Tiburon Historic Walking Tours Tickets

Choose one of our two guided walking tours to explore Historic Downtown Tiburon and discover Marin County's most picturesque town, its history, and the people who created it.

From the Coast Miwok indigenous people, to the Spanish explorers who sailed along the California coast in the 1540s, to the first Europeans to enter San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate in 1775, to its early settlers in the 1800s, through its 83 years as a rough-and-tumble railroad town, to its evolution into one of the San Francisco Bay Area's most beautiful communities and tourist attractions, the history of the Tiburon Peninsula will come alive in these leisurely 1½ to 2½ hour walking tours.

TOUR #1 (1½-2 Hours) "FROM THE COAST MIWOK TO THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD" will be offered most Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30AM, Thursdays at 11:00AM and Tuesdays and Fridays at 2:00PM.
You’ll learn about :
• The Coast Miwok indigenous people and their lives on the Tiburon Peninsula, their first encounter with Europeans, and how they were treated by the Spaniards and later by the Americans.
• Why it took 200 years for the Spanish to enter San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate.
• Lt. Juan de Ayala’s entry into San Francisco Bay in 1775 and his crew’s encounter with the Coast Miwok.
• The Tiburon Peninsula's first European settlers, John Thomas Reed and his descendants, and what life was like before the coming of the railroad in 1884.
• A visit to Lyford’s Stone Tower, the entrance to Dr. Benjamin Lyford's Hygeia, a vision of Tiburon as the world's finest health resort and residential community.
• The history of Angel Island, and how it was saved from commercial development.
• The history of the City of Belvedere.
• Some of the Tiburon Peninsula’s notable residents.


TOUR #2 (2¼-2½ Hours): "FROM THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD TO TODAY" will be offered on most Fridays at 10:30AM, and Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00PM.
You’ll learn about :
• The Donahue brothers, who brought the industrial revolution to California by way of Tiburon and San Francisco.
• How the railroad came to Tiburon and put it on the map.
• Tiburon's history as a blue-collar, rough-and-tumble railroad town from 1884 until 1967.
• A visit to the Railroad and Ferry Depot Museum, its working model of the 1909 Tiburon rail yard and authentic restoration of the 1930s stationmaster’s quarters.
• The fires that virtually destroyed the town three times.
• The arks, and the creation of Ark Row.
• The town’s unique response to Prohibition.
• Sam Vella, the immigrant from Malta, who built Sam’s Anchor Café, and who was one of the most colorful characters in Tiburon’s history.
• How Al Capone figures (twice!) in Tiburon's history.
• What led to the decline of the railroad.
• How the dedication of two families helped maintain Main Street's early 1900s character.
• Tiburon’s transformation into a beautiful suburban community and tourist destination.
• Some of the Tiburon Peninsula’s notable residents.