The Greenbrae Boardwalk bordering the Corte Madera Creek on the east side of Highway 101 in Marin County is an unusual habitat. Here forty-nine houses sit on pilings above a salt marsh. Only accessible by foot or bike, residents access their homes by way of a wooden walkway.

Greenbrae Boardwalk and Corte Madera Creek

In the early 1900s arks, small houses that float on boat-like hulls, were a common site off the shores of Larkspur. During that era the Greenbrae boardwalk was a series of 12 x 2 boards extending across the pickleweed – a favorite spot for catching bass, duck hunting, and carousing.

By the 1910’s three houses were built along the boardwalk – some of the first homes in Greenbrae. The first waterline came to the boardwalk in 1921; electricity in 1946; postal delivery in 1948; and sewage installation by 1961.

Residents tell stories of dramatic storms, of falling into the marsh, and the joys of living over the mud.

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