Novato

By car

Via Highway 101, the major north-south freeway or from Highway 37 which crosses marshland from Vallejo and Highway 80 or from west Marin on Hicks Valley Road/Novato Blvd.

By bus

Marin Transit offers service from other Marin County cities, and the affiliated service Golden Gate Transit goes north to Sonoma County and south to San Francisco.

By train

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, or SMART, connects Novato with San Rafael and places in Sonoma County: Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and Sonoma County Airport. Extensions are planned to Cloverdale and Larkspur.

By bike

Conditions may be too windy for bicycles to go "upwind."

By bus

There is limited Marin Transit (bus) service, which is primarily used by commuters. The bus serves a major stop "downtown" on Old Redwood Highway.

• Marin Museum of Contemporary Art

  phone: +1 415 506-0137
  address: 500 Palm Drive

• The Space Station Museum

  phone: +415 524-3940
  address: 464 Ignacio Blvd

• Marin Museum of the American Indian

  phone: +1 415 897-4064
  address: 2200 Novato Blvd

Essentially a bedroom community but there are various hiking opportunities in the open space around Novato and Marin County (e.g. Mt. Burdell). Immediately west of town are rolling hills, cow farms and 60-acre-plus ranches—a pleasant, scenic ride by car or motorcycle.

• Olompali State Historic Park

  phone: +1 415 892-3383

• Maya Palenque

  phone: +1 415 883-6292
  address: 349 Enfrente Rd
  Mexican restaurant with great staff, great drinks, great prices. Try the desserts!

• Hilltop Cafe

  phone: +1 415 893-1892
  address: 850 Lamont Ave
  A local favorite for fine dining.

• Best Western Novato Oaks Inn

  phone: +1-415-883-4400
  address: 215 Alameda Del Prado

• Courtyard Novato Marin/Sonoma

  phone: +1-415-883-8950
  address: 1400 N Hamilton Pkwy

• Days Inn San Francisco/Novato

  phone: +1-408-737-1177
  address: 8141 Redwood Blvd

• Inn Marin

  phone: +1-415-883-5952
  address: 250 Entrada Dr

• San Rafael, a charming city with plenty of restaurants and shopping, is a 15-minute drive south on highway 101.
• San Francisco is about 30 minutes south on highway 101.
• Napa, a widely-recognized wine-lovers' destination, is about 45 minutes to the northeast.