Editors’ Note:

Mill Valley turns 125 this year-and there’s a lot to celebrate.

This year’s Enjoy Mill Valley Guide offers a window into the City’s rich past and vibrant present. Inside, you’ll find walks through history, a 1900-2025 timeline, archival photos, and features on today’s Mill Valley: neighborhood insights, hikes, fire safety tips, an event calender, timeless “Must Haves,” and a full directory of local businesses and organizations.

Mill Valley has long punched above its weight. it’s home to historical and cultural firsts-from the Mount Tamalpais Scenic Railway (1896) and the Dipsea Race (1905) to the Mountain Play (1913), the rise of mountain biking in the 1970s, and the launch of the Mill Valley Film Festival in 1977. it was a hub of ’60s counterculture and music legends and remains a center for innovation and the arts. Mill Valley was an early leader in environmental preservation-from the women-led Outdoor Art Club (1902) to the Tamalpais Conservation Club (1912), helping spark California’s open space movement and protection of Mt. Tam’s watershed. Our roots run deep-so do our values of creativity, civic pride, and community.

Mill Valley is also a launching pad for pioneering businesses-and thet spirit continues today with the likes of: Equator Coffees, Proof Lab, Tartine, Mill Valley Lumber Yard, and The Junction, all built on the legacy of those who came before: Banana Republic, Smith & Hawken, WTB (Wilderness Trail Bikes), The Republic of Tea, EO Products, Sporting-Sails, Glassdoor, Samuel Hubbard, True Botanicals, and many more.

We’ve grown from a town of 900 to nearly 14,000 today. What drew us here–whether we’re visitors, lifers, or newcomers-is Mill Valley’s nature, history, arts, schools, and spirit of volunteerism.

As Mayor Stephen Burke put it, this year we’re celebrating not Just 94941, but 9494ALL-a reflection of our City’s ongoing efforts toward inclusion and community.

This Guide is made possible thanks to the many individuals and organizations, including the Mill Valley Historical Society, who gave their time and heart. From muralist Nora Bruhn’s cover to Edna Maguire 5th graders back cover art-this is your coffee table compainion through summer 2026.

Overheard at the Mill Valley Music Festival: A local, asked by a mom considering a move whether Mill Valley had changed since 1986, said, “Not really. Mill Valley changes YOU.”

—Jim Welte & Susan Lopes