, foxes, chipmunks, bobcats. and mountain lions – as well as a wide variety of birds, including hummingbirds, sparrows, robins, doves, jays, hawks, herons, quail, owls, falcons, eagles, and vultures.

People

In 2009, Tamalpais Valley's population was estimated at 11,000 (nearly the same size as

). For census purposes, Tamalpais Valley is aggregated with Homestead Valley into the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

Tamalpais-Homestead Valley Tamalpais-Homestead Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 11,492 at the 2020 census. Geography Tamalpais-Homestead Valley is located at . It is bordered by Mill Valley to the nort ...

Government

Tamalpais Valley is an

of approximately 2,800 households, plus a few small businesses. Its local governmental agency is the Tamalpais Community Services District (TCSD), whose board of directors is elected by residents.

History

Tamalpais Valley was first inhabited by Native American tribes such as the

Indians, who left the area with the establishment of the Spanish mission and Presidio in San Francisco. Called Coyote Hollow on 19th century maps, it was granted as part of

Rancho Saucelito Rancho Saucelito (also called "Rancho Sausalito") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Marin County, California, given in 1838 by Governor Juan Alvarado to William A. Richardson. The name means "ranch of the little willow grove". The grant ...

to William Richardson in 1838. The land was acquired by attorney Samuel Reading Throckmorton, then title passed to the San Francisco Savings Union. Eventually dairymen of Portuguese Azorean birth purchased the area, among them the Dias and Pimentel/Silva families. For approximately 60 years these families operated dairy ranches around the valley, where some family members still reside. Finally S.A. Moss purchased property in the heart of the valley, and developers Cranston, Belvel & Dwyer renamed it Tamalpais Valley (it was known as Big Coyote until 1908); 125 lots were put up for sale to private purchasers in 1908. Tamalpais Valley's working class and rural community grew at a fast pace during the 1920s as more families settled in the area. Small businesses, such as the Tamalpais Service Station, were opened along

Shoreline Highway A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. By the 1950s, it had become a suburban settlement with its own primary school, sewer system, and local government.

Recreation

The area offers a wide range of hiking and biking trails, featuring scenic views of

Mount Tamalpais Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...

and the Marin Headlands, as well as the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. Some of the most popular nearby trails include Tennessee Valley trail, Miwok trail, Dias trail, and Mountain Home trail.

Points of interest

Muir Woods "Muir" is the Scots word for "moorland", and the Irish and Scots Gaelic for "sea", and is the etymological origin of the surname and Clan Muir/Mure/Moore in Scotland and other parts of the world. Places United States * Muir, Willits, Californi ...

Richardson Bay Richardson Bay (originally Richardson's Bay) is a shallow, ecology, ecologically rich arm of San Francisco Bay, managed under by the Richardson Bay Regional Agency, created under a joint powers agreement by the County of Marin, Town of Tiburon, C ...

Tamalpais High School Tamalpais High School (often abbreviated as Tam) is a public secondary school located in Mill Valley, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is named after nearby Mount Tamalpais, which rises almost above Mill Valley. Tamalpais High Scho ...

References

External links

Tamalpais Community Services District (T.C.S.D.)Tamalpais Valley Community Center (T.C.C.)
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Marin County, California Mount Tamalpais Unincorporated communities in California