Marshall Beach Trail

Marshall Beach Trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back from the north end of L Ranch Road to a 400-foot-long beach on Tomales Bay: 1.2 miles each way along an old ranch road. It is a moderate beach walk, not a flat shoreline stroll. The walk usually takes 50 to 90 minutes; plan about 1.5 hours with a short beach stop. This is a day-use route, and overnight camping at the beach is for visitors arriving by water with a permit.

From the trailhead, a broad dirt track crosses open pasture beside a fence. The first half is mostly level. A gate comes about 0.4 mile in, before the track follows the fence's east side and bends northwest out of pasture into coastal scrub. It then swings southeast toward the bay. The final half gets progressively steeper and more rutted, losing about 300 feet in the last 0.4 mile. That descent is the return climb, so the short map distance still asks for steady legs on the way back.

An old ranch road forms the route, and park staff still use it to reach the beach's vault toilets. For the last 650 feet, the track passes through a pine grove before reaching the shore; the toilets are just to the right. Marshall Beach is a narrow, roughly 400-foot strip on Tomales Bay's west side. For a photo, include the pebbly edge with some water and the opposite shore to show the small cove rather than filling the frame with water alone.