Sausalito Real Estate & Luxury Waterfront Living

When you cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin, Sausalito is the first city you come to. Surrounded by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Richardson Bay, Sausalito isn't immediately visible from the highway, but winds down the bluff to the edge of the bay. Tourists are attracted to the bistros, art galleries, public marina, and the gorgeous bayside walk of this waterfront community. Sausalito is a beautiful town, and its location just north of the bridge has made it a regular inclusion in San Francisco tours.

 

For this reason most Sausalito residents find it convenient to shop, eat, and stroll along Caledonia St. instead of Bridgeway, the main drag. Sausalito is a creative community full of art, live music, and extraordinary restaurants. Two of the best places to visit are the Bay Model and the Bay Area Discovery Museum. The Discovery Museum, which is popular with families from all over Marin, contains interactive displays and activities for kids of all ages. The Bay Model is a working model of the bay ecosystem, and the informative displays in the visitor center include a bird's-eye-view model of the bay.

 

When you think of Sausalito homes, you think of large bay-windowed houses clinging to steep hillsides with stunning views of the bay and the San Francisco skyline. When you think of Sausalito homes, think luxury. The homes in the Old Town neighborhood are the older single-family and multiple-family units. Newer, larger homes are located on steeper slopes above downtown. Nestled into the shady oak groves and steep, sunny hillsides of The Hill you'll find the large older homes. Condominiums and apartments are mixed in near downtown. In New Town (dating back to the 19th century), the homes are smaller bungalows, apartments, condominiums, and older small homes. What is unique to Sausalito is its famous houseboat community.

 

Sausalito's next-door neighbor is the renowned Marin Headlands. This vast expanse of land, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, is truly the most outstanding natural space in the Bay Area. On this 75,000-acre point the golden hills drop into the channel and the Pacific, providing spectacular views of the bay, San Francisco, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Filled with hiking trails and wildlife, some of the most interesting sights in the Marin Headlands are the antique (and still working) Point Bonita Lighthouse, the historic military fortifications, and Hawk Hill, where you can view the fall raptor migration.

 

Sausalito was part of a land grant to rancher William Richardson in 1838. The grant, which included all of the Marin Headlands, was called Rancho Del Sausalito after the abundant willow trees (sauce in Spanish) that grow there. In 1871 the Sausalito Land & Ferry Company directors persuaded the North Pacific Coast Railroad to extend their tracks into Sausalito. With a ferry service across the Golden Gate and a link to north coast lumber by rail, Sausalito began to grow. The new residents included Americans, Portuguese, Germans, Italians, and Chinese, which added a cosmopolitan flair to the little town. Rich San Franciscans discovered the delightful weather and views of Sausalito and built fine houses on the hillsides. Sausalito avoided the building boom of the Fifties and the Sixties, and today many of its original buildings and residences are still being used.