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.

From my perch on the pine-covered grounds at the , I was staring down at Tomales Bay, an hour north of San Francisco, trying to make out what was splashing in the water. My mind went to the most obvious place: sharks.

In late summer, the white shark is known to frequent northern Tomales Point, on the Pacific. I calmed down, then reasoned: Maybe bat rays. The shape billowed and shrunk and appeared to be made up of separate pieces. It had to be a school of fish. Beautiful. I’d never seen anything quite like it.

Access to nature on this gorgeous, quiet stretch of Northern Cal abounds at Marconi. The newly remodeled, 45-room property feels like a sophisticated, laid-back, improved version of summer camp. But one with a sauna to shake off the coastal fog after a day of adventuring, a bar serving harder-to-find regional wines, a massive central fire pit for evening gatherings in the woods, and an ideal position on Highway 1 for quick foodie field trips or wildlife-watching.

In the span of a few hours, I observed a great blue heron stalk a gopher, a bugling bull elk with five-point antlers court a handful of females, and a wild turkey sprint across the road.

The Lodge

The setting is a hilly 62-acre , with a curious recent past that still resonates with the Bay Area’s present. In the early 1900s, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi used the site as a receiving station to test long-distance radio signals—a precursor to today’s Wi-Fi and the Bay Area tech community. In the sixties, the property changed hands from innovative to more eccentric owners: the founders of Synanon, which began as a therapeutic drug-rehabilitation center but was eventually called out as and closed.

Today the Lodge at Marconi is all good vibes. The September weekend I visited, I shared the property with a large wedding party, young couples carrying toddlers and strolling trails with the family pup in tow (dogs are welcome overnight), and day-trippers picnicking at tables shaded by oaks and surrounded by pink lilies, with postcard views of moored fishing boats bobbing at high tide.

Marconi is on the verge of attracting considerable attention from Bay Area city-dwellers seeking a rural, comfortable hideout they can head to with family and friends. An on-site indoor-outdoor restaurant will open at the end of September with dinner service and a small bar. A day spa is in the works, as is a vegetable garden and farm-style cottages.

Eight miles south, the town of Point Reyes Station has a burgeoning artist and music scene, says Leah Fritts Vitali, Marconi’s general manager, who has resided down the road for 12 years.

“There’s an energy shift happening,” she told me, one that seems to reflect the interests and values of more visitors. Marconi appeals to those who want to learn about and buy food grown locally, eat meals made from scratch, and spend time exploring protected lands, notably Point Reyes National Seashore, across the bay. “Here you have the wilderness and a luxury lodge at a state park, and then this great community. Is this the benchmark of what’s to come elsewhere?”

���ϳԹ��� Intel

The state park is crisscrossed by 3.5 miles of gently graded hiking trails. On an afternoon stroll, I topped out at the knoll called Tower Hill and looked toward the mouth of the narrow bay and across the water to the Point Reyes peninsula. Coastal clouds slid lazily over the low hills.

When the weather holds, the lodge offers free outdoor yoga on Sunday mornings, an ideal way to take in the eucalyptus- and pine-scented air. There are horseshoes and cornhole and volleyball and basketball courts. And whether you intend to or not, you’ll be birding; I saw turkey vultures, red-tailed hawks, and woodpeckers during my stay. If you’re looking for something rare, keep your binocs trained to the shoreline at the base of the property for , a threatened species.

Trips afield should definitely be part of your stay at Marconi. Reception staff can book horseback riding, photography safaris, and kayak rentals or guided tours of the bay—if your stay coincides with a new moon, be sure to get out on the water one night to paddle through the .

Before check-in, I spent the morning hiking the 9.7-mile (round-trip) at the northern tip of Point Reyes in search of the resident Tule elk herd. I came upon a half dozen after a mile, practically right next to me, and another handful ambling up steep bluffs through the mist about a mile later. The park has countless possibilities for recreation, is a quick and beautiful 11-mile drive from the lodge, and admission is free.

Choice Rooms

Marconi’s midcentury-modernistic buildings blend into the forested surrounds, with the fire pit as focal point. The popular spot is ringed with Adirondack chairs and just a quick trot to the lobby’s grab-and-go store, stocked with snacks and drinks. I loved how the main cluster of rooms so thoughtfully brought folks together.

If you’re a family, request one of the room configurations with a central downstairs bed and a loft with a second bed. I heard the mom in the room next to mine use that as an enthusiastic pitch to her youngster: “Look, your own space!” If your group is looking to sleep up to six, book rooms 304 and 305, which connect.

If you’re a couple here for a secluded getaway for two, the homey, singular A-frame is the best nest. The newlyweds who were married at the property holed up there, canoodling on the sunset-facing deck that overlooked the bay and eastern shores of Point Reyes. It provides a full kitchen, a huge, handsomely tiled bathroom with a tub, a spacious living room, and a king bedroom at the structure’s apex.

Eat and Drink

Starting September 30, you can amble the short distance from your accommodation to a brand-new 63-seat restaurant and bar called Mable’s (a loose acronym for the marine atmospheric boundary layer—the air that cools the Northern California coast in summer). The Mediterranean menu and wine and cocktails will draw largely from local ingredients, and by the end of 2025, Mable’s is expected to offer breakfast and bag lunches that you can stick in your daypack.

If you’re like most foodies, though, you already have a list of places nearby you intend to check out. One of those is probably the famous . Breakfast pastries from its downtown Tomales location are delivered to the lodge for guests to purchase, but you should go for yourself to indulge in the mouth-watering scents and test your power of restraint in the face of so many variations of warm bread. The waterfront Marshall Store, just a mile from the lodge, has all kinds of homemade sandwiches, soups, and goodies to satiate you during ��your stay or bring home to gift.

I like to have lunch in Point Reyes Station at the , a micro food hall. Pony up to The Farmer’s Wife for some gooey goodness—one of its signature seasonal melts. The menu boasts 18 of these sandwiches, and the Belly and Jelly—with bacon, apricot conserve, and aged Cheddar and blue cheese—is a customer favorite. What I’m suggesting next could be dairy overdose, but you absolutely can’t leave town without trying Double 8 Dairy’s buffalo-milk soft serve paired with whichever daily fermented fruit soda Wild West Ferments has on tap. The combo is a one-of-a-kind . I’ll say no more.

When to Go

Fall is the heralded season in West Marin, when the marine layer gives way to more frequent sunny days; that said, you should always pack a puffy and expect evenings that drop to the fifties this season. Elk rutting happens from August through October, when males are their most vocal.

Fritts Vitali likes the “drama of the weather” in winter. December is when elephant seals begin to appear on beaches at Point Reyes National Seashore, where they remain generally until March.

The spring months are the greenest of the year. Wildflowers are in full bloom mid-April through mid-June, and the spring bird migration is celebrated with a three-day in April.

Four species of whales can be spotted off the Pacific in the summer months. August through November, Tomales Bay tends to have more nights of bioluminescence, because the water is warmer and calmer—especially enjoyable conditions for night kayakers.

How to Get There

You’ll want a car to reach the Lodge at Marconi and make the most of your time in the area. The closest airport is in Santa Rosa, 40 miles northeast, but if you’re coming from farther afield, fly into the international airports in San Francisco and Oakland, both some 60 miles south.

One word of advice: If you’re headed up from San Francisco and prone to carsickness or vertigo, avoid Highway 1. The more streamlined route to Marconi is via Highway 101, turning west in Novato and continuing to Point Reyes Station.

Don’t Miss

Although there are a handful of farms that harvest oysters in Tomales Bay, is my favorite, and here’s why: not only is it the most convenient to the Lodge at Marconi, but it’s sustainable, founded by two marine biologists devoted to responsible practices, and the only such local farm to offer regular educational tours to the public ($48).

Marconi staff can secure you a spot here—the 75-minute tours book up in advance, so it helps to have an in. You won’t go out on the water but you will have a chance to see the construction of the oyster beds, understand the whole process from seed to table, and end your schooling with a primer on how to properly shuck the bivalves and a tasting.

Stick around for a fantastic brunch at its simple and scenic bayfront Boat Oyster Bar. The ripe tomato, peach, and apple salad I ordered (above left) was just as bright as the sweetwater oysters in mignonette sauce, and all of it washed down nicely with one of the best sake Bloody Marys of my life. Tops.

Details

Price: From $299

Address: 18500 Highway 1
Marshall, CA 94940

To book: Click to get a 15 percent discount when making your reservation or�� (If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.)

Tasha Zemke is ���ϳԹ��� magazine’s managing editor and a member of its online travel team. She thinks the greater Tomales Bay area is one of the best places in the world to work up an appetite outdoors and reward yourself with amazing locally sourced food and drinks.

The post The Lodge at Marconi Opens the Door to Gorgeous Nature and an Incredible Local Food Scene appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

Last week I read that a 55-year-old woman named Amy Appelhans Gubser had swum from San Francisco to the Farallon Islands—the craggy archipelago at the center of Susan Casey’s epic 2005 book The Devil’s Teeth. Whenever I read about the Farallones, I envision the school bus-sized great white sharks that swim in the murky waters around the islands, which Casey profiled in her book. When I read about Appelhans Gubser’s amazing feat, all I could conjure were those sharks. I just had to ask her about them.

Appelhans Gubser, a nurse and grandmother who lives in Pacifica, completed the 29.6-mile swim from the Golden Gate Bridge to the islands on May 11 in 17 hours, three minutes. I caught up with Appelhans Gubser to discuss the massive swim and the big fish that undoubtedly swam below her.

What was your greatest fear during the swim?
The elephant in the room is white sharks, and they were in the back of my mind at all times during the swim. We didn’t take the shark thing lightly—I had a savvy crew that kept watch for them from a boat and kayak. They were ready to jump into the water to help me if I needed, but we had no shark sightings the whole time. My second fear was the cold. I trained to swim in cold but the water was 43 degrees that day, and that was unexpected and something I was not ready for. Then, I had to trust that my team was keeping me on course. We had three different instruments making sure we were going the right way. We were out of cellphone range so nobody could call us to tell us we were going the wrong way.

How did you come up with the idea for the swim?��
I’ve been around the ocean since I was ten years old. I was an ocean lifeguard in high school and college, and I swam at the University of Michigan. After I graduated I was done with the sport. I didn’t get back into the water for 24 years, and when I did return I was doing open-water swimming. I just fell in love with it and started doing more events like the open-water swims across Lake Tahoe and Monterey Bay. I can see the Farallon Islands from my house when it’s clear, and I’ve always joked with my husband that I can swim there. Five years ago I started planning and training for the crossing. I knew my body could withstand the cold and the distance. I sought out open-water swimming mentors for guidance.�� I got resources through the Marathon Swimming Federation, and then Covid broke out in 2020 and I couldn’t rent a boat. It was too bad because I was in the best shape of my life, but I was foiled. Then, the next two years I had to cancel because of strong winds. It was a challenge I wanted to do, but things never lined up.

What elements had to come together for you to even attempt it?
I had to wait for the weather systems and the currents to be right, or else you’ll swim as hard as you can and you won’t go anywhere. Wave height was another factor because the ocean can’t be too bouncy. Sometimes the current was OK but the wave interval was too tight. One day it was clear but the waves were six feet every nine seconds. On the day we went it was four feet every 12 seconds, which is doable. And then there’s the wind. If you get a prevailing southerly wind then you get foggy weather. If it’s from the north then you get blasted by Alaskan air. It can be beautiful in San Francisco but out at Point Reyes it’s 40 mile-per-hour winds. This year we spent three months monitoring surface currents. A week before my swim we could see conditions were magically aligning, and by Wednesday, May 8 we knew we were a go for Saturday the 11th. But I had a problem: the captain I had contacted for the follow boat said he had a different charter that day. I had to scramble and get a fishing captain who signed up and said “yes.”

How did you keep your mind occupied during the 17 hour swim?
Sometimes I’m thinking of nothing, other times I’m solving the world’s problems. A swarm of bats flew around us at dawn and I kept thinking it was the universe telling me I’m batshit crazy. I found that joke funny for way too long because I had nothing else to entertain my thoughts. My team would tell me jokes to keep my spirits up. I’d try to count but I’d always lose count at 77 so I’d start again.

What is the appeal of marathon open-water swimming?
As a pool swimmer, you’re following time intervals but you never see how much distance you’ve actually covered. When you do open-water swimming you can look across a body of water and see where you’ve come from. It’s so much more profound. In pool swimming you’re going for time, but in open-water swimming time doesn’t mater because you’re up against so many elements you cannot control. Your job is just to persevere so you can eventually break through. I like that.

The post This Grandmother Swam 30 Miles Through Shark-Infested Waters to Set a Record appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

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 , 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.

���ϳԹ��� 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 starting at Nick’s Cove and this 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 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 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 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 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 ; 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:

Price: From $430 per night

Address: 23240 Highway One
Marshall, CA 94940

Tasha Zemke is ���ϳԹ��� magazine’s associate managing editor and a member of its 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.

The post These Bayside Cottages North of San Francisco Set the Scene for ���ϳԹ��� appeared first on ���ϳԹ��� Online.

It’s a Saturday in early November, the opening day of Dungeness crab season in California. My friend Micah is pulling his boat up to the wooden dock at Horseshoe Cove, directly underneath the north end of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, in Sausalito. An avid fisherman from nearby San Rafael, Micah has brought hoop nets, his two sons, and enough foul-weather gear to ward off the encroaching fog and rain. My family and I pile in, and off we go, jetting across the bay and beneath the bridge, into a cove that we’re all hoping is teeming with crab.

After an hour or so, the ocean delivers. We pull in nets full of crabs, throwing back what we can’t keep due to size and daily limits, and dropping the rest into a tank on the boat. En route back to the dock, Micah asks if we want to come over for a crab lunch at his place. Obviously, the answer is yes. A quick stop at the Saturday farmers’ market at Marin Country Mart��in Larkspur yields a bag of fresh-from-the-soil potatoes and a crusty French baguette from Rustic Bakery to accompany the steamed crabs.

I’ve eaten a lot of delicious food over the years in bountiful Marin County, a verdant peninsula surrounded by the Pacific just north of San Francisco. But honestly, those crabs we caught ourselves might top the list—the freshest of seafood, dunked in bowls of melted butter.

These days Marin is known as the affluent, family-centric home base for the Bay Area’s wealthy remote and tech workers. Real estate prices here are among the highest in the country. But it hasn’t always been that way. In the 1970s, Marin was the groovy epicenter of the Grateful Dead and the birthplace of the renegade sport of mountain biking. As a result, the area’s hippie, counterculture roots as a rock-and-roll commune still persevere and can be felt in Marin’s laid-back, unpretentious, outdoorsy vibe.

Over half of Marin’s open space remains off-limits to development, thanks to long-standing conservation efforts. The county boasts three federally protected wild spaces—Muir Woods National Monument, Point Reyes National Seashore, and Golden Gate National Recreation Area—and six state parks. And residents here treasure both their expansive public and private lands for more than just recreation, regularly frequenting the 250 local farms and ranches that make the most of the mild climate and fertile landscape, from cheesemakers and winemakers to apple, artichoke, and oyster farmers.

I love coming to Marin. There are many wonderful ways to spend a weekend here, but if you’re looking to tie together a variety of outdoor activities, accommodations situated near wildlands, and food options that will keep you singing the praises of this corner of the country for years to come, here’s my favorite itinerary to experience the best Marin has to offer.

Friday

3 P.M. Hit the Trails

Start your weekend outside with a short hike or trail run within the Marin Headlands, part of , where miles of winding singletrack offer ocean views. Go out and back on the —about two miles one way, though it connects to other trails if you want to make the hike longer—for vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and a steady climb along a narrow ridge. It’s hard to believe a city as dense and populated as San Francisco is just a famous bridge commute or short ferry ride away when you’re out here exploring these areas of uncrowded wilderness.

5 P.M. Check In to Your Digs

A stay at the LEED-certified (from $425) is hard to beat.This gorgeous, 350-acre resort at the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge was formerly the site of the U.S. Army post at For Baker�����Ի� feels like a true getaway, with incredible views and the scent of eucalyptus permeating the air. The hotel has a spa, a top-notch farm-to-fork restaurant, and tries to keep its guests out and moving with offerings such as daily yoga, vintage electric bikes, summertime lawn games, and guided hikes that leave right from the property. Dogs are treated like VIP guests, and there’s expansive grounds for you and your pup to play.

If you’d rather sleep beneath the stars, there’s camping on the ocean at (from $40), west of the Golden Gate Bridge, from March through late November, or for year-round options, head about ten miles north to and stay in the rustic Steep Ravine Cabins ($100) or at one of its campsites ($25)—though both are highly coveted and most reservations should be booked six months’ out. The (from $30) in Point Reyes National Seashore are stunning (not to mention more available), if you’re willing to hike in with your gear.

7 P.M. Nosh Time

Head to the upscale hamlet of Sausalito for an evening stroll along the water, followed by dinner of kale-and-ricotta pizza at Bar Bocce, with views of houseboats in the harbor. Afterward, go for a pint next door at Joinery, a casual beer hall with picnic tables on the dock. Save room for a scoop of mango or cinnamon-horchata ice cream at Lappert’s.

Saturday

7:30 A.M. First, Coffee

There’s coffee and complimentary pastries in the hotel lobby at Cavallo Point if you need an immediate fix. For a proper meal, start your day with a leisurely breakfast of avocado toast with perfectly poached eggs—plus a side of vanilla bean doughnuts—at , the in-house restaurant.

10 A.M. Take a Guided Food Tour��

Love learning where your food comes from? Sign up with , a locally owned outfitter that leads public, small-group excursions around Marin County’s best oyster farms, cheesemakers, and flower and food growers. As part of two of its tours, you’ll snack on pastries at the Bovine Bakery, in Point Reyes Station, which is worth standing in line for.

1 P.M. Yes, You Should Order the Oysters

There are many superb places to dine on locally harvested oysters in coastal Marin. The most famous is probably Hog Island Oyster Co.,��in Marshall, a dreamy outdoor café with a raw bar, barbecued oysters, and cheese platters stacked with offerings from nearby Cowgirl Creamery. If you’re on the Food and Farm Tour, you’ll likely make a stop here; if not, make a reservation well in advance to score a table. (If you can’t get a reservation, there’s a grab-and-go shack for picnic supplies to take with you, or there’s an easier-to-get-into Hog Island café in the southern Marin town of Larkspur.) As an alternative option, check out in Marshall, where you can dine on oysters harvested from Tomales Bay at the lodge’s on-site restaurant, situated at the end of a pier. The cottages at Nick’s (from $375) were recently renovated and make for a great home base as well.

3 P.M. Taste Wine Made from Bees

Marin isn’t known for its wine—that would be neighboring Sonoma and Napa counties—but the sparkling mead wine made from honeybees by a geologist turned brewer at , also in Point Reyes Station, is worth a stop for a quick tasting.

4 P.M. Make a Break for the Beach

With 80 miles of shoreline, you can enjoy by walking endless sandy beaches, like Drake’s Beach or North Beach, both of which are easily accessible via car. If you’re feeling adventurous and want to get out on the water, you can rent a kayak from , which also runs nighttime bioluminescence tours from Heart’s Desire Beach in Tomales Bay. If sailing is more your style, book a chartered trip with in Point Reyes.

8 P.M. Splurge on the Best Sushi in the Bay

Ask anyone around and they’ll tell you the best and freshest sushi in the Bay Area is at Sausalito’s Sushi Ran. The owner, Yoshi Tome, who grew up in Japan, knows a great deal about sake and has been running his beloved restaurant since 1986.

Sunday

8 A.M. Fill Up with a Farmers’ Market Breakfast

Pick up coffee and breakfast—as well as everything from pies to pickles—from the plentiful and iconic Sunday in San Rafael, the third-largest farmers’ market in California, which is set at the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed civic center and open year-round on Sundays from 8 A.M. until 1 P.M.

9:30 A.M. Walk in the Woods

Wander among old-growth redwoods in , which has six miles of trails (again, you can connect to other trail networks for longer outings). In order to visit, you’ll need to make a in advance or arrive by shuttle. The oldest trail-running race in the country, the Dipsea Race,��first held in 1905 on the steep Dipsea Trail and now a bucket-list event for many that happens each June, crosses through Muir Woods as competitors make their way from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach. But anyone can test their mettle on the trail year-round—it makes for a technical and challenging 7.4-mile hike.

11:30 A.M. Stop for Sourdough and Surf

Another reason to love Marin: the 24-hour honor-system farm stand from the family-run , about a mile and a half north of Bolinas Beach on the Olema-Bolinas Road. Drop your money in the box or make a Venmo payment to grab fresh eggs, a loaf of homemade sourdough, or produce grown in the adjacent field. If you’re a surfer, the break at Bolinas is the place to be. The in the quaint coastal town of Bolinas rents boards and wetsuits and offers lessons.

1 P.M. Taco Time

A solid morning of exertion calls for a lunch of fish tacos or a midday brunch of saucy, avocado-topped huevos rancheros at the nearby .

3 P.M. Spin Your Wheels near the Birthplace of Mountain Biking

Fifty years ago, a group of road cyclists from Marin began using fat-tire, singlespeed vintage bikes to ride the trails around towering 2,571-foot Mount Tamalpais, recognized as the birthplace of mountain biking. These days, the area’s best purpose-built mountain-bike trails can be found at , a Boy Scout–run open space west of Fairfax. In town, is known for its tune-ups, rentals, and a staff with ample local trail knowledge. Another great option is , which leads guided trail rides in Marin and also rents bikes. Next door is the Marin Museum of Bicycling, well worth a stop to learn more on the history of the sport in the area. Afterward, order a cold Kölsch, surrounded by mountain bikes hanging off the walls, at Gestalt Haus,��a lively beer hall.

When to Go to Marin County

There’s no bad time of year to visit the San Francisco Bay Area, but late fall—from September to November—is actually when the city sees some of its warmest weather of the year. And there’s a reason Marin is called the sunny side of the Golden Gate Bridge: winter temperatures rarely drop below 50 degrees. Early winter is a great time for spotting migratory birds and whale-watching. California gray whales can be spotted heading north along the Northern California coast between mid-January and mid-March, and is a great place to look for them.

Megan Michelson is a frequent�����ϳԹ��� contributor who lives in Tahoe City, California, and travels to Marin County a couple of times per year for trail running and the good food.��

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The San Francisco Marathon—celebrating 45 years!—is a race around the perimeter of San Francisco. Iconic Landmarks and historic neighborhoods will, once again, welcome the runners who embark on this journey through Golden Gate Park, over the Golden Gate Bridge, and many more awe-inspiring places. On this 26.2-mile loop, nearly 30,000 runners will compete in the impossibly scenic USATF certified course which is also a Boston Marathon Qualifier and an Olympic Team Time Trials Qualifier race.

What has become a monumental and extraordinary race is rooted in the ambitions of a passionate and authentic local running community. It was the Pamakids Runners Club that put on the inaugural San Francisco Marathon on July 10, 1977. A taxi driver from Reno won that year, running the course in 2:24:59. Nobody knew back then that the race would become one of the largest marathons in the US.

One of the best inadvertent benefits of running is that it presents the opportunity to explore a city and its inhabitants in minute detail. From marveling at the fluid synchronized movement of rowing teams along the Charles River while running in Boston’s Back Bay to watching the first rays of sunlight paint the Midtown skyline during a run atop New York City’s High Line Elevated Park, the most intimate way to get to know a city is by running through it.

“When I watch TV with friends and see the Golden Gate Bridge; I nod with a smile saying, ‘I ran over that bridge,’” wrote Jeanne Corey Marchand, 2019 San Francisco Marathon Ambassador, in her race report.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the places that leaves the most visceral memories in San Francisco Marathon runners. Some dread it, some are excited to get on it. One thing is for sure: nobody is indifferent when it comes to this portion of the race.

“The Bridge itself, while quite a challenge, is unique and a fun experience. It’s one of those moments that helps this race stand out against every other road marathon…” wrote Ethan Newberry, The Ginger Runner, in his race report.

Even though the bridge might be the single most talked-about landmark, there are many other breathtaking places along the way, like the Golden Gate Park. Besides the above-pictured Conservatory of Flowers, runners can encounter wildlife not everyone would expect to see in the middle of a city. For example—and this is not an April Fool’s joke—bison. The park, in short, is yet another unforgettable part of the course.

“Where else can you see Bison and botanical gardens in the same location? Certainly not in Connecticut!” wrote Marchand.

Starting just before sunrise, the race fits a full week’s worth of sightseeing into one morning. The sky usually gets lighter as the race participants pass Fisherman’s Wharf and the sun comes out as they near the Golden Gate Bridge.

“There is nothing like seeing the beautiful sunrise over the water as you’re running downtown and then up to the bridge; that really leaves you breathless. It is absolutely stunning,” wrote Lindsay Walter, 2020 San Francisco Marathon Ambassador, in her race report.

A hundred miler might be a life in a day but any distance of the San Francisco Marathon can leave behind just as much emotion.

“I left my heart in San Francisco (and my quads, and my glutes, and my hamstrings…)” wrote a runner who calls himself Doctor Will in his race report on JustRunLah!

From 5K to 50 miles (okay, 52.4 miles, but who’s counting), the San Francisco Marathon can be the experience of a lifetime. As the runners leave the coast, the bridge, and the park behind and enter the city streets, they may think that all the good parts are behind them. The gorgeous views and exciting landmarks are, however, only a part of the race’s charm—it’s the people and the community that make it what it is.

Every year, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of spectators come out to support the race participants in any way they can. Even if the San Francisco Marathon wasn’t one of the most scenic city races in the US, offering stunning views of fun and interesting attractions, the community would be perfectly capable of making up for it.

San Francisco Marathon participants are supported not only by the race organizers, volunteers, and medical crews, but also by the local community and both running and non-running spectators.

Along the course and as the finish line nears, runners are welcomed by cheering crowds, witty signs, and the Bay Bridge announcing that there are only a few minutes left until they reach the finish line.

“Take in the scenes, read all the signs, high five every kid, and smile for the cameras!” wrote Marchand.

“Chafing the dreams!” might have read a sign held by a spectator along the way while another offered runners who forgot to treat their skin an anti-chafing salve, saving their thighs or their entire race.

Everybody takes part in getting the runners to the finish line, no matter how big or small their contribution. The race, despite its size, is still a community event, just as it was when it was first organized 45 years ago.

“I fell in love with this race the moment I ran [it] but not just for the views and challenging course, but because of the community,” wrote Walter.

Any finish line is a place made of dreams. The San Francisco finish line is a place where those dreams have been made true for decades, and the community and organizers wish for nothing more than to keep helping others reach their goals, no matter how big, for years to come.

���ϳԹ���+ Member Perk

The ���ϳԹ���+ Cheer Garden post-race party gives all San Francisco Marathon participants an opportunity to celebrate an amazing day of running. ���ϳԹ���+ members will enjoy VIP perks at the Cheer Garden with unlimited drinks tickets and the opportunity to bring a friend or family member along for the fun. Find your Cheer Garden access code to enter during San Francisco Marathon registration in the MyPerks section of your ���ϳԹ���+ member account. If you’re not yet an ���ϳԹ���+ member, join ���ϳԹ���+ today.

2022 San Francisco Marathon

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If you haven’t discovered at least a dozen hidden gems in your backyard and hometown since the start of the pandemic, you’ve been doing it all wrong. But don’t worry, there’s still time to build that list. For those of us living in cities, there are plenty of weekend-long detours that will make you feel as if you’ve escaped the grind, without having to had to travel very far at all.

If You’re in Seattle or Portland��

Go to Sisters, Oregon. The����(from $125), three hours from Portland or five from Seattle, has everything you want in a quick summer getaway: a lake with kayaks, canoes, and SUPs on loan, a bar serving up lakefront cocktails, mountain bike trails nearby in��, and musicians playing music around the campfire most nights. Stay in one of 11 newly restored lodge rooms or 16 rustic cabins on Suttle Lake.

If You’re in San Francisco or Los Angeles��

Go to Mammoth Lakes, California.��It’s a six-hour drive from San Francisco, or��five hours from Los Angeles. ��is staying open for skiing through Memorial Day; then the resort offers lift-accessed mountain biking, hiking trails, and scenic gondola rides. Need a camping rig?����has rental campervans you can pick up in L.A. or San Francisco. Or check in to the����(from $169), which has independent chalets.

If You’re in Boston or New York��

Go to North Adams, Massachusetts. A��three-hour drive west of Boston and a 3.5-hour haul from New York City,��the northern Berkshires in the spring is a good place to be: the summer crowds haven’t arrived yet and hiking on a stretch of the Appalachian Trail is good to go. For birdwatchers, you’ll find plenty of action at the Audubon Society’s in Lenox, which has seven miles of hiking trails. Stay at , 1.5 miles from downtown North Adams, which has 100 lakeside and wooded sites for RVs, campers, and tents (from $25). Pick up barbecue and a growler of craft beer at in town.

If You’re in ���ٱ����Գٲ���

Go to Ellijay, Georgia. Less than two hours from Atlanta, this is a mountain biker’s dream spot, but there’s��plenty to do here—from hiking to fly-fishing through��—if you don’t ride��bikes. Stay in a cabin or park your van or RV at����(from $70 per person) and you’ll have miles of singletrack and gravel riding from your door.

If You’re in Chicago

Go to , Illinois.��Its waterfalls and wildflowers come alive in the springtime, and the park’s campground and lodge see relatively fewer crowds. Hike into the sandstone canyons or scenic bluffs via 13 miles of marked trails or fish for white bass and walleye in the Illinois River. Less than two hours by car from Chicago, the park has a sprawling (from $25) and a (from $120), built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

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This summer is set to be another huge season for camping and road trips. Already��many places are seeing major campsite�����Ի� shortages, with reports of to get around. Luckily, a growing crop of companies are leasing overlanding rigs and camper vans to road-trippers looking to get away without the burden of hard-to-get bookings.��

These outfits also allow those who want to sample nomadic life a way to test out options before committing to ownership�����Ի� the dizzying array of equipment choices that now confront van builders. “The [overlanding] gear industry has grown so big that it’s easy to get overwhelmed,” says owner Alex Birukova, who explains that many of her customers appreciate the ability to test out the various features and systems on her rental rigs before they purchase their own.��

Others rent Birukova’s vehicles while theirs are being��built. Waiting��lists at van conversion companies and camper manufacturers normalized remote work and made an untethered lifestyle more plausible for many. , a company that makes pop-up truck-bed campers designed for off-road travel, reported a dramatic increase in sales (and wait times) since last May, when its factory reopened. And , a website dedicated to converting Sprinters to campers, has seen a 50 percent increase in site traffic since the pandemic began—and wait times for new vans ranging from several months (for a Ford Transit) to nearly a year (for a 4×4 Mercedes).��

We rounded up our favorite��rental companies in six cities, plus the best��weekend trips to test your rig out on.��

San Francisco, CA: Cypress Overland

The vehicles: Choose between a Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro with a GoFast pop-up truck bed camper, a lifted Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a rooftop tent, or a Jeep Gladiator with a rooftop tent. All come with a refrigerator, a deluxe Kanz Outdoors kitchen kit, memory-foam mattresses, and bamboo-topped camp tables with chairs. From $195 a day

The trip: Hire Cypress Overland to design your own beach or mountain itinerary, complete with GPS coordinates to jaw-dropping dispersed campsites. Or��drive three hours north from the Bay Area to California’s Lost Coast, leaving Highway 1 for six miles of steep and twisty unpaved road to Usal Beach and its dispersed oceanside camping spots. Watch the sun sink into the Pacific, then next morning, continue north through to Shelter Cove, where you can spy on seals and sea lions or swim from black-sand beaches walled by steep mountainsides. Finally, drive east to Highway 101 to return to San Francisco, stopping in Petaluma for Lagunitas’s freshly brewed ales.

Las Vegas, NV: Pacific Overlander

The vehicles: The Las Vegas location (Pacific Overlander also operates out of San Francisco) leases a Toyota Tacoma fitted with an Alu-Cab Khaya camper that sleeps up to��four in a heated interior that comes with a fridge-freezer and on-demand hot-water shower system. Also available: a��Tacoma with two rooftop tents (to sleep four), a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon (with one rooftop tent) and a Toyota 4Runner (with one rooftop tent). Upgrade to an Exped Megamat for ultimate sleep comfort. From $195 a day

The trip: Drive 200 miles east to Tuweep, the least-trafficked district of Grand Canyon National Park, and claim one of nine campsites beside Toroweap Overlook, where sheer sandstone cliffs plunge 3,000 feet down to the silvery ribbon of the Colorado River. Hike the Tuckup Trail along the North Rim for unparalleled views of the Big Ditch, then drive east to aptly named Point Sublime and claim one of two little-known campsites beside pink cliffs dotted with pines ($15 permit required from the Backcountry Permit Office).

Denver, CO: Titus ���ϳԹ��� Company

The vehicles: Lexus GX460, Jeep Wrangler Sport, and three��models of campervans. Rooftop tents sleep two to four people (on the Sequoia), and all vehicles come with a bat-wing awning, full kitchen kit, Yeti cooler, and even a Colorado state-parks pass. From $220 a day

The trip: For $30 a day, Colorado native Travis Titus designs custom itineraries complete with secret fishing holes, can’t-miss barbecue joints, and little-known campsites. But oft-visited central Colorado still holds gems: Veer off I-70 to ogle aspens at , then drive over Crooked Creek Pass for knockout summit views and uncrowded limestone sport climbing in . Continue southwest past Ruedi Reservoir to hook trophy trout in the Fryingpan River before passing through the towns of Basalt and Carbondale to Marble. From here, the 13-mile Lead King Loop features panoramas of spire-like summits and wildflower meadows.

Jackson, WY: Teton Backcountry Rentals

The vehicles: The larger of TBR’s two options is a GMC Sierra fitted with a brand-new Four Wheel Grandby pop-up camper; the smaller Four Wheel Hawk camper sits on a Chevy Silverado. Both include upholstered bench seating,��a queen-size��bed,��an interior kitchen fitted with a propane-powered heater, refrigerator and two-burner stove, a 20-gallon water tank, and a six-gallon water heater with outdoor shower.��From $229 a day

The trip: TBR offers five levels of trip-planning consultation to help renters locate dispersed campsites in the Wind River Range or plan hiking or packrafting epics in the Tetons. Or just design your own adventure by driving north from Jackson to camp in the Gros Ventre Range east of Highway 191. The numbered dispersed sites at Shadow Mountain, in the , offer incomparable views of the Tetons. Then drive west to camp among the lodgepoles at (from $42)��in Grand Teton National Park: a��five-minute walk leads to Jackson Lake and its sweeping views of Mount Moran, and the Hermitage Point trailhead lets hikers explore the lakeshore on a ten-mile loop from camp.

New York, NY: Escape Campervans

The vehicles: The Maverick is a Ford E-150 or Ford Transit with a queen bed that converts to a table and benches�����Ի� comes with an optional rooftop tent that expands sleeping capacity to up to four people. The larger Big Sur offers more cargo space in a Ford-350. Both models include kitchenettes and “bug socks” that cover the rolled-down windows with netting for nighttime ventilation. Rear-wheel drive lets vans handle highways and smooth dirt lanes (but not soft beaches or rocky roads). From $49 a day

The trip: With 13 rental locations across the U.S. and Canada, Escape facilitates point-to-point rentals for cross-country road trips. For a wild circuit that returns to New York City, drive north to the and Shelving Rock Road, a gravel lane offering dispersed camping among pines and hardwoods. Then roll east into Vermont’s to claim one of the 15 primitive campsites at Silver Lake, where six hiking trails hug the shoreline and scale the surrounding hills.��

Orlando, FL: Ondevan

The vehicles: Ford Transits and F-350’s fitted with custom beds and cabinetry sleep up to two people on extra-long, full-size��mattresses that accommodate seven-footers. Ceiling fans bring air in or out, an interior sink and seven-gallon water tank makes for easy dish duty, and camping extras (such as portable grills and hammocks) cater to epicures and lounge lizards.��From $89 a day

The trip: Drive five hours northwest to the state’s wildest forests and emptiest Gulf Coast beaches. Campsites at offer access to nine miles of undeveloped beaches and dunes. Then drive north into the near Crawfordville, where sandy, unpaved roads lead to secluded campsites among saw palmettos and longleaf pines, where black bears still roam. Returning to Orlando, stop off at Wakulla Springs to swim or paddle with the manatees that winter here.

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Alex Wilton lives in San Francisco, surrounded by water. That was once part of its allure; as someone who spent��many years sailing, Wilton had come to associate the ocean with freedom—the freedom to explore, freedom from outside demands.

Recently, though, he could hardly look at open water without his mind wandering to dark places. This was unfortunate, given that the San Francisco Bay bordered his running route along the Embarcadero and glimmered under the bridge he crossed to visit his parents in Marin County. The sea had taken on a sinister quality.

In March of 2019, Wilton, who was 32 at the time, traveled from San Francisco to Troncones, a sleepy resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, to attend a wedding with his then girlfriend, Asha Agrawal. When they reached their beachfront hotel, they changed into bathing suits and trotted outside to the sand. After splashing around in the blue-green water to cool down, Wilton had an urge to burn off some energy. He grabbed his goggles, swam out beyond where the surf was breaking, and turned��south.

That Wilton would so casually go on an open-water swim was once unthinkable. When he was eight or nine, he watched the movie Jaws, and the experience “knocked him out.” For years��he refused to wade into the ocean deeper than where his feet could graze the bottom, afraid that he might see a shark fin slicing toward��him. Slowly, though, he became��more comfortable, and open-water swimming became a pleasurable, if not entirely stress-free, pastime on sailing trips and vacations.

Even as an adult, Wilton would flinch at shadows as he swam farther from shore, but as a logical-minded Silicon Valley product manager who talks about dividing topics into “buckets” to be “double-clicked on,” he would quell his anxiety through reasoning.

The risk of being attacked by a shark varies based on geography, how frequently a person enters the ocean, and what activities they engage in. But the odds are vanishingly small for nearly everyone. According to the , a research group at the Florida Museum, the annual odds of being attacked by a shark in America hover around . In California, where Wilton lives, a 2015 Stanford study found that swimmers have a chance of being attacked during an ocean visit. Wilton was more likely to be killed or by a than breaststroking in the Pacific.

But that day in Mexico, Wilton thought only of how liberating��it was to stretch his legs after hours on cramped planes. He freestyled with a meditative rhythm, reveling in the warm water as it flowed over his skin.

One, two. One, two. One, two. (@*$)#&@)! ��

Something hurtled into him with what felt like the force of a tank. His right leg ignited with pain. Had he crashed into something? Did a boat just hit him?

Instinctively, he ducked underwater to investigate and spotted the outline of a large gray and white shark just feet from him. He snapped his head out of the water and gasped for air, trying to make sense of what had happened. When he tentatively dipped his head back under��a few seconds later, his eyes were immediately drawn to��his right leg, which had��been torn open, and then��the shark’s tail swinging through the water as it swam away.

As blood began to swirl around his body, Wilton bobbed vertically in the water, with both legs pointed toward��the seafloor. He could see in every direction this��way, but he knew he couldn’t remain there, immobile and watching the water��in terror.��He’d need to swim to shore before he lost too much blood��or—worse—the shark returned. For the first time in his life, he feared he might die.

Stopping twice to peer over his shoulder and scan the water for flashes of steely gray, Wilton��struggled toward��the surf break, his right leg dragging. Adrenaline had dulled the pain, but a crushing fear gripped him. His heart beat wildly. He was defenseless.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Wilton propelled himself into a wave, letting it tumble him toward��the shore. When he felt the gritty sand beneath his left foot, he yelled out to Agrawal, his girlfriend, who was sitting on a chaise on the beach.

Agrawal grabbed her sarong and tied a makeshift tourniquet around his bleeding wound. She recruited other tourists who had been relaxing nearby to help carry Wilton off the beach, and sprinted inside for help. The hotel owner began to call an ambulance, but Agrawal convinced him there was no time—he had to personally drive Wilton to surgery or Wilton would bleed out.

As Wilton was rushed into the operating room, a doctor grabbed his hand and assured him: “You’re going to be OK.” The bite��had come��within a few inches of Wilson’s femoral artery—the main supply of blood to the leg, which, if punctured, can lead to death within minutes—but had not severed it. He would need 27 stitches, but he would survive.

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Plant-based beef from brands like �����Ի��� is quickly��becoming a new staple. If it’s not already on the menu of your favorite fast-food chain, odds are good that it’s coming soon, and it’s most likely already in the meat section of your local grocery store.

Sure, you might be able to tell the difference between an Impossible burger and one made with Angus beef. But if you’re crumbling the plant-based stuff into a recipe or seasoning it heavily for taco meat or kebabs, you’d probably be able to trick even the staunchest carnivore.

This is by design. Both Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods��have engineered their products to be almost identical to real beef in every sense. Jonathan Valdez, a dietitian and founder of , explains that both of these companies’��products are fortified with vitamins and minerals that aren’t naturally found in plant foods but that are typically found��in beef, like iron and vitamin B12. Their��total and saturated fat content is similar to ground beef that’s��80 percent lean, 20 percent fat. That’s a choice the companies made, not for the sake of nutrition—the recommend limiting saturated fat to less than 10��percent of your daily calories, regardless of whether it comes from plants or animals—but so the faux beef better mimics the real stuff.��

Thanks to that careful formulation, you can substitute the same amount of plant-based beef in just about any recipe that calls for ground beef. (Although Valdez warns that plant-based beef is higher in sodium, so you might want to go easy on the salt.) If you’d like to follow a recipe that’s been developed and tested with plant-based beef, here are three to try.

Pineapple Tacos��

“I love this taco recipe, because it’s approachable, bright, and satisfying,” says Jasmine Shimoda, chef and owner of , a plant-based restaurant in Los Angeles. She explains that imitation ground beef browns in a skillet just like the real stuff and actually packs a tastier punch than most store-bought ground beef, thanks to yeast extract that lends it ample umami flavor.��

Ingredients��

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 pound plant-based ground beef
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped��
• 2 garlic cloves, minced��
• 2 teaspoons chili powder��
• 1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce (from a can)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or less,��to taste)
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper��
• 1 cup chopped fresh pineapple
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed��lime juice, divided��
• 1 small jicama, peeled and��cut into matchsticks
• 5 radishes, thinly sliced��
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, seeds removed,��thinly sliced��
• ¼ cup raw red onion, thinly sliced��
• 1½ tablespoons Vegenaise��

For serving: warm corn tortillas, warm black beans, vegan crumbly cheese, cilantro, lime wedges

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saut�pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the plant-based beef, and break up with a large spoon or spatula. Spread it out in the pan to ensure the maximum amount of caramelization. Once the plant-based beef is browned, about four to five minutes, transfer to a plate and set aside somewhere warm, leaving most of the fat in the pan.��

Return the pan to the stove.��Cook the yellow��onion in the remaining fat until translucent, three to four minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for two more minutes, then add the chili powder, chipotle, salt, and pepper, and stir everything together. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and toss in the diced pineapple,��cooking for two more minutes until the pineapple is heated through and slightly soft. Add the imitation beef and one tablespoon of lime juice. Stir everything to combine, then remove the pan from the heat.��

Meanwhile, mix together the jicama, radishes, and cilantro, as well as the remaining two��tablespoons of lime juice, the red onion, and the Vegenaise��in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Assemble tacos by topping tortillas with the beef-pineapple filling, jicama slaw, and garnishes. Serves four.

“Beef” and Barley Stew

This veggie-filled soup recipe puts a spin on classic beef and barley stew, with the addition of chili powder for a pretty serious kick. And instead of hulled barley, it calls for pearl barley, which is softer and cooks more quickly because the tough outer layer has been removed. The recipe is reprinted with permission��from Adams Media’s��,��a collection of simple dishes flavored with everything from fresh chili to homemade hot sauce.��

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 medium stalks celery, trimmed and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup water
• 2½ cups tomato juice (like Mott’s or V8)
• ⅓��cup uncooked pearl barley
• 1½ teaspoons chili powder
• 1½ teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound plant-based ground beef
• ⅛��teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• Fresh parsley, for garnish

Instructions

Place a large soup pot or stockpot over medium heat, add the oil, and sauté the��onion, celery, carrot, and bell pepper until almost soft, about four to five minutes. Add the water, tomato juice, and barley, stirring well to combine, then add the chili powder, parsley, and bay leaves.��Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Add the plant-based beef and cook uncovered until the barley is soft, about��another five minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

To serve, remove bay leaves, and ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each bowl with parsley, and serve with crusty bread for dipping. Serves six.

Chiles Rellenos

Traditional chiles rellenos are battered and deep-fried, but San Francisco chef ��prefers to roast them instead, which means that her version is easier and a little lighter. “Without all that fried batter, you really taste the interplay of the chile and the filling,” Des Jardins says. She included this recipe in , which��she helped author.

Ingredients

• 8 fresh poblano or pasilla chiles��
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 12 ounces plant-based beef
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin��
• Pinch of ground cinnamon��
• Pinch of ground allspice��
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 1 yellow onion, finely diced��
• 2 cloves garlic, minced��
• ½ cup canned diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 tablespoons raisins��
• 1½ cups chopped fresh parsley leaves (about one small bunch)
• ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted��
• 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted��
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper��

Instructions

Preheat a��broiler. Place the chiles on a baking sheet and broil, turning every few minutes, until blackened on all sides, about 15 minutes. Transfer the chiles to a large mixing bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or place in a zip-top plastic bag. Let steam for about five minutes to help loosen the skins.

Line a��baking sheet with paper towels. Rinse the chiles under water, removing��the charred skin. Make a two-inch slit on one side of each chili, so you can open them up a little bit. Using a teaspoon, carefully remove the membrane and as many seeds as possible. Place the chiles on the lined baking sheet. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.��In a skillet over medium-high heat, warm one tablespoon of oil. Crumble the plant-based beef into the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about three minutes. Add the oregano, cumin, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves, and mix well, then season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Add the remaining oil to the skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the onion, garlic,�����Ի� canned tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about ten minutes. Add the raisins, and cook for another two minutes. Add this��to the meat mixture, and stir.��Set aside one tablespoon of parsley, one teaspoon of��almonds, and some sesame seeds for garnish, then��add the remaining parsley, almonds, and sesame seeds to the meat mixture. Mix well.��

To assemble, spoon the picadillo mixture��into each chile through the slit in the center, filling it as much��as possible. Transfer the chiles to another��parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until heated through, 15 to 20 minutes.��

Serve garnished with the remaining parsley, almonds, and sesame seeds. Serves four.

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In 2019, the RV Industry Association (RIVA), a trade federation,��.��And when COVID-19 first swept the nation in March, those sales dropped even more. But almost as fast as they fell, sales and rentals began to skyrocket. By June, ��in the U.S. were the highest they’d been since 2018,��, an 11 percent increase from June 2019.

As far as , it’s easy to understand why people are turning to RVs. With many concerned about the��safety of hotels and other lodging, RVs��offer more control and flexibility. Both existing and newly launched companies are getting creative with what this new era of road travel will look like, as people��have begun embracing��so-called��COVID campers for��long road trips in lieu of flights, turning to part- or full-time vanlife in response to companies switching to remote work, or leaving expensive real estate behind for a more budget-friendly option. Here’s how new��startups are going beyond the basic RV-rental formula by��being more on demand, millennial focused, and remote-work-friendly.

1. They Offer Socially��Distant Vacations

, an RV startup currently serving the Seattle area��that provides��rental-camper vans outfitted to look like a boutique hotel on wheels, seeks to offer��a more controlled environment than peer-to-peer rentals, in which guests can expect the same layout, features, and level of cleanliness every time they book. Cabana vans combine a stylish design with all the amenities you’d typically find in a home rental, from flat-screen TVs and memory-foam mattresses to full bathrooms and free Wi-Fi. What sets the company��apart are��contactless check-in and an on-demand concierge that makes it easy for the first-time camper to explore the outdoors.

“Prior to COVID-19, the majority of the customers were from out of town and using a Cabana van during their vacation to the Seattle area,” says Scott Kubly, the company’s founder.

According to Kubly, the pandemic completely transformed the company’s customer base. “Since the shelter-in-place orders took effect in Seattle, Cabana has seen a 400 percent increase in bookings,��with the majority being local customers looking for a way to safely get out of town��for a socially distanced compliant vacation.” Cabana��plans to launch in six more cities��next year, including in San Diego, Denver, and San Francisco.

Cabana’s change in demographics exemplifies what could be a long-term switch from long-distance air travel to domestic road travel.��This was the case for Kay Kingsman, founder of the��, a blog that seeks to inspire��underserved and underrepresented communities to travel, who rented her first RV through during the pandemic.

“My interest in RV travel increased during the pandemic, because I wanted to road-trip domestically and get into nature, but trying to map and plan out hotel stays—and sanitized hotels at that—was difficult and stressful,” she says.

Though most hotels have implemented new sanitation practices in line with CDC guidelines, hotels require significantly more sanitation than a camper van due to a greater number of contact surface areas and shared spaces, like lobbies. Cabana’s vans are cleaned using current best practices, and, according to��Kubly,��“irradiated with UVC light and then left to stand for six to eight hours between rentals.” Not only that,��but van rentals offer more control over who you’re exposed to, says Kingsman:��“I tried doing a more traditional staycation and rented a hotel room in a nearby town, but no one in the hotel was wearing a mask, including the staff. I couldn’t trust that they were actually taking sanitation seriously, so I ended up leaving,” she��says. “I felt as though I had more control over sanitation in the RV since I didn’t have other hotel guests or staff to consider.”

On the other hand, , a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and sustainability consultant, podcast host, and digital creator who lives full-time��in her personally customized Ford Transit Connect, has avoided traveling in the��van during the pandemic��because��she doesn’t want “to contribute to the spread of COVID.” Instead she has opted to park at friends’ houses and boondocking sites. Despite the lack of mobility, Edmondson is��grateful for the affordability and flexibility living in her van has allowed��during so much��uncertainty. Her��relationship to vanlife, which is less about travel and more about ease and affordability, illustrates another trend coming out of the pandemic: different types of accommodation.

2. They Provide��Alternative Housing

In 2019, RIVA reported that over one million people��in the U.S. lived in RVs full-time.��Those numbers are growing as the pandemic has given more folks��a nudge toward permanent��vanlife, now that many jobs have gone remote and the outdoors is��more appealing than populous COVID-19 hot spots like cities.��That, combined��with rising housing costs, could result in RVs and camper vans becoming viable alternative forms of long-term��housing.

“The vehicle is no longer just a way to move around, but it’s now a real house that clients are looking for,” says��Paul Aubert, cofounder of , a company that converts old school buses into bus hotels, or “B-hotels,” which are design-forward��RVs with custom cabinets, living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and roof terraces. Some are outfitted with solar panels, water heaters, and other gadgets that allow them to be independent of water and electricity hookups.

Before the pandemic, Mybushotel customers were primarily international tourists who rented the buses turned RVs to explore North, Central, and South America, but when rental bookings dried up with the COVID-19 travel restrictions, the company adjusted its focus completely to exclusively selling the custom conversions.

“We received more than 400 [requests] from May to August��for our B-hotels. Lots of people were thinking about the possibility of changing their way of living, and COVID-19 was a good opportunity to go forward,” Aubert��says.

The kitted-out buses are custom-made, so prices can vary greatly��but are on the expensive end, with the average build costing between $45,000 and $80,000.

3.��They’re Embracing the Shift to Remote Work

Meanwhile, the new company , which creates RV parks geared toward��working millennials,��with amenities, work spaces, and community perks, will bring on its first members in September. “We have been thinking about how we can use camper vans and communal spaces to create a new model for flexible housing for a few years,” says��CEO Collin O’Donnell. “With the pressure from shelter-in-place orders, the record-high rents, and the opportunity presented by the new work-from-anywhere economy, we decided that we couldn’t wait any longer and decided to launch.”

Kibbo is positioning itself as a “full-time alternative to the traditional apartment.” In addition to offering vans for rent, it’s��open to members who already have��their own vans. The company is��hoping to attract adventurers who will actively contribute to��creating a community based on shared outdoor values—something it��hopes to ensure with an application process. Those accepted will pay a sign-on fee of $485 and monthly dues that vary (starting at $150), according to how often members want access to a clubhouse. It also plans��to offer single-use passes for overnight��access to nonmembers.

Starting as early as September, members can access community clubhouses out west in Ojai, California, Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, ��near��Zion National Park in Utah, and, as of press time, Big Sur, pending the spread of the wildfires. In 2021, Kibbo plans to��open clubhouses in San Francisco and Los Angeles�����Ի� eventually expects to go national.

Where decades-old RV companies have long focused on comfort features for retired or affluent customers, RV startups like Cabana, Kibbo,�����Ի� Mybushotel see the future of RVs centered around digital nomads in need of remote working capabilities.��“Our clients are looking for a new product that allows them to travel and work in the best conditions.��They need to have internet access, a possibility to work in their vehicle, and a good-size vehicle to travel in,” Mybushotel’s Aubert��says.

Kibbo’s O’Donnell says,��“Right now��over 60 percent of Americans are working from home. We are asking: Why not work from anywhere? Why are you paying rent in a city or suburb close to your work when you no longer need to commute? We offer the flexibility to live and work from wherever you want,��in nature or in the city, changing locations whenever you want, but at the same time being part of an intentional community.”

The vision to create a long-term RV community is one that O’Donnell hopes will last well after the pandemic is over. Until then, Kibbo will follow CDC guidelines and include those��recommendations in its��code of conduct for members.��“Inherently, we are offering people more choice, so they can be together when it makes sense and is safe to do so or be on their own when they want,” he says.

4. They’re Becoming More��Accessible

In addition to travelers looking for socially distant vacations, and a new sector of remote workers drawn to full-time vanlife, there’s a third group interested in RVs for another reason: affordability.��Sites like Outdoorsy have made RV rentals more reasonable since the start��of the pandemic. With rates as low as $50 a night, people of different income levels now have more access to them.

Natasha Van Horne of , who is an EMT, a full-time vanlifer since July,�����Ի���mother to��a five-year-old, sees camper vans as a means to travel continuously on a budget.

“The cost of living 20 years ago is��astronomically different from today,”��she says. “Alternative living, in my case��vanlife, is a financial breath of fresh air. It provides the ability to pay off debts, save money for a future home, and create beautiful memories along the way.”

The single mom travels the country with her daughter, who��she homeschools. While the van satisfies Van Horne’s dream of traveling full-time, it gives her family something even better: “I breathe easier knowing that I can save money for my daughter’s college education, while still putting money away.”

Kingsman, the blogger, thinks the increased accessibility to a wider range of social classes may be one of the reasons RV experiences are appealing to more��solo women, families, and people of color.

“My image of people who��travel��in RVs and camper vans was mainly older, wealthier, white couples,” says��Kingsman. “Even when hiking and camping, which usually have��a younger demographic, I was often the only Black woman in the area. Recently, I’ve noticed a huge surge of diversity in the RV and camper community.”

Kibbo is aware of the outdoor industry’s push for diversity, and it’s��hoping to be a safe community for groups��who may have historically been excluded from outdoor recreation. This includes developing a holistic strategy with advisers and board members to include people of diverse backgrounds��as well as��speaking with potential customers about��challenges they may face on the road so that the company��can adjust accordingly during the initial launch phase.��“We are open to everyone�����Ի� are intentionally trying to foster a diverse community and actively invite people from all walks of life to participate, particularly people of color, women, and the LGBTQ��community,” O’Donnell says.

Cabana, Kibbo, and Mybushotel’s adaptability could pay off immensely, especially if they continue to focus on catering to new RV enthusiasts. From providing a safe travel experience to remote-friendly housing, these companies illustrate a larger, more permanent shift toward��mobile living.

“COVID showed us that cities can change overnight, but this isn’t just about the pandemic,” says��O’Donnell. “When everything is changing—consumer trends, economic opportunity, climate, health situations—you need services that are adaptable and responsive.”

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