“Novato was completely comfortable, wide open, high as you wanted to get, run around naked if you wanted to…” —Jerry Garcia
Saturday, where you’ll traverse the site, see deactivated missiles and other Cold War equipment and learn the fascinating history of the time and place. The idea was if Soviet aircraft loaded with nuclear bombs made it past our Air Force defense, the crew at SF-88 would be called to shoot them down with the Nike missiles. By that point, the men had 23 minutes to live—duck and cover be damned. More info at nps.gov.
The Mysterious Unexplained and Not-At-All Satanic Labyrinth at Shell Beach In the late 1990s, a spiral labyrinth-shaped path was mysteriously hand-cut into the grass between Shell Beach and Goat Rock near Jenner. According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat , state parks officials initially wondered if the strange occurrence carried cultish or satanic undertones, but ultimately left the unauthorized new trail alone. More than two decades later, it’s morphed into a place of contemplation and spirituality, with travelers leaving stones, shells or personal objects from lost loved ones. At the center of the spiral is a shrine of remnants, encompassing 25 years of hope, grief and longing of its many pilgrims. Look for it in a meadow off the Kortum Trail, north of the Shell Beach parking lot. More info at labyrinthlocator.org .
Wine Country OG: Wingo Before today’s multi-million-dollar homes and winery estates littered the Valley of the Moon, there was Wingo—a 19th- century paddle-steamer stop for travelers and supply shipments ferrying up Sonoma Creek. At its peak in the 1840s, the town (originally called Norfolk) bustled with fishermen, duck hunters and, later, San Franciscans making their way to Sonoma and its nearby wellness resorts. By the time the rail company set up tracks (and changed its name to Wingo for unexplained reasons), the town was thriving, at least as much as a mosquito- plagued ferry junction could. The opening of the Golden Gate Bridge, however, was the writing on the wall for Wingo as transportation switched permanently to the roads and residing near a swampy flood-prone creek lost its allure. By the 1990s, the “town” claimed only one resident, the elderly widow Alice Mann, who’d bought her cabin in 1956 for cool $1,000, potentially the only real estate purchase in Sonoma County to ever go down in value. Various fires and floods over the years finished Wingo off for good and today what’s left are several dilapidated structures, residents of an adjacent property (with an alleged prickly reception for gawkers), and the eerie aura of a California past never to be seen again. To get there it’s about a 3-mile hike, beginning near Larson Winery off Highway 121; the tides can render it swampy, bring your water boots.
Only Thing Standing Between You and Nuclear Armageddon: Magical Marin
From 1953 to 1979, the U.S. Army operated nearly 300 Nike missile sites—intended as a last line of defense in the event of a nuclear attack by the Soviets. The site known as SF-88 sits in the Marin Headlands as the most fully restored missile site in the country. Docent-led tours are offered every Thursday, Friday and
40 NorthBaybiz
July 2025
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