14 Facts About Mount Tamalpais

Mount Tamalpais, known locally as Mount Tam, is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County.

Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park, the Marin Municipal Water District watershed, and National Park Service land, such as Muir Woods.

Mount Tamalpais is the highest peak in the Marin Hills, which are part of the Northern California Coast Ranges.

Some lower slopes of Mount Tamalpais fall within several cities and unincorporated communities of Marin County, including Mill Valley, Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, Stinson Beach, and Kentfield.

Major Mount Tamalpais rockforms include serpentine, particularly evident in outcroppings near the summit and on the north side.

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Temperatures on top of Mount Tamalpais are generally somewhat cooler than places next to the San Francisco Bay or the ocean due to elevation.

Wetland vegetation types found on Mount Tamalpais include coastal riparian forests, wet meadows, and some marsh areas.

Mount Tamalpais provides one of the last remaining wildlife refuges in the Bay Area.

Mount Tamalpais is a hiking, picnicking, mountain and road cycling, horseback riding, and hang-gliding destination for residents of the San Francisco Bay Area, with over 100 miles of trails and fire roads.

Marin Municipal Water District maintains several reservoirs on the north slopes of Mount Tamalpais, including Alpine Lake, Kent Lake, Bon Tempe Lake, Phoenix Lake, and Lake Lagunitas.

Since the Mount Tamalpais area contains large expanses of undeveloped, natural land, there are many trails and trailheads that criss-cross the area.

Many roads, paved and unpaved, that cross the Mount Tamalpais region are used by mountain bikers, especially on weekends.

Mount Tamalpais played an instrumental role in the birth of mountain biking many years ago, with pioneer frame builders such as Tom Ritchey, Gary Fisher, and Joe Breeze setting up shops in nearby.

Mount Tamalpais has been a common subject in California landscape painting.