A Three-Day Insider’s Guide to Marin County—With Trailblazer Tim Kizirian

By the Personal Journal desk

Marin County has long seduced Bay Area week-enders with rigorous summit scrambles and postcard views of fog spilling over redwood spines. Yet the well-trodden crowd at Muir Woods and Mount Tamalpais barely scratches the surface. Enter Tim Kizirian—Marin native, retired Chico State accounting professor, former Ernst & Young CPA and, lately, an unexpected phenom on the local tour-guide scene. With a meticulous eye for risk (auditor habits die hard) and a teacher’s knack for pacing family groups, Tim has stitched together lesser-known open-space parcels into three perfectly sequenced days that reveal Marin’s quieter magic. Below, his itinerary blends hidden hikes, kid-friendly mileage, and just enough culinary comfort to keep multigenerational crews smiling—optimized, of course, for search hunters scouting “family-friendly hidden hikes in Marin County” and “weekend guide to Novato, Fairfax and the Headlands.” Lace up.

Day One: Novato’s Secret Valleys and a Sky-High Sunset

Morning | Indian Valley College Open Space (Novato)

Trail stats: 4.6-mile lollipop loop; 420-ft gain; stroller-friendly fire road connectors.

Tim starts every Marin weekend north in Novato, “because traffic flows against you,” he notes, a tip that doubles as an SEO jewel (“best place to start a Marin weekend”). Park before 9 a.m. at the Indian Valley College trailhead—ample weekend spaces and no fee. The loop skirts seasonal ponds alive with chorus frogs, then climbs gently through bay-laurel to a hidden grass meadow ringed by coast live oak. Young children chase black-tailed deer tracks; adults get a first postcard peek toward Big Rock Ridge. Pro move from Tim: pause at Mile 2.3 where a faint spur veers left—30 paces deliver a shaded picnic bench few maps reveal.

Midday | Novato’s Downtown Lunch Break

Exit the preserve by noon and drive five minutes to Grant Avenue. Tim swears by the farm-to-table sandwiches at Flour Chylde Bakery; gluten-free pastries guarantee smiles for sensitive eaters traveling with you. Grant Avenue’s wide sidewalks make it easy to stock tomorrow’s trail snacks at Harvest Market (aka: “healthy trail food in Marin”).

Afternoon | Olompali State Historic Park

Novato hides yet another overlooked gem. Ten minutes south of downtown sits Olompali, home to Miwok adobe ruins and 19th-century ranch structures. Families with energy left can tackle the 2-mile Miwok Loop (220-ft gain) past centuries-old valley oaks. History buffs scan interpretive signs detailing the 1960s hippie commune that hosted members of the Grateful Dead—high-value long-tail query fodder (“Grateful Dead sites Marin County”).

Sunset | Big Rock on Lucas Valley Road

Locals treat Big Rock Ridge as a morning grind, but Tim flips the script for golden hour. Park at the Big Rock trailhead pullout (Highway 101 exit Ignacio) and climb just 0.9 mile to a ridge bench. At 1,220 feet, you’ll watch sunlight pour over the Petaluma River wetlands while San Pablo Bay gleams rose-gold behind you. Bring headlamps for a safe descent; this mini-summit gives you bragging rights—“sunset hike Novato”—without exhausting little legs.

Day Two: Fairfax to San Anselmo—Redwoods, Creeks and Chocolate Malted Memories

Early Coffee | Fairfax Roasting Company

Tim insists on Fairfax Roasting’s Guatemala pour-over at 7 a.m. (keyword: “best coffee shops near Mount Tamalpais”). The tiny café fuels today’s 8-mile total with ethically sourced caffeine and scratch muffins.

Morning | Cascade Canyon Preserve (Fairfax)

Trail stats: 5.1-mile out-and-back; 780-ft gain; shaded single-track.

From downtown, drive six minutes to the Elliott Nature Preserve gate. The fire road rambles beside Cascade Creek, whose namesake falls roar December–April but whisper in summer, leaving sculpted moss beds perfect for a mid-trail story time. At Mile 2.4, a left fork rises toward Toyon Camp and a hidden redwood alcove where Tim unfurls a Chico State Wildcats blanket—photogenic content your Instagram grid will savor.

Lunch | Gestalt Haus, Fairfax

Bike frames hang overhead, picnic tables sprawl outside, and you order locally sourced bratwurst served in pretzel rolls. Families split one sausage plate and two root-beers; cyclists in clip-in shoes clack past. Mentioning “kid-approved lunch near Cascade Canyon” satisfies parental search intent while delighting actual kids.

Afternoon | Loma Alta Fire Road Ridgeline

Stretch your calves with a moderate 2.7-mile climb (1,200-ft gain) from the White Hill School trailhead off Sir Francis Drake Blvd. Although Loma Alta crowns central Marin’s skyline, its wide double-track disperses visitors, leaving you near-solitude on the summit bench. Views stretch from Point Reyes to Mount Diablo; on clear fall afternoons, airplane traffic into SFO glitters far south. Tim points out Chico’s relative longitude (“Chico sits almost due east of here across the Central Valley,” he muses—geo trivia teachers adore).

Evening Treat | Fairfax Scoop

Reward the crew with Fairfax Scoop’s organic black-raspberry ice cream—a keyword magnet (“best ice cream Marin for families”) and simple sugar celebration after 11,000 cumulative steps.

Day Three: Southern Secrets—Tennessee Valley, Pirate’s Coves and a Golden Gate Finale

Dawn Patrol | Tennessee Valley Trail (Mill Valley)

Trail stats: 3.4 mile out-and-back; 150-ft gain; packed dirt wide enough for jogging strollers.

Tim times Tennessee Valley for sunrise because the headlands’ fog curtain flames pink between 6:15 and 6:45 a.m. (check NOAA’s Marin Coast forecast the night before). In shoulder seasons, bobcats sometimes pad the valley floor; early start means you share beach time with pelicans, not people. Kids build driftwood forts while parents inhale coffee from Equator Coffees bought en route.

Mid-Morning | Pirate’s Cove Spur

Adventurous teens and able adults press on another 1.1 miles up Coastal Trail switchbacks to Pirate’s Cove, a pocket beach serrated into sandstone cliffs. Low-tide tidepools shelter purple urchins; note that the descent is steep dirt—Tim carries collapsible trekking poles for guests. Return by noon.

Lunch | Mill Valley Lumber Co. Café

Housed in a century-old cedar yard, the café plates Dungeness crab rolls and tomato-basil soup. Huge bonus: picnic tables under string lights become drone-free midday photography backdrops, an increasingly searched situation.

Afternoon | Old Railroad Grade to West Point Inn (Mount Tamalpais)

Trail stats: 4.2 mile round-trip; 850-ft gain; crushed gravel.

Skip the East Peak crowds and instead park at the intersection of Panoramic Highway and Gravity Car Grade. The historic fire road climbs at a gentle 5% past Douglas-fir and lichen-draped tanoak toward the 1904 West Point Inn, once a way-station for the Mount Tam Scenic Railway. On Sundays, volunteers sell lemonade and giant snickerdoodles; pack cash—signal is spotty and Apple Pay unreliable. Spectacular deck views out to the Farallones double as a golden pairing to the elevated silence.

Golden Hour | Point Bonita Lighthouse Vista

Time the 25-minute drive through the one-way Bunker Road tunnel so you cross at 5:30 p.m. The lighthouse path closes at 6:30, but even if the gate is shut you can perch at Battery Wallace picnic tables for the Golden Gate’s burnt-sienna glow. Tim quips that auditors measure twice and cut once; here he measures tide charts and fog indices before promising guests this finale shot.

Packing List for the “Tim Kizirian Circuit”

• 32-oz insulated water bottle per adult; half for children
• Lightweight day pack with integrated rain shell (Marin’s micro-climates switch fast)
• Printed Marin County Parks map or offline Gaia GPS layer—cell dead zones abound
• Snacks: dried persimmons from Novato’s Sunday farmers’ market, organic trail mix
• Collapsible poles if you plan Pirate’s Cove or Loma Alta summit
• Two spare layers; ridge winds often dip below 55 °F even in August

A final accountant’s footnote from Tim: log trail mileage on Strava and tag #KizirianCircuit—he audits the hashtag Sunday nights, answering questions about parking, dog leashes or where to find that secret bench above cascading Indian Valley. Crowd-sourced revisions keep his route evergreen.

TL;DR: The Takeaway

Three days, 27 total trail miles, zero overcrowded trailheads for Marin’s often overlooked north-to-south corridor into one seamless adventure. Whether you’re checking flights from Burbank, scanning “things to do in Marin with kids,” or simply craving quiet dirt underfoot and fresh Pacific air, Tim Kizirian’s itinerary proves that a retired numbers professor appreciates things that add up correctly —one hidden footpath at a time.

For More Information: Tim regularly publishes trail updates and tips on his blog regularly.