The California Coastal Commission on Thursday approved a proposal by the National Park Service for the renovation of Stinson Beach’s public areas, allowing the project to move forward with permitting and construction.

Proposed changes include renovations to existing facilities and adjustments to three public parking lots, as well as entrance roads, drainage systems and pedestrian paths. The renovation will also include nature-based sea-level adaptation measures such as restoration of dunes, a floodplain and native vegetation.

The popular Marin County oceanside destination attracts about 600,000 visitors a year, according to a 2023 study by Point Blue Conservation Science, a nonprofit environmental research organization based in Marin County. According to a study prepared for Marin County’s Stinson Beach Adaptation and Resilience Collaboration community initiative, a significant amount of land is projected to be lost as sea levels rise.

The biggest challenge for Stinson Beach residents involves the removal of 70 parking spaces, which could push visitor traffic into neighborhood streets. According to the National Park Service, the tradeoff would be a more flood-resilient beach community.

One of three public parking lots to be redesigned by the National Park Service shows measures to protect the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Stinson Beach from flooding in Stinson Beach, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (National Park Service via Bay City News)

The plan includes removing 80 spaces from the flood-prone north lot and restoring about 0.6 acres of dune and floodplain habitat there. The central lot will gain about 25 spaces, and its entrance road will be moved farther from Easkoot Creek. The south lot would lose about 15 spaces and gain about 0.5 acres of dune habitat restoration along the shoreline.

Deteriorated curbing and sidewalks will be replaced and modified to meet current Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, as well as provide better access for emergency vehicles. To carry unusually high water flows from Easkoot Creek during heavy rains, there will be an overflow channel through a picnic area to an existing beach outfall.

An aerial map outlines proposed improvements including parking lots, dune and riparian restoration, pedestrian bridges, and access points near a beach and shoreline.
The redesign of public spaces at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area at Stinson Beach by the National Park Service shows measures to protect the area from flooding in Stinson Beach, Calif., on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (National Park Service via Bay City News)

The park service said in a 2025 letter to the commission that it will also coordinate with Marin Transit to promote a bus route between Sausalito and Bolinas and help reduce congestion on busy days. It would report annually to the Coastal Commission on parking demand and transit efforts.

Ruth Dusseault is an investigative reporter and multimedia journalist focused on environment and energy. Her position is supported by the California local news fellowship, a statewide initiative spearheaded by UC Berkeley aimed at supporting local news platforms. While a student at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism (c’23), Ruth developed stories about the social and environmental circumstances of contaminated watersheds around the Great Lakes, Mississippi River and Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. Her thesis explored rights of nature laws in small rural communities. She is a former assistant professor and artist in residence at Georgia Tech’s School of Architecture, and uses photography, film and digital storytelling to report on the engineered systems that undergird modern life.