These Bayside Cottages North of San Francisco Set the Scene for Adventure

Ever come across an incredible hotel that stops you mid-scroll and makes you think, Wow, wouldn’t it be something to stay there? We do, too—all the time. Welcome to Friday Fantasy, where we highlight amazing hotels, lodges, cabins, tents, campsites, and other places perched in perfect outdoor settings. Read on for the intel you need to book an upcoming adventure here. Or at least dream about it.

Why We Love Nick’s Cove

This boat shack at the end of a pier is what first charmed me about Nick’s Cove, a 12-cottage property set on the eastern shores of Tomales Bay some 50 miles north of San Francisco.

You can grab a drink from the waterfront restaurant, and a plate full of oysters plucked from the waters just down Highway 1, then amble west across the wooden planks to that solitary shack to chill. Sit on the deck, which on a clear day sends your gaze a mile over the sparkling waters to Point Reyes National Seashore, maybe with fog creeping over its low hills; or find a seat inside the shingled shack itself, the woodstove lit and throwing out heat when the fog has turned visibility to nil, a moody experience so enchanting you positively might hope for it.

Regardless of who you’re with, or how you find yourself at Nick’s, it’s romantic.

The quiet, low-key vibe of this place, and the prospect of eating fresh catch, have been two of its major draws since 1931, when Nick and Francis Kojich, immigrants from Yugoslavia, bought land here to settle down. The couple built a smokehouse for herring and then turned it into a restaurant, one that decades later is legendary in the Bay Area and beyond. The dozen cottages, each slightly different in design but all with what I’d call a kind of NorCal nautical theme, also exceed expectations; bay waters lap beneath the porches at five of them, and the remainder are scattered across the road amid towering cypress trees. Dogs are welcome on-site. The only disappointment I suffered was learning that the shack was built just 11 years ago—I’d imagined it to be decades old—but that’s easy to forget. You’re here for the atmosphere.

Marin County is full of getaway destinations, but Nick’s and the speck of its hometown, Marshall, feel humble and familial and fairly nonchalant about being the perfect base for hiking, road biking, kayaking, sailing, fishing, whale-watching, and fantastic farm-to-table (or boat-to-table) eating. Even with the amount of press Nick’s Cove has received since wrapping up property-wide renovations earlier this year, neither staff nor customers gave off any elitist airs when five friends and I visited one bluebird-sky Friday afternoon in August.

Adventure Intel

Any sunny day in this area will see cyclists on the roads. The property’s new chef consultant, Chris Cosentino of Top Chef Masters fame, is also a sponsored cyclist, and when I asked for his preferred routes, he shared this 28.5-mile one starting at Nick’s Cove and this 98.5-mile one from Santa Rosa, which passes the property. (For his recommended foodie-centric route, check out the Eat and Drink section, below.)

Nick’s has started renting stand-up paddleboards and single kayaks, life vests included, to overnight guests ($25 and $35 per hour, respectively). Staff can also set up a four-hour guided fishing charter, which runs $1,400 for two people and includes a picnic lunch but not a fishing license. The captain can tell you what’s biting.

If you’re looking for a one-stop recreation spot, head 15 miles south to Point Reyes National Seashore. It has than 150 miles of trails, but I recommend Tomales Point Trail in fall especially, because you’ll pass through the Tule Elk Reserve (August through October is rutting season, so keep an ear open for the bulls’ bugling). Blufftop lookout points offer expansive lays of the land. Whale-watching is a year-round pastime along this stretch of coast; migrating humpbacks, blues, and fins frequently appear in the summer and fall, and grays in the winter and spring.

Finally, sign up for one of the bioluminescent tours of Tomales Bay offered by Blue Waters Kayaking (from $145 per person), which puts in at the seashore’s Heart’s Desire Beach. During the three-hour tour, held each month during the new moon, your guide will give you the geologic and Native history of the area and lead you to places where you can ply your paddle into the inky waters to activate the dinoflagellates’ brilliance. Equally magical is drifting in the darkness and being enveloped by the quiet of the bay, your senses fully alert (and maybe thrilled with fear). I don’t know which experience I loved more during my night tour this summer.

Choice Cottages

According to Wade Nakamine, Nick’s general manager, the most booked cottage is the two-bedroom, waterfront Bandit’s Bungalow. “People who book it are usually couples who want the space, although it can sleep up to six,” he says.

His personal favorite cottage, however, is Jerry’s, which can sleep up to four. Its elevated wrap-around porch is ideal for people-watching, affords stunning views of the bay, and has served as a mini outdoor kennel when he and his wife bring their Yorkie mix: “We bring a baby gate, so he’s able to roam around.” This cottage is not situated directly on the water, but Nakamine likes to lie in bed and hear the sound of the water hitting the seawalls.

Eat and Drink

Chef Cosentino, who hails from coastal New England but established a career in the Bay Area and was hired over the summer to helm the restaurant, says it best: “This is a fish house smack-dab in the middle of farm country, and all of our dishes feature seasonal and local produce and seafood.” In the fall he recommends ordering the restaurant’s Rhode Island clam chowder, barbecued oysters, and an albacore sandwich, to pair with Lyre’s Classico, a nonalcoholic sparkling wine. Cosentino also loves to add Dungeness crab to the menu when it’s in season (this year beginning November 4).

For Nakamine, nothing on the menu beats the smoked black-cod dip with saltines and pickled celery. He also recommends two specific house cocktails: “In fall,” he says, “I’m gonna do a Marshall Manhattan, which has a house-made oatmeal-stout syrup paired with Redwood Empire whiskey, cloves, and cinnamon.” For summery days, he likes a Tomales tonic. “We make our own tonic syrup with cinchona bark—it’s earthier and has an orange tint to it—and use local gin and a splash of soda water.”

Off-site there’s almost too much to contemplate. Says Cosentino, “West Marin is a magical place, and when I started riding my bike out by Nick’s Cove, it gave me a bigger picture of everything there—all the dairy farms and cheese companies, the oyster spots and bakeries.” His recommendations for a local foodie tour, which can be done by bike or by car, is as follows:

Start your morning with a pastry from Route One Bakery and Kitchen in the town of Tomales, just four miles east of Marshall. You can also schedule a tour at the nearby Tomales Farmstead Creamery. From Tomales, head south 17 miles to Point Reyes Station. “You have some of the most amazing local producers close by each other and can stop at farmstands for fruit, flowers, and honey,“ he says. In town, Cosentino likes to stop for buffalo-milk ice cream at Toby’s Feed Barn, sauerkraut and chili paste from Wild West Ferments, coffee and a cookie at Bovine Bakery, and “amazing sourdough” at Brickmaiden Breads.

To that I’d add a stop en route at the Hog Island Oyster Co., where you can sit outdoors and eat shucked oysters with a view of the bay (walk-ins available only Thursdays; otherwise make a reservation), or pick up picnic provisions to take on your way.

When to Go

Marshall tends to stay cool and temperate year-round, with highs ranging from the mid-fifties to low sixties in the winter and spring and low seventies in the summer and fall. Marshall sees an average of 260 days of sun annually, but it’s smart to carry  a beanie, scarf, and puffy jacket in case the fog sets in.

I have always wanted to visit Nick’s for Thanksgiving—its restaurant is open that day—and fill the long holiday weekend with nice walks in the area (chances are you’ll see a wild turkey) and some deep reading in front of my cottage’s woodstove.

How to Get There

You’ll want to have a car to explore West Marin, and a rental is the best option if you’re flying into San Francisco or Oakland International Airports (both 65 miles south) or the smaller Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa (35 miles north). Regardless of which way you’re coming, the ranchlands, grand eucalyptus trees, and maritime seascape as you draw closer make for a lovely transition from the city and put you in the mood to relax.

Don’t Miss

The cypress-tree tunnel in Point Reyes National Seashore is a beautiful place for a leisurely stroll, for any ability and the differently abled. It ends at a historic Art Deco–style structure that formerly served as a radio-receiving station; touring it, and seeing the equipment used to send ships messages via Morse code, felt like a real step back in time.

Details

To Book: NicksCove.com

Price: From $430 per night

Address: 23240 Highway One
Marshall, CA 94940

Tasha Zemke is Outside magazine’s associate managing editor and a member of its award-winning online travel team. She lived on an Italian island for 13 years, and since she moved to Santa Fe, she always takes vacations to the waterfront. In October she’s off to another island: Japan.