Sausalito, Coastal city in Marin County, United States
Sausalito is a small city in Marin County, California, on the north side of San Francisco Bay. The town spreads along the shoreline of Richardson Bay, with homes and businesses clinging to the hillside and reaching down to the water's edge.
Before European settlers arrived, the Coast Miwok people lived along the bay shore. The place grew in the nineteenth century as a fishing village and was formally incorporated as a municipality in 1893, later developing shipyard facilities.
The harbor town takes its name from a Spanish term for little willow, recalling the early Spanish settlers in the Bay Area. Today visitors notice the maritime character everywhere, from the floating docks to the yachts on the water and hillside homes overlooking the bay.
Travelers reach the town by ferry from San Francisco, which docks at the harbor, or by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge by bike or car. Most shops and eateries line the main waterfront street, making the area easy to explore on foot.
More than four hundred houseboats float permanently in the bay waters, forming a separate floating neighborhood with narrow walkways and private moorings. These inhabited vessels range from simple wooden platforms to multilevel structures occupied year-round.
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