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Trip from San Francisco, CA to Tamalpais Valley, CA

Compiled by the Trip.ovh editorial team · Last recalculated Apr 17, 2026 · Methodology

Drive Time

28m

Distance

13.3 mi

21 km

Drive Score

7/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 7 min
4 AM
0h 26m ★
6 AM
0h 28m
8 AM
0h 33m
10 AM
0h 30m
12 PM
0h 29m
3 PM
0h 30m
5 PM
0h 33m
8 PM
0h 27m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Best Time Drive vs Fly
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consolidated city and county in California, United States

San Francisco, CA

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Tamalpais Valley, CA, CA

Tamalpais Valley, CA

Robert So

Trip Overview

The drive from San Francisco, CA to Tamalpais Valley, CA covers 13.3 miles and takes about 28m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Redwood Highway, Presidio Parkway, Golden Gate Bridge for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 3.7 miles on Redwood Highway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $3.06 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 28m. Total distance: 13.3 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

28m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile with national parks nearby.

Drive Character

Expect a 28m drive with frequent turns across 13.3 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 22 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Redwood Highway is the longest continuous segment at about 3.7 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near US 101 / South Van Ness Avenue.

Driving Effort 7/10

Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 15 decision points packed into just 13.3 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 28m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: near the start (US 101 / South Van Ness Avenue): Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach; at 0.3 miles (Gough Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.4 miles (Market Street): Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 15 key points

These are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.

6
0 mi into trip | ~0m in | US 101 / South Van Ness Avenue

Turn sharp right onto US 101 / South Van Ness Avenue

Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach

6
0.3 mi into trip | ~0m in | Gough Street

Turn right onto Gough Street

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane.
6
0.4 mi into trip | ~1m in | Market Street

Turn right onto Market Street

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane.
6
0.6 mi into trip | ~1m in | Fell Street

Turn left onto Fell Street

Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / left lanes.
8
10.9 mi into trip | ~21m in | CA 1

Take the exit onto CA 1 toward CA 1: Mill Valley, Stinson Beach, Muir Woods, Mount Tamalpais

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight right lane. Exit 445B Toward CA 1: Mill Valley, Stinson Beach, Muir W...

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

Between San Francisco, CA and Tamalpais Valley, CA, road signs point toward Stinson Beach, Muir Woods and Mount Tamalpais.

Stinson Beach

10.9 mi in | ~21m | via CA 1

Muir Woods

10.9 mi in | ~21m | via CA 1

Mount Tamalpais

10.9 mi in | ~21m | via CA 1

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Redwood Highway 3.7 mi 5m
Presidio Parkway 1.8 mi 3m
Golden Gate Bridge 1.7 mi 2m
CA 1 1 mi 2m
Webster Street 1 mi 2m
Shoreline Highway 0.8 mi 1m
Divisadero Street 0.8 mi 1m
Northern Avenue 0.6 mi 2m
Longest stretch: Redwood Highway — 3.7 mi, about 5m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between San Francisco, CA and Tamalpais Valley, CA.

1

Start on Market Street

41 ft · 6 sec · Market Street
2

Turn sharp right onto US 101

0.1 mi · 27 sec · South Van Ness Avenue
3

Turn right onto Otis Street

0.1 mi · 16 sec · Otis Street
4

Turn right onto Gough Street

0.1 mi · 16 sec · Gough Street
Use the right lane.
5

Turn right onto Market Street

29 ft · 1 sec · Market Street
Use the right lane.
6

Keep slight left at fork

497 ft · 10 sec
7

Continue on Franklin Street

0.1 mi · 37 sec · Franklin Street
8

Turn left onto Fell Street

0.5 mi · 1 min · Fell Street
Use the straight / left lanes.
9

Turn right onto Webster Street

1.0 mi · 2 min · Webster Street
10

Turn left onto California Street

0.5 mi · 1 min · California Street
11

Turn right onto Divisadero Street

0.8 mi · 1 min · Divisadero Street
12

Turn left onto US 101

0.1 mi · 29 sec · Lombard Street
Use the left lane.
13

Continue on US 101

0.2 mi · 40 sec · Richardson Avenue
Use the straight / right lanes.
14

Continue on US 101

1.8 mi · 3 min · Presidio Parkway
Use the straight lane.
15

Continue on US 101

1.7 mi · 2 min · Golden Gate Bridge
16

Continue on US 101; CA 1

3.7 mi · 5 min · Redwood Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
17

Take the exit onto CA 1

1.0 mi · 2 min · CA 1
Exit 445B Toward CA 1: Mill Valley, Stinson Beach, Muir Woods, Mount Tamalpais Use the slight right lane.
18

Continue on CA 1

0.8 mi · 1 min · Shoreline Highway
19

Turn left onto Maple Street

34 ft · 6 sec · Maple Street
20

Turn right onto Northern Avenue

0.3 mi · 1 min · Northern Avenue
21

At end of road, turn left onto Northern Avenue

0.2 mi · 54 sec · Northern Avenue
22

Arrive at destination

Northern Avenue

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$3.06 one way

$6.11 round trip

$5.84/gal 25.4 MPG avg 5 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $6.02 $3.15 $6.30
premium $6.18 $3.23 $6.47
diesel $5.61 $2.94 $5.87

Estimated Tolls: $9.00

Golden Gate Bridge $9.00

Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Tolls

$9

Total

$12

Estimated CO2 emission: 4.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 60% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 4 0 $1.40 $0.64
Efficient EV 3.3 0 $1.16 $0.53
EV Truck/SUV 5.3 0 $1.86 $0.85

Gas CO2

5 kg

EV CO2

2 kg (60% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Apr 16, 2026

Origin

San Francisco, CA

Night in San Francisco on Thursday

Local time

11:03 PM

PDT

Current temp

70°F

Sunny

N 5 to 10 mph 0% chance Live forecast

Freeze Warning

Freeze Warning issued April 16 at 10:43AM PDT until April 17 at 11:00AM PDT by NWS Medford OR

Wind Advisory

Wind Advisory issued April 16 at 10:32AM PDT until April 17 at 11:00AM PDT by NWS Hanford CA

Destination

Tamalpais Valley, CA

Night in Tamalpais Valley on Thursday

Local time

11:03 PM

PDT

Current temp

58°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

12 degrees cooler at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

28m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from San Francisco, CA to Tamalpais Valley, CA covers 13.3 miles and takes about 28m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Redwood Highway, Presidio Parkway, Golden Gate Bridge. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 6.6 miles from San Francisco, CA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $3.06 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.
Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch. Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.
This is a short but busy drive. With 15 decision points packed into just 13.3 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 28m.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (US 101 / South Van Ness Avenue): Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach; at 0.3 miles (Gough Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.4 miles (Market Street): Lane positioning matters here.
Between San Francisco, CA and Tamalpais Valley, CA, road signs point toward Stinson Beach, Muir Woods and Mount Tamalpais.
Yes. Nearby national parks include San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Muir Woods National Monument and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There are 6 parks within detour distance of this route.

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