McNear’s Beach

The views don’t warrant the $ 10 entrance fee. Just a park near water with a clubhouse reminiscent of an apartment complex in the suburbs.

This beach is so pleasant, if a little windy. It attracts a diverse crowd, from families to students to seniors, but never feels crowded. Ample picnic space, but not a lot of sand if that’s your thing. You’re supposed to pay $ 10 to come in with a car, but when we went, there was no one sitting in the booth so you could just drive through. We felt guilty and put money in the box anyway though. There was one guard who drove through in a golf cart every few hours and asked if we were drinking booze. We said no and he drove off without getting out of his cart. Chill place.
–1 star for mean geese.

I would have given a 5 but the port potty was filled to the brim. Gross but love the view. Water is calming. Grass is green. The pier is short. Bring a wagon to help hold all your stuff like chairs and food.

It seems a little expensive to get in, but you soon forget the sticker shock. What a beautiful view of the bay. We usually take a pic nic lunch and then stroll down the dock to see who’s caught what.
This is a park that’s set up to do some real business. It has a pool, snack bar, barbeque pits, lots of pic nic tables, large bathrooms and a cabana. We’ve only been as casual visitors but have enjoyed ourselves every time.

McNear’s Beach has been a great place over many years to enjoy a fun family day. With a large lawn area, a swimming pool, tennis courts, volley ball, pier and beach it offers a multitude of choices to have your picnic and there is something for everybody! Last time I was here I ended a (stand up) paddle board and paddled all around the bay from this beach.

Beach? Not so much.
Park? Yes.
Great place for a picnic (on the grassy areas), and for large groups.
And, great for parents wanting to shoo the kiddos away to the pool area — yep, that’s what we did. Kiddos loved it, and we did too!
Worked on our tans as much as possible, on the «beach». I wouldn’t really call it a beach, as it’s very rocky, and there’s no tide. So, the water here isn’t very inviting… no swimming for me. And, it costs a few bucks to enter… and a few more bucks if you want to swim in the pool (which made me question, why would I want to swim in a pool just a few feet from a beach?).
I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit again, as I just want to splash around and work on my tan… on, a sandy beach. But, due to the sheer numbers here, this appears to be the place for company picnics, family reunions, and large parties.

McNear’s offers a lot of facility in one stop…
Swimming pool for an extra $ 5 a head, bathrooms, showers, snack bar, picnic tables, reservable group picnic spots (the ones to the west are nice), a large lawn area with trees, a fishing pier, and a «beach».
The beach is so-​so. Ranges from rocks to gravel to mud and the water is murky. Its not Tomales bay, but still passable for the little ones wearing their water shoes. The beach to the far west is best and there are a few picnic tables stashed away down there too.
The park is extremely well maintained and a good place to just kick back and relax. Prob worth the $ 10 day use fee.
Tip: come before noon for best parking.

Went to McNear’s Beach for the first time for my wife’s company picnic. What a beautiful place! It was one of the nicest picnic spots I’ve been to in many years. Five stars all the way.

Wow! This place is amazing!!! came here for a company picnic and was impressed by the beauty of this place! Great view of the ocean! Plenty of benches to sit on! A swimming pool! Volley ball net! Grills! everything! awesome!
My only gripe is that parking was 10 bucks, but I guess for a day of fun, that isn’t so bad. However, do make sure you go early enough, because spaces could run out, and you would have to park up the hill.
Also, there were a lot of bees and hornets… EEEEEEEEEEEEEP. i hate bugs!!!
However, i would definitely return for future picnics!

This place is a hidden gem! Great place to chill for the day with the fam-​bam. The pool was nice but pretty crowded. The staff were all over the top helpful and nice. Definitely coming back.

Very beautiful beach and park for BBQing, fishing, swimming, relaxing and having fun!

Have lived in Marin for 19 years and didn’t even know that this place existed until now. What an incredibly beautiful park by the bay with lush lawns, trees, picnic tables, BBQs, and of course a public pool. You do have to pay $ 10.00 for parking on weekends ($ 8.00 weekdays) and $ 5.00 per person for using the pool.

Wow! What a great park! 10.00 entry fee and limited parking, but once you’re in, it’s beautiful, shoreline awesomeness. There are picnic areas, some of which are reservable. There’s a pool, too! I mean wow. At about 6:00, on a Sunday there were a handful of people left (the park was closing at 7:00.) I will definitely plan a longer visit here in the future. I’m guessing you have to cue up at opening time to get a parking spot?

If you wade into San Pablo Bay, may I suggest that you wear sandals? Once upon a time in the 70’s, I was a just a kid wading around in the water. I came back onto the beach and something wasn’t right. The sand around me was red. I had stepped on a sharp object in the water and blood was gushing from my foot! It was so hot I nearly fainted. I had to be taken to ER and there was a sharp rock inside my foot! There was a bunch of sand too! Worst of all the doctor had to inject a huge syringe into my foot! I was only in third grade. Anyhow, just a piece of advice…

We just wrapped up a birthday party there and it was just great. Staff was so friendly and forthcoming, the space was great and just a wonderful experience across the board. We had reserved a bbq spot, which i recommend for crowded week-​ends. The space, the pool, the park is very clean and i cannot remember how many times staff came around to empty garbage cans and clean up the place. Great spot, great Staff, THANK YOU!

Perfect area for outdoor family fun. A little bit of everything. We were here with our 19 month old and two other families, each with a 3 year old. Given that it was the 4^th of July the place was packed. Everybody had as much fun as we could have hoped for. We will be back many times I am sure.

Sometimes you need a reason to escape the city. My reason is almost always in search of the sun and fun. I needed a mini vacation and was reminded of the warm weather by a friend who is fortunate to live up in the sunny parts of the North Bay. He reminded me how beautiful the area is and how close I was to it.
It really was a brilliant idea, the beauty of the San Rafael area and memories of McNear’s brought me back to the resort. I used to come here as a kid with my uncle Bruce, it was his favorite place to BBQ, lay out in the sun and let us kids swim all day. Such good family memories there.
That’s what I wanted, so I packed a picnic, two days in a row and hit McNear’s in search of some tan lines. All I could imagine was laying out in the sun, bikini Beks. ;)
For $ 10, you can bring your car load of peeps and for an extra $ 5, you can swim all day in the pool. They have the greenest fluffiest grass, blue skies and the warm breeze made it really easy to close my eyes and relax. For that, these trips were priceless.
I’ve decided to make McNear’s my new getaway spot. I hope to spend lots more time in the Marin area, the sunshine is good for my soul. Xoxo, beks.

This place is a great spot for a picnic and see the SF skyline. The place is kept very clean and great for gatherings. There’s a $ 10 parking fee, but it’s reasonable. There is a swimming pool and fee is $ 5. Good times!

Not a bad place to spend an afternoon chillin’ and bbq-​in. I came here with some friends to picnic and swim (in the San Pablo Bay) not the swimming pool (which is $ 5 to enter) on top of the $ 10 entrance fee into the park.
My friends and i found a great hidden cove along the water and set up our picnic there. Swimming in the bay wasnt bad. If you want to do some open water swimming, this venue offers fairly gentle waters at a decent temperature (still need a wetsuit). The water is brown-​ish green with a really slimy mushy ground. There is some current which made it hard to make headway in some areas. It’s pretty rocky along the beach as well; i cut my foot getting back onto shore.
Get here by 11 am and you should have no problem finding parking. After 1 pm gets packed.

I love everything about this park except the $ 10 parking fee. Everything else about it is beautiful. You get the best of everything — a beach, a swimming pool (and kiddie pool), green park with plenty of shady trees, tennis courts, a store with snacks… what more can you ask for? And the weather is always bright and sunny each time I’m here — and I’ve been here every summer for at least the past 10 years or so.
It’s a great place to spend the 4^th of July, but you have to arrive early to claim your space because the park doesn’t allow reservations. Also, dogs aren’t allowed in the park so that’s a bummer, although I understand why the rangers wouldn’t want to walk around cleaning up dog poop. Also, you can bring your BBQ grills and cook your meals right there on the spot since the park doesn’t sell food. It’s also a 10 minute drive from any stores, so make sure to come prepared with food and drinks because the store only sells ice cream and snacks.
I recommend checking them out on a sunny weekend. It’s a beautiful place.