After huffing and puffing your derrière up the invariably steep, single-track footpaths of the Marin Headlands’ harrying Dipsea Trail, it’s refreshing to have friends in high places. Enter the Tourist Club, “the best kept secret of the Bay Area,” as noted local columnist Herb Caen described it in the ’50s. Owned by international outdoor organization Nature Friends, the clubhouse opens up its doors to the public — you and your fellow hikers and adventurers — on weekends, as a social respite from the area’s high elevation trails. With clusters of casual picnic tables on an expansive deck, it’s an ideal spot to savor your midday meal, catch your breath, and take in breathtaking Muir Woods views.

Forgot to foil wrap a sandwich? You’re not totally out of luck. The hiking and climbing confederacy offers the finest staples of central European cuisine. A cash-only bar inside the charming, Bavarian-style lodge will beckon you with a vast assortment of German brews on tap and jars of legendary homemade pickles. Better yet, you can sip your hefe weizen over a well-loved selection of board games, from Scrabble to Trivial Pursuit. If the views from the top don’t make the trek worth it — an unlikely scenario — tucked in the depths of Mt. Tamalpais State Park, this institution will win over your heart of hearts.

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