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Approximately 50 miles north of San Francisco, the AppleGarden Cottage is a charming private cottage located in an organic apple orchard surrounded by vegetable gardens. In the historic town of Tomales, it's just minutes from Dillon Beach and Tomales Bay. Your hosts, Louis and Jan Lee, live in the farmhouse across the driveway and are long-time residents of the area.
Start every day with fresh seasonal fruit, farm-fresh eggs from the free-range resident chickens, and freshly baked pastry from Jan's kitchen. Pick some veggies from the organic gardens for your gourmet breakfast; the refrigerator will be amply stocked for all your other breakfast treats. Specializing in organic foods, Jan makes all baked goods, including home-made granola, from scratch and loves to experiment with new recipes.Jan will be happy to accommodate special dietary needs! For longer stays, optional provisioning is offered with specialty foods for picnics; the Cottage kitchen has all the other necessities.
Amenities include:
Free wireless internet access
Internet radio
Telephone with free local calls
Satellite TV with premium channels
AM/FM Clock Radio with IPod dock
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Pack an alfresco lunch for your day at Dillon Beach, or your bicycle tour through the beautiful Chileno Valley, or take a leisurely drive aroundTomales Barn Tomales Bay to Pt. Reyes! Rejuvenate at Osmosis day spa with a massage, a few minutes away in Freestone.
The Cottage at AppleGarden is also the perfect central location for day trips to San Francisco, the wine country, or the Highway One coast route. Return at the end of the day to the peaceful farm and relax; enjoy the birdsongs, wild turkeys and other wildlife.
Dillon Beach Resort is located at the mouth of Tomales Bay. Six miles or 5 minutes west of Tomales, the mile long white beach is great for running, shell collecting, surfing and boogie boarding.http://www.dillonbeachresort.com/resort.html
Tomales History Center. Visit the museum and discover the history of the beautiful area.
Sign up for a painting class or workshop with the amazing artist Jeanette LeGrue
http://www.legrue.comPlan to explore the wonderful local cheesemakers in our area; cheese pairs so well with our own hard cider!
http://www.cheesetrail.org/Osmosis Day Spa. Experience relaxation in a cedar-enzyme soak or treat yourself to a soothing massage and facial.
http://www.osmosis.com
Point Reyes National Seashore has miles of beautiful trails within its 64,000 acres with a variety of terrain to suite every walker and hiker. There is a boat ramp at Miller Park offering easy access to the Bay for boating, fishing, sailing, windsurfing and kayaking. (Parking is available at AppleGarden for a small boat trailer; confirm size when making reservation).
http://www.nps.gov/pore/planyourvisit/index.htmFive Brooks Stable is a full service riding stable for the whole family, specializing in providing guided trail rides for park visitors who desire an alternative method to enjoy the scenic splendor of the park.
http://www.fivebrooks.comBlue Waters Kayaking (or Tamal Saka) on beautiful Tomales Bay, at Marshall, near the Marshall Store. Guides are naturalists and skilled kayakers.
http://www.bwkayak.comTomales Bay. Discover all the local attractions of West Marin.
http://www.pointreyes.orgVisit the historic settlement of Fort Ross a few miles up the coast with its outstanding scenic beauty and to learn about local, California, or world trade history.
http://rrparks.mcn.org/fortross
Local Restaurants (within about 20 minutes) include:
Tomales Deli
http://www.tomalesdeli.comHog Island Oysters
http://www.hogislandoysters.comMarshall Store Oyster Bar and Deli
http://www.themarshallstore.comNick’s Covehttp://www.nickscove.com
Rocker Oysterfellers (dinner Wednesday thru Sunday)
http://www.rockeroysterfellers.com
Tomales Bakery (open mornings Thursday thru Sunday only)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tomales-bakery-tomalesStation House Cafe
http://www.stationhousecafe.comOsteria Stellina
http://osteriastellina.com -
6/2012 - Relaxing and inspiring
This is a great little retreat. You can just enjoy the perfect breakfasts that are left discretely on your doorstep every morning, check out Fort Ross for some local history, and generally tune out for a couple of days in a beautiful setting. It's a clean and very comfortable cottage. Jan and Lou are attentive, low-key hosts. They share happily about their cider business and apple orchard, bee hives (and carpenter bee hotel), architecture, recipes etc and you come away inspired by their energy and attention to detail. Highly recommended.
6/2012 - A cozy cottage with an amazing breakfast from the farm
My wife and I have stayed here twice now, and absolutely love it. There are not many bed and breakfast options in the Tomales area, so it is refreshing to have one so hands down incredible available. The cottage is kitted out with the latest and best furnishings/kitchenware--you feel a bit like you're in a Nancy Meyers film- betraying Jan and her husband's lifetime of building homes. The breakfast is just....wow. Almost all the food is fresh from the farm, from the eggs to the strawberries. The scones are to die for. And having a separate cottage provides a level of privacy bed and breakfasts don't usually offer. I would highly recommend this.
6/2012 - A peaceful and sweet getaway
The cottage is spacious and comfortable. We chose to make dinner rather than head out, and we found all we needed to do so right there in the well-stocked kitchen. I didn't expect so many treats - like the cookies and granola - alongside the house cider and dairy products. A real nice bonus. The location is excellent, and there are some very good bike rides right out the driveway of the cottage. We are definitely going again!
5/2012 - A dreamy adult get away in quiet countryside.
The cottage is very nice, super clean with very thoughtful details. The farm is quiet and nice to ramble around. We walked to town too which was lovely. Jan made us delicious treats even with us being picky vegans and the hospitality was gracious. I really liked that the cottage was made for adults only as a respite from our very kid busy home. Lots to do in the area but it was hard leaving the dreamy cottage so save time to lounge about.
4/2012 - A real gem in Tomales
Apple Garden Cottage is an absolute gem! The cottage is beautifully decorated and has amenities you don't find in most hotels. The heated bathroom floor, thermostat controlled fireplace, all enhance the peaceful and serene views from the deck over looking the hills. The breakfast is amazing! Waking up to a basket on the porch was one of the best parts of the day. You can taste the care that goes into making meals that are made with local ingredients. The heating instructions that came along with each meal was simply genius. You can have a hot amazingly delicious meal at your convience. When you want a snack there is a jar of homemade cookies that I couldn't get enough of. This place is a really great getaway for anyone wanting to unplug and getaway from the frenzy of everyday life. The weak cell signal was another great plus! I highly recommend it and hope to visit again.