Cronkite Beach Passes the Test of Time

About a ten or 15 minute drive across the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is one of my very favorite beaches in the whole wide world (and I’ve been all over the damn place). The time differential for arrival at Rodeo Beach is the possible five minute wait to get through the one-way access tunnel. Rodeo is located on the ocean (as opposed to SF bay) within the confines of the ex-military installation of Fort Cronkite. Rodeo is unusual in that it is not sand but tiny rocks, making it infinitely fascinating to lie prone rather than supine, the fascination being the large variety of types of stone, some quite valuable if they were of any substantial size, including jasper (yellow), agate (various colors), jade (green) and carnelian (iridescent orange/red). From a distance it all looks a uniform brown. It’s not really a sun worship-per’s beach and it’s dangerous to swim there since the surf is so wild and rough (and cold). It’s quite the mecca for surfer culture as oxymoronic as that might sound.

Although the name Rodeo is technically correct, everyone refers to the place as Cronkite Beach and that’s how I’ve known it since I first discovered it in about 1956. I presume I was introduced to it by some crony or other at the time but the connection is lost in the mists of time. Although part of the National Seashore, the beach is not “taken care of” and nature is allowed to take its course. Consequently it’s sometimes overrun with kelp and/or driftwood (and maybe a dead seagull or two) but always, always, no matter the weather or the light of day; it is beautiful and makes the heart beat faster with the behold-ing of it. Hiking its length is worth the half-hour it takes if you are meandering but if you require a longer trek there are several hiking trials to consider. Uphill. Some of the ex-military structures are still in use by various entities but their exteriors remain the same. Can it be that army barracks could be considered landmarks? There is also a rough-hewn Mammal Research Center up the hill that is worth a visit.

Cronkite Beach is hidden within the confines of the Marin Headlands and remains, to this day (October 22, 2007) as I remember it fifty years ago. Whenever I get to the Bay Area I always try to spend at least a couple of hours there; it’s good for the soul and the knees but still only about five minutes from a decent meal in Sausalito, where you can surreptitiously let your socks dry out. Superfluous note: After breakfast I bought souvenir tee shirts and there is now a bowl-ing team at Melody Lanes in Brooklyn named Team Sausalito. We are currently in fifth place.