Since late September, walkers and cyclists have had a new way to get from the Golden Gate Bridge down to Fort Baker. A car-free paved path now runs from Vista Point to Fort Baker along the old Vista Point Road, which had been closed to the public since 1999 for the bridge’s seismic retrofit. It’s wide, with benches along the way, and it makes for an easy, scenic walk or ride down to the water.
The trail's opening matters more this year because Sausalito's fall and holiday dates run in a line through town. The first stop is Fort Baker. Then come Caledonia Street and the Gabrielson Park waterfront, and the last stop is the ICB Building on Gate 5 Road. The new path makes the southern end easy to reach from the bridge. The stretch from downtown to Fort Baker hasn't changed.
Where the protected route actually ends
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition describes the finished trail as a Class I multiuse path between Vista Point and Lower Conzelman Drive, managed by the National Park Service. As the Marin Independent Journal reported, a $6 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration's Federal Lands Transportation Program paid to finish it. Planning began in 2012, and construction started in 2025.
The path lets riders skip Alexander Avenue, where the coalition counted more than 80 crashes between 2010 and 2020. Its executive director, Tarrell Kullaway, told the Marin IJ what the trail fixes:
"It's going to fix part of what's called Marin's most dangerous mile, and we've been asking for this for a long time."
The other part of that mile starts at the town line. In the Bay Trail route guide, the route from Sausalito into Fort Baker runs along Bridgeway, South Street and Alexander Avenue to East Road. Bike lanes disappear for part of that stretch. The coalition has proposed a two-way bikeway on Center and East roads, and the Park Service has planned a Fort Baker corridor study to follow the trail. Neither has a delivery date. For now, a ride from downtown to Fort Baker still starts on the same roads as before.
Walkers heading up to the bridge should know about a seasonal change. The bridge's east sidewalk, the only side open to pedestrians, is generally open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. during daylight saving time, though construction can close it to pedestrians an hour early on some weeknights. During standard time it closes at 6:30 p.m. Standard time starts this Sunday, November 1. Cyclists can use the bridge sidewalks 24 hours a day.
Fort Baker carries the season's longest runs
The southern end of the line has the most dates, and the longest-running ones.
At Cavallo Point, the Farley Bar hosts Wednesday Wind Down every Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. John Vicino plays live there every Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. The lodge's holiday dates are already posted:
- Thursday, November 26. Thanksgiving Dinner at Sula is a four-course meal served noon to 8 p.m. The Thanksgiving Day Grand Buffet in Callippe Ballroom has seatings from noon to 2 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, December 19. Holiday Classics runs 6 to 9 p.m. at the Cooking School, upstairs from Farley.
- Friday, December 25. The Christmas Day Buffet is in Callippe Ballroom from noon to 3 p.m.
Down the hill, the Bay Area Discovery Museum holds its last Goblin Jamboree day on Saturday, October 31. Doors open at 9 a.m. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $5 for members, and members need tickets too. Winter wonderlab runs November 21 through January 3, 2027, with an iceless skating rink, play gingerbread houses and a Toy Makers Studio. Noon Year's Eve on Thursday, December 31, runs 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Space is limited, and members need tickets.
Fort Baker holds events on the whole length of the calendar, from a Halloween morning to the last day of the year. The rest of town gets them in shorter runs.
Caledonia Street holds the evenings
Heading north, the next cluster is on Caledonia Street, and it mostly happens after dark.
Halloween Sausalito falls on Saturday, October 31. The 6 p.m. parade leaves the Station 1 Firehouse at Johnson and Caledonia streets and ends at Trick or Treat Lane in Robin Sweeny Park. The evening also includes a pumpkin contest and a dog-costume contest. That makes October 31 the only day this season with events at both ends of the line. There's Goblin Jamboree at the museum in the morning and the firehouse parade in the evening.
Two blocks of Caledonia also gained a late-night room this summer. Notte Divino opened July 24 at 37 Caledonia St., the former Osteria Divino space. According to the Marin IJ's opening report, Jaxton Funk opened it with San Francisco bar owner Johnny "Love" Metheny. Chef Yovani Castillo spent 12 years in the Osteria Divino kitchen and has returned. He kept most of the original menu, including the house-made focaccia, the oven-baked fennel with Parmigiano-Reggiano and the in-house gnocchi. The new owners added craft cocktails and later hours.
Those hours have changed since opening. The original announcement was 5 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, with the kitchen closing at 10 p.m. The restaurant's current OpenTable listing shows these hours:
Day | Listed hours | Live music |
|---|---|---|
Tuesday–Wednesday | 5–11 p.m. | None listed |
Thursday | 5 p.m.–1 a.m. | None listed |
Friday–Saturday | 5 p.m.–2 a.m. | Rotating musicians, 7–10 p.m. |
Sunday | 5 p.m.–midnight | Solo piano, 6–9 p.m. |
Sunday piano wasn't part of the original weekend jazz plan.
A block over, the City Council voted October 5 to accept a donated mural for the Excelsior Stairs, across Bridgeway from Viña del Mar Park. Its supporters hope to paint it by spring. It won't appear this season, but it's the next change coming to that stretch of downtown.
December moves to the water
After Thanksgiving, the busiest part of the line shifts from Caledonia to the Bridgeway waterfront.
Downtown Sausalito's Holiday by the Bay runs December 1 through 31, with shopping specials and cocoa stops all month. The same page lists a Tree Lighting Ceremony but hasn't posted a 2026 date yet. The Sausalito Chamber of Commerce's Gingerbread House Tour & Competition puts displays in businesses around town from December 8 through 31.
Two earlier weekend mornings anchor the month:
- Saturday, December 5. Breakfast with Santa is at Sausalito Yacht Club, with seatings from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 10:15 to 11:15 a.m.
- Saturday, December 12. Winterfest's 39th Lighted Boat Parade passes Gabrielson Park. Reserved seating opens at 5 p.m., the parade starts at 6 and fireworks follow at about 7:15. The Captain's After Party runs 5 to 10:30 p.m. at The Spinnaker, 100 Spinnaker Drive. VIP ticket holders get in at 5 and general admission starts at 8.
- Sunday, December 13. Winterfest's Jingle Bell 5K starts at 8:30 a.m. on Humboldt Avenue, with same-day bib pickup at 7:30. The kids' Reindeer Dash starts at 9:15. Jingle Paws and brunch at The Spinnaker round out the morning, and brunch requires reservations.
That weekend is the busiest on the waterfront all year. It also falls one week before Holiday Classics at Fort Baker, so the line's two ends never compete for the same Saturday.
Gate 5 Road gets one weekend
The north end of the line has the shortest window. ICB/ART's The Big Open fills the ICB Building at 480 Gate 5 Road on three days. The preview runs Friday, November 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., and open studios follow Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ICB/ART calls it the year's biggest event, with nearly 100 artists opening their doors.
That weekend falls in the quiet stretch between Halloween and Winter wonderlab's November 21 opening, one week before the museum's rink and gingerbread houses arrive at Fort Baker.
If you've been making the Fort Baker climb for years and want a neighbor's view of what this season's changes mean for your street, Sharon Kramlich is glad to talk it through. Request a Complimentary Home Evaluation whenever it suits you, whether that's before the boat parade or after the last gingerbread house comes down.
