Our Friends in the South Bay now have a new Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in north San Jose that will make it easier to travel to Marin and Sonoma Counties without having to drive. Brryessa Station is located at 1620 Berryessa Rd, San Jose.
BART, of course, operates throughout the Bay Area. BART’s Green Line will take you directly to the Embarcadero Station one block from the Golden Gate Ferry Terminal. A fun ride on the ferry to Larkspur and a short ride on the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit’s (SMART) shuttle takes you to the Larkspur SMART Station.
Or you can enjoy a short walk or bike ride to the SMART station on the connected pathway.
Bikes are permitted on BART, the ferry and SMART. Marin and Sonoma Counties have many off-road bike paths if you are a bicycle enthusiast. Check out EcoRing’s Partner lodging for a place to stay overnight: https://ecoring.org/lodging/
If you live in Sonoma or Marin Counties, you can reverse the route as I did recently to bike the Penitencia Creek Trail to Alm Rock.
The trail starts at the Berryessa Station, a good example of integrating pathways into the transit system.
It is always best to plan your trip in advance. The schedules for the SMART train and the Larkspur Ferry are coordinated for most trips: https://www.sonomamarintrain.org/schedules-fares The SMART schedules even show the ferry connections. BART, the Golden Gate Ferry and SMART all use the clipper card which makes transfers easy. Just tap on and tap off. Seniors are free on SMART! If you are taking your bike, both the Embarcadero BART Station and the Barreyessa Station have elevators large enough for bikes.
Incidentally the new BART cars are much nicer that the old ones. The have much better bike space and more comfortable seating.
And remember, if you travel without your car, you will save money and fight climate change. Enjoy!