The quirky battle between two Marin towns

Have you been to the tug-of-war battle between Bolinas and Stinson?

The two towns are next to each other, kinda. The west end of Stinson is a long sand spit that ends in a narrow channel into the lagoon. On the other side of the channel is Bolinas with its downtown right there (including Smiley’s Saloon, which is often featured in our events section).

But in some ways these towns are far apart. The drive takes 15 minutes since you have to go all the way around the lagoon. And they’re culturally different too. Bolinas has a bohemian artist reputation and Stinson Beach a day-trip and 2nd home reputation.

The channel distance separating the two towns changes with the tide, but might be a dozen yards. (The water can move fast though.)

Every year on the 4th of July these two towns come together for a friendly tug-of-war contest. First, 30 women on each side battle it out. Then, 30 men.

The winners earn bragging rights, and their local bar gets to display the trophy. It’s one of those old traditions that I hope goes on forever, but it is also so unofficial that no one knows when it began. Most likely in the early 1970s.

Note: Erin Bell of the Point Reyes Light wrote a great article this year about her experience going to the event since 1994.

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This reminded me of the garage in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Turns out they aren’t all that similar:

There have only been two owners of this place since 1950, and it was significantly expanded in 2019. It must have been tiny since it is currently just 1,634 square feet, however there is also an office pod in the backyard.

This is one of those places where you would want to buy the staging furniture. I don’t think mine would look quite the same in there…

It is a half-mile up from the Sweetwater and looks like a beautiful walk. Slightly uphill at +66 feet of elevation according to Google.

Check it out:

Zillow link

Thanks for reading. We will be back with the regular events and activities email Wednesday morning!

— Allison + Brian