San Geronimo Valley

Forest Knolls is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 249 feet (76 m). For census purposes, Forest Knolls is aggregated with Lagunitas into the census-designated place Lagunitas-Forest Knolls. The first post office at Forest Knolls opened in 1916. Forest Knolls' ZIP Code is 94933.There are a number of small historical businesses in Forest Knolls such as the Papermill Creek Saloon.

Lagunitas-Forest Knolls is a census-designated place, composed of two unincorporated areas in the western half of the San Geronimo Valley in Marin County, California. It is located to the west of San Geronimo and Woodacre. The population was 1,924 at the 2020 census.The two towns are locally seen as separate. Geographically divided by narrow points in the San Geronimo Valley, each has its own small commercial center. Both towns are primarily residential. The ZIP code of Lagunitas is 94938, while the ZIP code of Forest Knolls is 94933.

San Geronimo (Spanish: San Gerónimo, meaning "St. Jerome") is a census-designated place (CDP) located in the San Geronimo Valley in Marin County, California in the United States. San Geronimo is bordered by Lagunitas-Forest Knolls to its west and Woodacre to its east. It is 8 miles (13 km) southwest of downtown Novato at an elevation of 292 feet (89 m). The population was 510 at the 2020 census.

Lagunitas (Laguna, Spanish for "Little lagoons") is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 217 feet (66 m). Lagunitas is aggregated with Forest Knolls by the U.S. Census into the census-designated place (CDP) Lagunitas-Forest Knolls. The first post office at Lagunitas opened in 1906. Lagunitas' ZIP Code is 94938.

The Inkwells (also known as The Ink Wells) are two deep natural swimming pools in Lagunitas Creek, in Marin County, California. The upper Inkwell is also known as "Shafters", named after the former railroad bridge that bore its name nearby, whereas the lower Inkwell is simply known as "Inkwell" or "Hole" because it is deeper and darker. Together, they are known as "The Inkwells". They are a common swimming spot in summer, despite failing to meet current water quality standards due to high levels of coliform. The Inkwells are accessible by car as well as public transit, with a Marin Transit bus stop being less than a mile away. The Inkwells Bridge, which runs above the inkwells, is part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It also carries pipes that bring water from nearby Kent Lake and the nearby Nicasio Reservoir to be treated.

San Geronimo Creek is a stream in Marin County, California, United States, which feeds into Lagunitas Creek below Kent Lake.

Kent Lake is a reservoir in western Marin County, California formed by the construction of Peters Dam across Lagunitas Creek. Built in 1954 (1954), the lake is the most recent lake of the Marin Municipal Water District, as well as the largest. It lies to the west of Alpine Lake; among the five major lakes in the area it is the only one to the west of Fairfax-Bolinas Road.

Woodacre is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, United States. The population was 1,410 at the 2020 census.

Spirit Rock Meditation Center, commonly called Spirit Rock, is a meditation center in Woodacre, California. It focuses on the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the vipassana, or Insight Meditation, tradition. It was founded in 1985 as Insight Meditation West, and is visited by an estimated 40,000 people a year. The San Francisco Chronicle has called it one of "the Bay Area's best-known centers for Buddhist meditation."

Samuel P. Taylor State Park is a state park located in Marin County, California, United States, which includes approximately 2,700 acres (11 km2) of redwood forest and grassland. The park contains about 600 acres (2.4 km2) of old-growth forest, some of which can be seen along the Pioneer Tree Trail.

Barnabe Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of California. It is located in Marin County.

Nicasio ( nih-KAH-see-oh; Spanish for "Nicasius") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. It is located 8 miles (13 km) west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 194 feet (59 m). As of the 2020 census the CDP population was 81, while population estimates for the surrounding area range from about 600 to about 900 people.Within Nicasio and the surrounding area are about 250 homes located on approximately 350 parcels. Much of the land is still used for agricultural purposes including beef and dairy cattle grazing, small-scale truck farming (including organic farming), and the raising of forage. Several small vineyards have also been recently established. Next to Rancho Nicasio within the town of Nicasio is an organic farm, AllStar Organics, owned and operated by Janet Brown and Marty Jacobson; Janet is the vice-president of Marin Organic, Marin County's non-profit organic association. Just north of Nicasio Reservoir is Fairlea Ranch, where pedigree longhorn cattle are raised. The most significant non-agricultural business within Nicasio is George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, a part of Lucasfilm Ltd. According to a 2004 Forbes magazine real estate survey, Nicasio is the 23rd most expensive ZIP code in the US. Nicasio has the highest per capita income ($211,993) of any census-designated place in California.Centrally located in this area is the small village of Nicasio itself. The village is in area codes 415/628. The town center has a post office (ZIP code 94946), a general store, a tiny real estate office, St. Mary's Catholic Church (established in 1867), Nicasio Volunteer Fire Department, a baseball field located in the town square, the Rancho Nicasio Bar & Restaurant, a Druid's Hall, as well as a number of private homes. The town was founded in the early 19th century to support local agricultural, timber, and fishing activities. The town once contained the twenty-two-room Hotel Nicasio, which opened in 1867 but burned down in December 1940. Just north of town on Nicasio Valley Road next to the modern-day school building for Nicasio School District is a one-room schoolhouse that opened in 1871. The building is currently a listed historical landmark. The Nicasio post office opened in 1871, closed in 1899, and reopened in 1900.In 2008, Dewey Livingston wrote a detailed history of the region titled Nicasio: The Historic Valley at the Center of Marin.