Central Marin County is noted for its hiking trails and bicycling paths. The Marin Water District contains a series of lakes with trails and nearby easy access for the public. Books about San Anselmo and Marin County, as well as detailed maps to these areas are available at the San Anselmo Booksmith.

If you want to venture a bit further afield, other nearby areas just a short drive away include:

- San Francisco, Only 30 minutes south by car via the historic landmark Golden Gate Bridge. Or take a ferry across beautiful San Francisco Bay.
- Fairfax (five minutes to the west) with a lively nightlife scene.
- San Rafael (seven minutes to the east), more restaurants, shops and a wonderful movie complex always showing a program of interesting art and independent films. San Rafael is also home to the Marin County Civic Center one of Frank Lloyd Wright's last and most interesting designs.
- Sausalito (twenty minutes to the south), eclectic waterfront town with lots of shops and restaurants, ferry rides into San Francisco.
- Tiburon (twenty five minutes to the south & east), another great little waterfront town with ferries into the city and over to Angel Island.
- Mill Valley (twenty minutes to the south), beautiful and secluded, tucked into the redwoods, an artist's colony of many years standing.
- Petaluma (thirty five minutes to the north), historic Victorian town with lots of "iron front" structures, many antique shops and restaurants.
- The East Bay(25 minutes to the east) Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, Walnut Creek, Danville

Easy day trips include:

- Napa and Sonoma county the world famous wine country
- The National Seashore from Stinson Beach north to Bodega Bay
- The Peninsula, Palo Alto, San Mateo, Mountain View, San Jose, Santa Cruz