Sausalito Floating Homes Tour

***This is a review of the grounds and homes, not the tour.***
While you can pay $ 40-​$ 105+ for an official tour of the floating homes aka house boats of Sausalito, I prefer the more adventurous exploration route (free). The floating homes are quite impressive and I recommend checking out these quirky, unique, artistic homes around sunrise or sunset. You can spend about 2 hours wandering around the area and exploring grounds.
Note, there are several different docks to walk by but be warned, several of the docks themselves are private property and require approval from a resident to walk on the dock. Also, most parking spaces are for residents only (there are some public parking spaces but you have to know where to look). Also within the last week or so, construction has blocked access to the South docks from the North end so you will have to walk down Bridgeway to explore the other homes on the South end.
A few friendly reminders — be respectful of the residents here. Do not board private docks, do not shoot photos straight into people’s homes (these are not tourist attractions — people live here), do not park in private parking spots and be mindful of the noise levels when roaming around.

This year was the 24^th annual floating (houseboat) home tour. The proceeds benefited Friend’s of Marin City Library and Family Service Agency of Southern Marin.
Twenty homeowners in this unique community opened their homes to the public. The diversity of styles of the homes was amazing. It was impossible to see all 20 hours on the tour this year; because of the limited space and with only one entry into the home, the lines were long.
Even though I only was able to go into 14 homes, I feel that the $ 40 cost was money well spent; it was a great tour and a beautifully warm day on the Richardson Bay
An added bonus was the free entertainment and reasonably priced food vendors.
I suspect the next years tour is already in the planning stage. I am looking forward to the next tour!