Druid Heights

Druid Heights is a five-acre community settlement on Mount Tamalpais's southeast slope, featuring handcrafted buildings including a converted farmhouse with a Polynesian roof and Japanese-style rooms. The structures nestle among cedar and oak trees and comprise sixteen buildings total, with a meditation hut and a library constructed from a repurposed redwood water tank.

Poet Elsa Gidlow purchased the land in 1954 and developed it with carpenter Roger Somers into a thriving community during the 1950s and 1960s. The National Park Service acquired the property in 1977, preserving it for future generations.

The settlement attracted notable artists like musician Dizzy Gillespie, poet Gary Snyder, and philosopher Alan Watts, who gathered here for creative meetings and philosophical discussions. It became a meeting place for thinkers seeking alternative ways of living.

The property is accessible via a three-mile dirt road on Mount Tamalpais's southeast side and lacks city water and sewer connections. Visitors should expect rustic conditions and limited modern amenities.

The site features a library built from a repurposed redwood water tank, showing how residents creatively adapted available materials. These converted structures reflect the practical ingenuity of the community.

Inception: 1954

Founders: Elsa Gidlow

GPS coordinates: 37.88920,-122.56500

Latest update: December 6, 2025 22:02