Marin's lake country: hiking, fishing, biking - Marin County, California

Sunset, April, 1989

This time of year, the cool music of moving water pervades the Marin County watershed country on the north slopes of Mount Tamalpais. After a normal winter, the lakes are brimming with recent rains, and flipping with freshly stocked trout. On the mountain's north flanks, dewsparkled redwood canyons come alive with shining creeks and rushing streams; rock faces adrip with cool seeps are crowded with young mosses, sedums, and ferns; spring fungus grows into riotous colors and shapes (including a form called turkey ruffles); and the air everywhere spiked with redwood and bay, eucalyptus and tanbark oak is so fresh it smells almost medicinal.

The near-pristine lands of the Marin Municipal Water District are a great day-trip destination for Bay Area hikers, cyclists, and fishermen (no swimming or boating, though). Or stay overnight and have an unhassled weekend, with a shopping ramble through San Anselmo and time to sample local restaurants. Try a bed-andbreakfast "home stay," or more conventional lodgings to the west in Olema, at State Highway I and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, or in San Rafael to the east (see page 18 for phone numbers). Bring Fido, if you like: leashed dogs are allowed on MMWD fire roads and trails.

The water district and its dams

Chartered in 1912, Marin's is the oldest water district in the state. As such, it reflects an early environmental stewardship in a county too often parodied as yuppified and self-seeking. MMWD engineers have, over the years, dammed streams to create five artificial (but now quite natural-looking) lakes in the Ross Valley: Phoenix, Lagunitas, Bon Tempe, Alpine, and Kent. These and the 20,000acre watershed around them form a permanent recreational resource.

Oldest of the MMWD dams (1873) is Lagunitas (its big wooden spillway is near the picnic area). Its earth fill was compacted by sheep and cattle driven back and forth over the site (the machine used for this purpose in present-day construction is called a "sheep's foot"). Alpine, the only concrete dam, was designed in 1918 by the famous Bay Area engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy; the 140-foot-tall structure is riddled with hidden catacombs, used for technical inspections.

The trails: some level, some not

A jigsaw of jurisdictions leaves the MMWD area-bordered by federal, state, county, and municipal parklands underexplained and a little hard to sort out. The map above shows access from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and parking spots that connect an assortment of loop walks. You can take a simple loop around one lake for an easy, flat walk, or connect loops to link several lakes, or, for more exercise (and glorious spring walking), combine a lake-perimeter stroll with a hike up one canyon, along an open ridge, and down another canyon, For a long oneway walk, use a two-car shuttle.

There's a friendliness to the watershed's old fire roads (you can easily walk several abreast) and a tended look to the managed terraces from lake to lake. But in many places, the land is quite wild; the narrower trails enhance this feeling.

Go in after a rain and all the small sounds of animals are amplified in the brightening stillness. As you walk the trails, the rattle of oak leaves underfoot may start up a deer or two.

In grasslands, listen for the fluttery, unoiled sound of California quail, then watch for their small ritualistic motions. Near the creek along Bullfrog fire road, there's a particularly loquacious community of native birds.

Burnt firs, like dark masts, mark the way northwest from Lagunitas Creek into Kent Lake (the wildest but most drawndown of the five lakes); these tall snags harbor nests of ospreys you might spot from the Alpine-Kent Pump fire road.

Unlike the hiker-designed switchbacks in the state park just south, water district trails tend to be steeper and straighter. Tbe narrow path from Oat Hill down to Alpine Lake is particularly abrupt-and not for anyone bothered by heights.

In general, MMWD trails are less well signed as you go northwest, and you may need help. You can supplement our map with a free MMWD trail map, available at the Sky Oaks Road kiosk. For greater detail, get the Olmsted Brothers or Erickson trail map of the area, sold at the kiosk and in Marin bookstores.

San Anselmo for post-hike browsing

Long known for its concentration of antique dealers (more than 130 of them) with specialties ranging from tansu chests to Civil War quilts, this town makes easy and interesting browsing on foot. Along San Anselmo Avenue (a block west of Sir Francis Drake) you'll also find sophisticated bibelots and gifts, stylish clothing, and crafts. And there's a natural gardening store so spare in its esthetic that it scarcely contains any merchandise at all. San Anselmo has developed a lot within the last 10 to 15 years, but it's still not too big for its rural britches: amid the spaceage sundries and ethnic eateries, you'll meet such bits of rustic humor as the Hair Saloon.

The commercial strip leading into San Rafael (and U.S. 101) is known locally as the "Miracle Mile." While no miracles befell us there, we did encounter an amazingly full-service health-food supermarket, Living Foods (222 Greenfield Avenue), with everything from free-range chicken to organically grown pastry flour. Dining tips from locals; lodging advice Both San Anselmo and Fairfax have a number of drowsily peaceful, read-andsip cafes. For more substantial meals, we asked advice of area residents.