May Events Are Abuzz in Marin

April 25, 2023

People sit at a long farm table, eating greens and bread at a brunch. Photo from Lynn Bagley Photography from a Ranches and Rolling Hills MALT event.

May is abuzz with activity this year! Find a variety of events this month where you can engage with Marin’s agricultural community, enjoy its open spaces, steward the land, and celebrate the amazing place we call home.

This month, we pay special attention to events for all who “mother.” MALT was founded by two mothers, Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber — a rancher and a botanist — who brought together local ranchers and conservationists to protect farms from mounting development pressure. Their unifying vision established the Marin Agricultural Land Trust in 1980 as the first in the nation focused on protecting farmland.

In the 43 years since, MALT has — with its broad coalition of community partners and supporters — safeguarded more than 55,700 acres and invested more than $1.8 million in projects to improve soil health, protect water quality, and increase grassland vigor. The legacy of their foundational work is all around when passing through West Marin.

It’s with this thriving agricultural community that we hope you can connect with at an upcoming farmers’ market, tasting, farm brunch, or tour. Or dig in to visit and volunteer at one of our many adjacent parks and open spaces that, together, weave a tapestry of protected land. These corridors of protected land preserve a biodiverse landscape, a local economy, and a way of life.

With an abundance of beauty and adventure waiting in (and near) Marin, we hope you’ll get outside and play, just like mom used to say.

Farm Visits and Tastings

View the days and times of weekly farmers’ markets hosted by the Agricultural Institute of Marin around the Bay Area as well as this list of farmers’ markets sorted by the day of the week.

Now thru May 7, Grass-Fed Lamb Orders, Chileno Valley Ranch, Petaluma
May 6-7, Spring Farm Tour: Blossoms, Bees, and Barnyard Babies, Sonoma
May 6, 13, 20, 27, Farm Tour & Tasting at Bivalve Dairy, Point Reyes
May 7, Toluma Farm Tour (see some mama goats and sheep!), Tomales
May 13, Farm Brunch, Point Reyes Farmstead Creamery, Tomales
May 18, Feast in a Bento Box, Agricultural Institute of Marin, virtual
May 20, Family Farm Day, Slide Ranch, Muir Beach
May 21, Sunday Supper at Toluma Farms + Tomales Farmstead Creamery, Tomales
May 21, Bee Experienced: Flower to Flute Beekeeping Tour, Heidrun Meadery, Point Reyes Station
May 28, Hike the Loop at Toluma Farms + Tomales Farmstead Creamery, Tomales
Daily, Little Wing Farm Stand, Point Reyes Station
Daily, Pasture Fresh Eggs at Petaluma Farm Stand, 8-8, Tomales
Daily, Nicasio Valley Cheese Company, 10-5, Nicasio
Daily, Hog Island Oyster Co., The Hog Shack, 9-5, farm tours by reservation, Marshall
Daily, Marin French Cheese, between 9-5, Petaluma
Daily, Heidrun Meadery, between 11-5, Point Reyes Station
Weekdays, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company tastings, 11-3, Point Reyes Station
Wed-Sun, Valley Ford Creamery, between 8-3, Valley Ford
McEvoy Ranch, by reservation, Petaluma

You can book food and farm tours to visit multiple producers of local food and fiber in one day-trip!

Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber standing on a lush green hillside in Marin in the earlier days of MALT's history. — Ellen Straus and Phyllis Faber, MALT’s co-founders, on a West Marin ranch in the early days of the organization’s history.

Mother’s Day Events

May 7, Blooms & Bee Sip + Paint with Mom, Petaluma
May 13, Mother’s Day Floral and Charcuterie Class, Petaluma
May 13, Family Farm Day – Celebrate Mom, Slide Ranch, Muir Beach
May 13-14, Mother’s Day Weekend at Cornerstone, Sonoma
May 14, Junior Ranger: Mother’s Day Flowers, Tiburon
May 14, Mother’s Day Brunch at RangeCafe, San Rafael
May 14, The doRiaN Mode Mother’s Day, Smiley’s Schooner Saloon, Bolinas
May 14, Mother’s Day Brunch Buffet, Cavallo Point, Sausalito
May 14, Mother’s Day Forest Bathing Walk, Inverness
May 14, Mother’s Day Brunch at Red Oak Craft Bar, San Rafael
May 14, Mother’s Day Afternoon Tea at Three Springs Farm, Bodega Bay
May 14, Mother’s Day Brunch in the Vineyard, Roche Winery, Sonoma

A hiker walks down a green hillside dotted with white and yellow wildflowers at Leiss Ranch outside Petaluma.

Hikes, Walks, and Rides

May 2, Indian Valley Hike, Novato
May 5, Full Moon Viewing, China Camp State Park, San Rafael
May 6, Hike Up Woodoaks Trail, San Rafael
May 6, May Full Moon Member Hike, Point Reyes
May 6, Ales & Trails 2023, China Camp State Park, San Rafael
May 6, Sears Point Marsh Walk, Sonoma
May 6, One Tam Forest Health Tour, Fairfax
May 6, 7, MALT Wildflower Walks at Leiss Ranch, Novato
May 6, 7, (Saturdays and Sundays) Drakes Beach Discovery Hike, Point Reyes National Seashore
May 7, Family Walk at Stafford Lake, Novato
May 9, Senior Stroll: Earthquake Trail, Point Reyes
May 13, Bike or Hike 4 Buckelew, China Camp State Park, San Rafael
May 14, Big Trees Trek, Indian Tree Preserve, Novato
May 20, Awakening Joy and Wonder in Nature, Marin Headlands
May 20, Spring Birding Hike, China Camp State Park, San Rafael
May 21, Wildflower Hike, China Camp State Park, San Rafael
May 23, Bothin Marsh Walk and Talk, Sausalito
May 24, Abbott’s Lagoon Walk, Point Reyes National Seashore

Volunteers digging in soil photo by Paige Green

Volunteer Opportunities

May 5, 12, (Fridays year-round), Native Plant Nursery Volunteer Days, Olema
May 5, 20, Kent Island Restoration, Bolinas Lagoon
May 6, Snowy Plover Docent Training, Point Reyes National Seashore
May 6, Spring Fling 2023 Volunteer Registration, Slide Ranch, Muir Beach
May 6, 27 Summer of Service Work Day, Point Reyes National Seashore
May 6, Broom Busters of Old St. Hilary’s, Tiburon
May 7, Woofstock 2023, Novato
May 9, Habitat Restoration Team, Tennessee Valley, Mill Valley
May 10, 13, 24, Marin Headlands Nursery Volunteer Day, Marin Headlands
May 13, Memorial Trail Work, San Rafael
May 14-15, Horse Hill Preserve Broom Bust, Mill Valley
May 21, Hal Brown Park Sheet Mulching, Kentfield
May 23, Habitat Restoration Team, Coyote Ridge, Mill Valley

Monarch butterfly sitting on some flowers.

Wildlife and Nature Events

Every Sat, Sun year-round, Weekly Ranger Programs, Point Reyes National Seashore
May 2, Birding in the Bay Area: Part 3, virtual
May 3, Aesthetic Pruning for the Big Picture, Zoom
May 3, 10, Spring Lecture Series: Bird Biology, virtual
May 4, The Power of Trees, Ross
May 5, Spring Bird Migration, Point Reyes
May 5, Wild Words Nature Book Club, virtual
May 6, The Art of Nature Journaling, Point Reyes
May 6, Fishing in the City, Novato
May 6, Tamalpais Bee Lab Event, Fairfax
May 6, One Tam Forest Health Tour, Mount Tam
May 6, 13, Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue Public Tour, Petaluma
May 9, Marin Sonoma Vector Control: Prevent the Bite, Fairfax
May 13, Eco-Friendly Garden Tour, Marin and Sonoma Counties
May 13, The Poetry of Stream Ecosystems, Point Reyes
May 13, Lake Fishing for Kids, Stafford Lake, Novato
May 14, 28, Marine Mammal Sunday: Saving Species, Marin Headlands
May 16, Loma Alta: Birds and Flowers, San Rafael
May 17, Coffee with a Ranger, Pacheco Path, Novato
May 20, Ember Stomp Festival 2023, San Rafael
May 20, Ember Stomp: Fire-Smart Landscaping, San Rafael
May 20, Living with Wildlife on Oona-pa’is, Glen Ellen
May 21, Mount Burdell Birds, Novato
May 21, Campfire Cobbler at Stafford Lake, Novato
May 27, Stewardship Saturday: Experiencing Fish Kitchen, Sausalito
May 31, Rare Plants of the Tiburon Peninsula, Tiburon

Markets and Other Family Fun

Now thru August 6, “Unbottled” exhibit at the Marin History Museum, featuring bottles and packaging from Marin’s dairy history, San Rafael
May 1-31, Mill Valley Neighborfest, Mill Valley
May 4, Petaluma’s Historic Commercial District: A History in Preservation, Petaluma
May 4, 11, 18, 25, Farmers’ Market Family Story Time, San Rafael
May 6, Petaluma Celebrates National Historic Preservation Month, Petaluma
May 6, Dia de los Ninos Celebration, San Anselmo
May 6, May Madness Classic Car Show and Parade, San Rafael
May 6-7, Sturgeon’s Mill Demonstration Run, Sebastopol
May 7, Touch Trucks, Larkspur
May 11, Kid Nature Play at the Library: Making Stone Soup, Novato
May 13, Open Air Artisan Faire, Mill Valley
May 14, The French Market Marin, San Rafael
May 20, Lion Dance Team, Bolinas Park, Fairfax
May 20, C Street Celebration of Creativity, San Rafael
May 21, 28, Mountain Play: Into the Woods, Mt. Tamalpais
May 25, Haopinaka in Concert, Bolinas Town Park, Bolinas
May 27-28, Marin Greek Festival, Novato
May 28, 49th Annual Muir Beach Volunteer Fireman’s Barbecue, Muir Beach

Please double check details for all Marin events at the links above before venturing out, as MALT is not the event host organization for most of the Marin events listed here. Dates, times, fees, or restrictions may change.

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