Martinez (California)

Martinez is in the outer East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Martinez has easy access to nature, so it's no wonder the famed naturalist John Muir decided to settle here.

By train

 * Routes stopping in Martinez:
 * Coast Starlight operates daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. Stops include Tacoma, Lacey, Centralia, Kelso, Vancouver, WA, Portland, Salem, Albany, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank.
 * Capitol Corridor operates 11 to 12 round trips daily between Sacramento and San Jose, via Oakland.
 * California Zephyr operates a daily train between Emeryville and Chicago.
 * California Zephyr operates a daily train between Emeryville and Chicago.

By bus/BART
Martinez is connected by County Connection buses to the town of Concord, as well as the North Concord/Martinez BART Station, Pleasant Hill BART Station, and Walnut Creek BART Station. Bus 16 is free, and buses 16 and 98X both go by John Muir National Historic Site.

By car
Accessible by Highway 4 and Interstate 680.

By plane
The nearest airport is Buchanan Field in Concord (small aircraft). The closest major airport is Oakland International. Note that San Francisco International Airport is the terminus of the BART line that serves the North Concord/Martinez Station.

Get around
Downtown Martinez is very walkable, and some other attractions, including the John Muir historic site, can be reached by County Connection bus service (+1 925 676-7500). Some of the nature in Martinez is easy to get to without a car, including Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline, Radke Martinez Regional Shoreline, and Mount Wanda.

Do
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness."

- John Muir



Stay safe
Exercise caution in downtown during nighttime as it's dimly lit. It's the crime hotspot of the city, but just use smart judgement and you should be safe.

Go next
"The mountains are calling and I must go."

- John Muir


 * - Visible across the Carquinez Strait at the north end of the Martinez-Benicia Bridge.
 * - This neighboring town is primarily a typical family suburb, but it does offer options for food and shopping.
 * - One of the largest cities in the East Bay, offering a variety of shopping and dining options.
 * - The downtown Walnut Creek area offers shopping, bars, and restaurants.
 * - This 20,000-acre park provides great hiking opportunities on a mountain that dominates the landscape for most of central and eastern Contra Costa County. It offers an incredible viewshed, with views on clear days stretching 181 miles to Mount Lassen.
 * - Eclectic, political and always interesting, Berkeley is only a 20- to 25-minute drive away. Alternatively, using BART, either a) transfer at the MacArthur station and exit at Downtown Berkeley, or b) exit at Rockridge and walk ~2 miles (~3 km) to downtown.
 * - Although "the City" feels a world away, it's just a 46-minute BART ride (from North Concord/Martinez station) to the Embarcadero or a 35-90-minute-drive, depending on traffic.
 * - Although "the City" feels a world away, it's just a 46-minute BART ride (from North Concord/Martinez station) to the Embarcadero or a 35-90-minute-drive, depending on traffic.