Known to mountain bikers as a trail and to equestrians as a stable, Willow Camp had a different identity at the turn of the 19th century — as the place that today we call Stinson Beach. Named after the willow trees that grew near the shore, it formed as a small tent settlement around 1870, when the first road was laid from Sausalito along the Pacific coast. Visitors gained easier access to the area in 1896 when the Mount Tamalpais and Muir Woods Railway opened. Would-be beachgoers could ride the train to West Point Inn, then hike or take a stagecoach down to the water. The first businesses didn’t spring up until 1906, when refugees from the San Francisco earthquake arrived. In 1916 Willow Camp was renamed Stinson Beach after local landowners Rose and Nathan Stinson.
Kasia Pawlowska loves words. A native of Poland, Kasia moved to the States when she was seven. The San Francisco State University creative writing graduate went on to write for publications like the San Francisco Bay Guardian and KQED Arts among others prior to joining the Marin Magazine staff. Topics Kasia has covered include travel, trends, mushroom hunting, an award-winning series on social media addiction and loads of other random things. When she’s not busy blogging or researching and writing articles, she’s either at home writing postcards and reading or going to shows. Recently, Kasia has been trying to branch out and diversify, ie: use different emojis. Her quest for the perfect chip is never-ending.
