Stinson Beach California Map

About Stinson Beach, California

Stinson Beach is a locality in Marin County, California, United States. It is a small community with a population of 541. The population density is 234.2 people per km². Stinson Beach is located at 37.9005°N, 122.6444°W. It observes the Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) timezone. ZIP code: 94970.

Stinson Beach holds a fragile, luminous edge where the Pacific tide meets the shifting sand of a narrow, salt-sprayed peninsula. It lies 5.4 miles west of Mill Valley, CA (from Mill Valley, CA: bearing 266°T), and is situated 8.0 miles southwest of San Rafael. The landscape is defined by the sharp, downward slope of the terrain, where water drains from the heights toward the sea, carving the earth at Stinson Gulch and feeding the quiet, brackish flow of Webb Creek. To the north, the terrain rises into the rugged, distant silhouettes of the Coast Ranges, often blurred by a heavy, cool mist that rolls in from the horizon. The shoreline remains protected under the expansive reach of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, preserving a wild, open expanse that feels untethered from the frantic pace of the mainland. Beyond the immediate sand, the waters of Bolinas Bay shimmer with a cool, slate-blue clarity, while the silhouette of Kent Island marks a subtle shift in the tidal mudflats that define the local ecology.

History in Stinson Beach lingers in the weathered wood of older cottages, remnants of a time when the shoreline served as a remote outpost for those drawn to the solitude of the fog-drenched coast. The local economy maintains a quiet, seasonal pulse, revolving around the thin stream of travelers who come to walk the McKennan Trail or seek the solace of the shore. Far from the dense, managed growth of the urban centers, the rhythm of life here is dictated by the ebb and flow of the tide and the thin, cooling air that settles over the coast each evening. While the inland regions, such as the area near Nicasio Reservoir, bake under the heat of the summer sun, Stinson Beach remains anchored in a temperate, maritime stillness. It is a place where the salt air bleaches the color from the landscape, leaving behind a palette of muted grays and pale, sun-bleached grasses that bend perpetually toward the sea.

About This Stinson Beach Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Stinson Beach, California. Coordinates: 37.900482, -122.644426. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service. Real-time local and world news feeds keep the page current.

Detailed location data for Stinson Beach includes the ZIP code (94970), telephone area code (510), county seat of Marin County (San Rafael), and school district assignment (Bolinas-Stinson Union Elementary School District).

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.