Lodging

Smiley's Schooner Saloon & Hotel has an Old West appeal.

Quirky doesn’t even begin to describe it.

Bolinas is known for many things — surfers, hippies, artists,  drunks, poets, potheads, the Jefferson Airplane beach house,  Richard Brautigan’s suicide, and dogs. Lots of stray dogs.

A lush gardens path leads to the bunalows.

As a deterrent to tourists, the local residents  have a tradition  of removing the sign that indicates the turnoff to their seaside hamlet. In the 20 years I’ve been visiting, I’ve never seen a sign.

But every time I go, I make it a point to stop at Smiley’s, the saloon in the middle of town that claims to be one of the oldest in California, established in 1851, and that has served up hooch straight through Prohibition.

I like to go there for the cheeseburger — thin, flat, not too much bun, cooked in a toaster oven, and the atmosphere — scruffy, Old West, and populated with dodgy, hard-drinking characters who play pool and dice games. There is usually a mutt or two on the front porch.

I knew Smiley’s had a hotel that I figured was above the bar and would look like a set from a Deadwood episode. But when I asked the bartender, he showed me to a few cute bungalows behind the bar in a lush overgrown garden that reminded me of the Filbert steps in San Francisco. It was quiet and quite serene back there — a very different ambiance than the saloon, which hosts live music several nights a week.

The rooms are small and spartan but comfortable — no phones or television, but free WiFi. They’ll set you back a whopping $74 on weekdays/$84 on weekends.

The locals may try to keep it a secret, but Bolinas is a Northern California experience worth having. If you can find that is.

Accommodations are behind Smiley's pub.

it, that is.

Smiley’s Saloon & Hotel
Established 1851
41 Wharf Road., Bolinas, CA
(415) 868-1311

Photo credit: Lisa Dion