{"nrhp_refnum":"10000356","name":"Dipsea Trail, The","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Throckmorton Ave, Sequoia Valley Rd., Panoramic Hwy., State Rt 1, Muir Woods National Monument, Golden Gate National Rec","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mill Valley and Stinson Beach","county":"Marin County","state":"CA","lat":37.90361499900004,"lon":-122.57285039763443,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"The Dipsea Trail is a roughly 7.44-mile route of foot trails, stairways, bridges and short road sections on the southern slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, California. It runs from Lytton Square in Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, with portions used as early as 1855 and the first complete route established in 1904-1905.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the trail as the course of the Dipsea Race, held annually since 1905, which it describes as the \"granddaddy\" of American trail running competitions and a precedent-setting event. About 92% of the route is virtually unchanged since the early race days, and the trail as a whole is described as retaining historic integrity.","narrative":"Running about 7.44 miles from downtown Mill Valley to the Pacific at Stinson Beach, the Dipsea Trail crosses the southern slopes of Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County. It combines narrow dirt footpaths, wooden and stone stairways, wooden bridges, old roadbeds and short stretches of paved street, climbing to more than 1,360 feet. Much of it lies within Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Muir Woods National Monument and Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Named segments such as the Dipsea Steps, Suicide, Dynamite, Cardiac, The Swoop and Insult have become well known to runners. The route is tied to the Dipsea Race, which began in 1905 after two Olympic Club members raced from the Mill Valley depot to the Dipsea Inn. About 92 percent of the course is virtually the same as in the early races. The nomination treats the trail as an influential early example of American trail running. Several rebuilt or altered sections are counted as non-contributing.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a popular hiking and running trail and the route of the annual Dipsea Race; some segments are non-contributing because of later rebuilding or suburban construction.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:29.799834-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/10000356.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123859664","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/marin-county/dipsea-trail-the-10000356/"}