Touring * Beginner *

From U.S. 101 heading north from San Francisco or south from San Rafael, exit at Sir Francis Drake Boulevard to the east. Drive past the entrance to the ferry landing and beyond the tall statue of Don Quixote. Half a mile away from the freeway, you'll see a small parking lot on the right just after the statue. The sign says City of Larkspur Remillard Park, but all you can see is a gravel lot with a drinking fountain. Park here.

As you begin skating west on the trail next to Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Don Quixote stares intently to the east above you, his silvery armored vest gleaming in bright contrast to the rust red of his limbs. His gaze makes you want to check over your shoulder to see what draws his attention. Skate across the ferry parking lot entrance; just beyond it you'll see some old-west storefronts, marked by a slightly hilarious 15-foot-high papier mach cactus. The pavement between the two facing rows of buildings stops short of the end of the storefronts, but you can skate in far enough to discover the Mexican food and antiques offered in this quaint setting. Back on the trail, you'll skate under another artifact, the old railroad trestle, with the ramps of U.S. 101 just beyond in all their modern efficiency. After you skate a zig and a zag over a bridge and pass under the freeway, you'll finally reach Corte Madera Creek. Now you can relax and enjoy the view of Mount Tamalpais (or Mount Tam, as the locals call it) looming off to the southwest. The asphalt trail is wide and smooth from here on, curving past a clean and modest office park (building 300 has a wonderful parking lot) and elegant condominiums. Wide concrete sidewalks beckon to the right, and there seems to be no reason to resist exploring the condo grounds. Can the residents possibly appreciate what they've got here? Only if they skate! The creekside trail terminates all too soon at a cul de sac on South Eliseo Street. Turn around here to complete the four-mile roundtrip. Experts skaters with the skill and leg power to take them up and over the short but steep hump in the middle of South Eliseo can continue on the low-traffic street to Creekside Park for another quarter of a mile, where the Kentfield to Ross Trail (see page 111) begins just across Bon Air Road. (There is a crosswalk at the intersection of Bon Air and South Eliseo.) Climb the nasty patch of pavement on the hill with hard and short strokes, maximizing their effectiveness with toes pointed out.