The Best Bay Area Nature Stay

Ever come across an incredible hotel that stops you mid-scroll and makes you think, Wow, wouldn’t it be something to stay there? We do, too—all the time. Welcome to Friday Fantasy, where we highlight amazing hotels, lodges, cabins, tents, campsites, and other places perched in perfect outdoor settings. Read on for the intel you need to book an upcoming adventure here. Or at least dream about it.

From my perch on the pine-covered grounds at the Lodge at Marconi, I was staring down at Tomales Bay, an hour north of San Francisco, trying to make out what was splashing in the water. My mind went to the most obvious place: sharks.

In late summer, the white shark is known to frequent northern Tomales Point, on the Pacific. I calmed down, then reasoned: Maybe bat rays. The shape billowed and shrunk and appeared to be made up of separate pieces. It had to be a school of fish. Beautiful. I’d never seen anything quite like it.

Access to nature on this gorgeous, quiet stretch of Northern Cal abound at Marconi. The newly remodeled, 45-room property feels like a sophisticated, laid-back, improved version of summer camp. But one with a sauna to shake off the coastal fog after a day of adventuring, a bar serving harder-to-find regional wines, a massive central fire pit for evening gatherings in the woods, and an ideal position on Highway 1 for quick foodie field trips or wildlife-watching.

In the span of a few hours, I observed a great blue heron stalk a gopher, a bugling bull elk with five-point antlers court a handful of females, and a wild turkey sprint across the road.

The Lodge

The setting is a hilly 62-acre state historic park, with a curious recent past that still resonates with the Bay Area’s present. In the early 1900s, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi used the site as a receiving station to test long-distance radio signals—a precursor to today’s Wi-Fi and the Bay Area tech community. In the sixties, the property changed hands from innovative to more eccentric owners: the founders of Synanon, which began as a therapeutic drug-rehabilitation center but was eventually called out as a cult and closed.

Today the Lodge at Marconi is all good vibes. The September weekend I visited, I shared the property with a large wedding party, young couples carrying toddlers and strolling trails with the family pup in tow (dogs are welcome overnight), and day-trippers picnicking at tables shaded by oaks and surrounded by pink lilies, with postcard views of moored fishing boats bobbing at high tide.

Marconi is on the verge of attracting considerable attention from Bay Area city-dwellers seeking a rural, comfortable hideout they can head to with family and friends. An on-site indoor-outdoor restaurant will open at the end of September with dinner service and a small bar. A day spa is in the works, as is a vegetable garden and farm-style cottages.

Eight miles south, the town of Point Reyes Station has a burgeoning artist and music scene, says Leah Fritts Vitali, Marconi’s general manager, who has resided down the road for 12 years.

“There’s an energy shift happening,” she told me, one that seems to reflect the interests and values of more visitors. Marconi appeals to those who want to learn about and buy food grown locally, eat meals made from scratch, and spend time exploring protected lands, notably Point Reyes National Seashore, across the bay. “Here you have the wilderness and a luxury lodge at a state park, and then this great community. Is this the benchmark of what’s to come elsewhere?”

Adventure Intel

The state park is crisscrossed by 3.5 miles of gently graded hiking trails. On an afternoon stroll, I topped out at the knoll called Tower Hill and looked toward the mouth of the narrow bay and across the water to the Point Reyes peninsula. Coastal clouds slid lazily over the low hills.

When the weather holds, the lodge offers free outdoor yoga on Sunday mornings, an ideal way to take in the eucalyptus- and pine-scented air. There are horseshoes and cornhole and volleyball and basketball courts. And whether you intend to or not, you’ll be birding; I saw turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, and woodpeckers during my stay. If you’re looking for something rare, keep your binocs trained to the shoreline at the base of the property for western snowy plovers, a threatened species.

Trips afield should definitely be part of your stay at Marconi. Reception staff can book horseback riding, photography safaris, and kayak rentals or guided tours of the bay—if your stay coincides with a new moon, be sure to get out on the water one night to paddle through the bioluminescence.

Before check-in, I spent the morning hiking the 9.7-mile (round-trip) Tomales Point Trail at the northern tip of Point Reyes in search of the resident Tule elk herd. I came upon a half dozen after a mile, practically right next to me, and another handful ambling up steep bluffs through the mist about a mile later. The park has countless possibilities for recreation, is a quick and beautiful 11-mile drive from the lodge, and admission is free.

Choice Rooms

Marconi’s midcentury-modernistic buildings blend into the forested surrounds, with the fire pit as focal point. The popular spot is ringed with Adirondack chairs and just a quick trot to the lobby’s grab-and-go store, stocked with snacks and drinks. I loved how the main cluster of rooms so thoughtfully brought folks together.

If you’re a family, request one of the room configurations with a central downstairs bed and a loft with a second bed. I heard the mom in the room next to mine use that as an enthusiastic pitch to her youngster: “Look, your own space!” If your group is looking to sleep up to six, book rooms 304 and 305, which connect.

If you’re a couple here for a secluded getaway for two, the homey, singular A-frame is the best nest. The newlyweds who were married at the property holed up there, canoodling on the sunset-facing deck that overlooked the bay and eastern shores of Point Reyes. It provides a full kitchen, a huge, handsomely tiled bathroom with a tub, a spacious living room, and a king bedroom at the structure’s apex.

Eat and Drink

Starting September 30, you can amble the short distance from your accommodation to a brand-new 63-room restaurant and bar called Mable’s (a loose acronym for the marine atmospheric boundary layer—the air that cools the Northern California coast in summer). The Mediterranean menu and wine and cocktails will draw largely from local ingredients, and by the end of 2025, Mable’s is expected to offer breakfast and bag lunches that you can stick in your daypack.

If you’re like most foodies, though, you already have a list of places nearby you intend to check out. One of those is probably the famous Marshall Store. Breakfast pastries from its downtown Tomales location are delivered to the lodge for guests to purchase, but you should go for yourself to indulge in the mouth-watering scents and test your power of restraint in the face of so many variations of warm bread. The waterfront Marshall Store, just a mile from the lodge, has all kinds of homemade sandwiches, soups, and goodies to satiate you during  your stay or bring home to gift.

I like to have lunch in Point Reyes Station at the West Marin Culture Shop, a micro food hall. Pony up to The Farmer’s Wife for some gooey goodness—one of its signature seasonal melts. The menu boasts 18 of these sandwiches, and the Belly and Jelly—with bacon, apricot conserve, and aged Cheddar and blue cheese—is a customer favorite. What I’m suggesting next could be dairy overdose, but you absolutely can’t leave town without trying Double 8 Dairy’s buffalo-milk soft serve paired with whichever daily fermented fruit soda Wild West Ferments has on tap. The combo is a one-of-a-kind fizzy, creamy float. I’ll say no more.

When to Go

Fall is the heralded season in West Marin, when the marine layer gives way to more frequent sunny days; that said, you should always pack a puffy and expect evenings that drop to the fifties this season. Elk rutting happens from August through October, when males are their most vocal.

Fritts Vitali likes the “drama of the weather” in winter. December is when elephant seals begin to appear on beaches at Point Reyes National Seashore, where they remain generally until March.

The spring months are the greenest of the year. Wildflowers are in full bloom mid-April through mid-June, and the spring bird migration is celebrated with a three-day birding and nature festival in April.

Four species of whales can be spotted off the Pacific in the summer months. August through November, Tomales Bay tends to have more nights of bioluminescence, because the water is warmer and calmer—especially enjoyable conditions for night kayakers.

How to Get There

You’ll want a car to reach the Lodge at Marconi and make the most of your time in the area. The closest airport is in Santa Rosa, 40 miles northeast, but if you’re coming from farther afield, fly into the international airports in San Francisco and Oakland, both some 60 miles south.

One word of advice: If you’re headed up from San Francisco and prone to carsickness or vertigo, avoid Highway 1. The more streamlined route to Marconi is via Highway 101, turning west in Novato and continuing to Point Reyes Station.

Don’t Miss

Although there are a handful of farms that harvest oysters in Tomales Bay, Hog Island is my favorite, and here’s why: not only is it the most convenient to the Lodge at Marconi, but it’s sustainable, founded by two marine biologists devoted to responsible practices, and the only such local farm to offer regular educational tours to the public ($48).

Marconi staff can secure you a spot here—the 75-minute tours book up in advance, so it helps to have an in. You won’t go out on the water but you will have a chance to see the construction of the oyster beds, understand the whole process from seed to table, and end your schooling with a primer on how to properly shuck the bivalves and a tasting.

Stick around for a fantastic brunch at its simple and scenic bayfront Boat Oyster Bar. The ripe tomato, peach, and apple salad I ordered (above left) was just as bright as the sweetwater oysters in mignonette sauce, and all of it washed down nicely with one of the best sake Bloody Marys of my life. Tops.

Details

Price: From $299

Address: 18500 Highway 1
Marshall, CA 94940

To book: Click here to get a 15 percent discount when making your reservation or Book on Expedia. (If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.)

Tasha Zemke is Outside magazine’s managing editor and a member of its online travel team. She thinks the greater Tomales Bay area is one of the best places in the world to work up an appetite outdoors and reward yourself with amazing locally sourced food and drinks.