San Rafael travel guide

San Rafael, United States

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

San Rafael

Introduction

San Rafael is the county seat of Marin County in California's North Bay, part of the wider San Francisco Bay Area. Use it as a base for exploring Marin County, with the city's downtown serving as its civic and commercial center.

Before you go

Before you go, it helps to know how San Rafael's neighborhoods differ. Crime here is higher than in most of Marin County, though the city is still safer than larger nearby cities like San Francisco or Oakland. Parts of Downtown, Terra Linda, and the area near Woodland Avenue see some crime, so stay aware of your surroundings. In the Canal District, stay alert even in the daytime, as parts of it are quite dangerous; the area west of Kerner is more dangerous than the east side, which has nice town homes along the water. It's best not to walk around the Canal District at night. One local caution applies across these areas: avoid dressing all in red or blue, since you may be mistaken for a rival gang member and approached. The Canal District is nonetheless home to some of the best Latin food in the Bay Area, so it's worth a visit with care.

Getting there

By car, San Rafael sits on the 101 Freeway north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, and 101 meets Highway 580 in the city, making it a main entry point for drivers coming from the East Bay. Ferries leave from the ferry terminal in the Union Square-Financial District in downtown San Francisco, running hourly and every 30 minutes at rush hours; the Larkspur Ferry Terminal is about two kilometers from downtown San Rafael and is served by buses and the SMART train.

Getting around

Downtown San Rafael is laid out on a grid, with numbered streets running east–west and lettered streets running north–south, and the downtown core is easy to cover on foot. For places beyond it, such as the Civic Center or China Camp, you're better off driving or biking. Marin Transit's bus service is a workable option for reaching different parts of town, and the SMART train connects downtown with the Civic Center.

Taxis are available and can also take you to other towns in Marin. You usually won't be able to hail one off the street, so call ahead instead; taxis also line up at the transit center. Uber and Lyft operate here as well.

Where to stay

San Rafael spreads its places to stay along the Highway 101 corridor and into the quieter streets near the centre of town. For a stay with character, the Panama Hotel on Bayview Street is a small, eclectic spot with individually decorated theme rooms, a restaurant serving Mexican-Italian-Californian cuisine in an artsy interior, outdoor dining in spring and summer, and jazz as an accompaniment; rates include a continental breakfast. The North Bay Inn on East Francisco Boulevard runs as a bed and breakfast, while the Extended Stay America on the same road suits longer visits, with guest rooms equipped with full kitchens plus an indoor pool, outdoor hot tub, laundry, fitness centre and morning breakfast.

If you prefer the familiar, there is an Embassy Suites by Hilton on McInnis Parkway and a Motel 6 on East Francisco Boulevard. For something closer to nature, Back Ranch Meadows offers tent camping in the woods of China Camp State Park, with toilets and showers available.

Food & drink

San Rafael eats like a Bay Area town: pubs, taco joints, cafés and bars, with a good cluster of restaurants along Fourth Street. Sol Food on Lincoln Avenue stands out as the city's signature spot, a Puerto Rican restaurant with a tropical atmosphere that draws locals in numbers. For Indian food, Lotus Indian Cuisine on Fourth Street offers a relaxed, quiet room with a retractable ceiling that opens to the sun on a warm day. Puentez Taqueria, a mom-and-pop operation tucked into the corner of Montecito Plaza near Trader Joe's, covers the casual taco end of things.

Fourth Street is also where you'll find cafés for a daytime break. Aroma Cafe, next to the Rafael Theater, has a coffee-shop feel but a menu that stretches to wraps and pita, good for a quick bite or a long conversation over coffee. Double Rainbow Café is a charmingly retro spot that calls itself a café and does serve drinks and sandwiches, but the real draw is old-fashioned ice cream by the scoop or as splits, shakes, floats, freezes and malts, with vegan and dairy-free options. For a drink, The Mayflower Pub on Fourth Street has been an authentic British pub and grill in the same location since 1971, serving lunch and dinner with salads, burgers, fish and chips, bangers and mash and sausage rolls. Red Whale Coffee on Paul Drive is an unpretentious coffee place with its own unique approach to coffee.

What to see and do

Start downtown on Fourth Street, the main drag through central San Rafael, where shops and restaurants give the street a lively feel and the Rafael Film Center—a restored Art Deco theater that appeared in American Graffiti—screens independent films, foreign films, and documentaries. Nearby on Fifth Avenue, Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded as a hospital mission and later became the first mission to be secularized; its restored chapel, museum, and original mission bells are open to tours. North of downtown, the Marin County Civic Center is the only Frank Lloyd Wright–designed government building anywhere, and its setting made it a fitting backdrop for the film Gattaca; tours leave from the second-floor café, and a branch library on the fourth floor displays a model of the building. Beside it, the Civic Center Lagoon (the Duck Pond) is a shady spot for a walk.

East of downtown, follow Third Street as it becomes Point San Pedro Road to reach China Camp State Park, a former Chinese immigrant village turned state park with hiking trails, a beach, a museum, and marshes, forests, and bay views—keep an eye out for shards of Chinese pottery. Just south, McNears Beach has a swimming pool, fishing pier, snack bar, picnic areas, and volleyball and tennis; no license is needed to fish from the pier, though one is required from shore. In summer, Marin Shakespeare performs Shakespeare and other classic plays at the outdoor Forest Meadows Amphitheater—sit near the front to hear clearly, bring cushions for the wooden benches, and pack a jacket or blanket since San Rafael cools down quickly after sunset. The Marin County Fair, held each summer near the Civic Center, brings food, rides, art, and performances, with fireworks every night culminating on the Fourth of July. For hiking closer to town, try the hills north of San Rafael or the trails at China Camp; Big Rock Trail, off Lucas Valley Road and reachable only by car or bicycle, is recognizable by the big rock at its trailhead.

Three days in San Rafael

Day one: Start in Downtown San Rafael, the city's walkable core, and use the San Rafael Transit Center as your base for getting around. From there you can head out to Terra Linda or along Woodland Avenue to get a feel for how the city spreads north. In the evening, return downtown for dinner.

Day two: Spend the day in the Canal District, the Latin American heart of San Rafael and one of the Bay Area's most distinctive neighbourhoods. It sits close to the freeway and is easy to reach by Marin Transit. Take your time wandering and eating your way through the district rather than rushing.

Day three: Use the SMART train or a ferry connection to widen your view of Marin County and the wider Bay Area. The Larkspur Ferry Terminal links Marin with San Francisco, and Golden Gate Transit and Marin Transit cover the county. If you're driving, the Golden Gate Bridge puts San Francisco, Oakland and the East Bay within reach, with Sonoma County to the north.

About this place