At Larkspur Landing, the SMART platform and the Golden Gate ferry gangway are a short walk apart. Under the Sail and Rail pilot, one $10 ticket covered both. You bought it in the SMART eTickets app, activated it before boarding, and it covered a one-way train ride plus a one-way ferry ride. You had four and a half hours from activation to finish the trip.
That ticket is going away in two steps, and the first one arrives a full month before the second. The trip the $10 fare was built for mostly starts far up the line in Sonoma County. A Larkspur rider with a Clipper card or a contactless bank card loses very little when it ends. The riders who feel it most are the ones who pay on paper or in cash.
Two Deadlines, Thirty Days Apart
Golden Gate's rider alert, posted Sept. 1, 2026, gives two dates:
The final date to purchase Sail and Rail tickets is October 31, 2026. The final date for customers to use Sail and Rail tickets is November 30, 2026.
As this post goes up on Thursday, Oct. 22, you have nine days left to buy, and the cutoff falls on a Saturday. An unactivated ticket normally stays valid for 90 days after purchase. But the pilot ends Nov. 30, so a ticket bought on Oct. 31 has about a month of life left, not three.
The ticket works on every regular Golden Gate Ferry and SMART trip. It does not work on the Giants Ferry to Oracle Park. If you have questions about a ticket you already bought, SMART Customer Service takes them at [email protected] or (707) 794-3330.
The Marin Transit October newsletter says the program was set up as a pilot so SMART and Golden Gate could test it before deciding whether to keep it, and that the pilot now concludes Nov. 30.
Who the $10 Fare Was Really Priced For
To see who gives up the most, compare the flat $10 with what the same trip costs on Clipper.
Golden Gate raised most ferry fares by up to $0.25 on July 1, 2026. Under the current fare table, an adult one-way ferry ride between Larkspur and San Francisco costs $9.50 with Clipper or a contactless bank card. A paper ticket costs $14. SMART charges adults $1.50 per fare zone, from $1.50 for one zone up to $7.50 for five.
The regional transfer rules decide what happens when you combine the two. Golden Gate's transfers page says adults switching between another agency and the ferry get up to $2.85 off. If the connecting fare is less than $2.85, the connection is free. You pay the full fare on the first ride, and the discount comes off the second.
Here is what that does to a train-then-ferry trip into the city, compared with Sail and Rail:
| SMART zones ridden | SMART fare | Ferry fare after $2.85 transfer credit | Clipper total | Compared with $10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1.50 | $6.65 | $8.15 | $1.85 less |
| 2 | $3.00 | $6.65 | $9.65 | $0.35 less |
| 3 | $4.50 | $6.65 | $11.15 | $1.15 more |
| 4 | $6.00 | $6.65 | $12.65 | $2.65 more |
| 5 | $7.50 | $6.65 | $14.15 | $4.15 more |
The pattern is clear. On a one- or two-zone train ride paired with the ferry, Clipper already beats the combo ticket. The combo only saves money on trips of three zones or more, and it saves the most for riders coming the farthest. Golden Gate's own description of the program matches the table. It pitches the fare for riding SMART from Sonoma County down to Larkspur, or for a day trip from San Francisco up into Sonoma County.
If you ride the other direction, ferry first and then the train, the ferry costs the full $9.50 and the credit comes off SMART. A one-zone ride then costs nothing extra, so the total is $9.50. Two zones comes to $9.65. A Larkspur household taking the ferry home and the train one stop farther still pays less than $10.
Both directions only work if you use the same card or device for every tap. On SMART you tap on and tap off. On the ferry you only tap on. The sources disagree on how long the transfer lasts. Golden Gate's ferry page says three hours from the first tap. Clipper's SMART page says two hours from boarding the first agency. If your connection takes longer than two hours, plan around the shorter window.
The Rider Who Loses the Most Pays on Paper
The table covers card riders. For anyone who doesn't carry Clipper, the change looks very different.
Sail and Rail was sold only in the SMART eTickets app. That made it a workaround for paper-ticket riders. At $10, it cost less than a paper ferry ticket alone, which is $14, and it threw in a train ride. Once the combo is gone, the app doesn't replace that deal, because SMART's fare page says transfers aren't available when you pay through the eTickets app. Golden Gate gives no transfers to cash customers at all. Its transfer credit goes only to Clipper cards, plastic or mobile, and contactless bank cards.
The local buses are heading the same way. On Oct. 5, 2026, the Marin Transit board voted to end free transfers for riders paying cash, effective Jan. 1, 2027. Cash will still be accepted, and bus fares are not going up. Between Nov. 30 and Jan. 1, the two biggest fare changes touching Larkspur Landing will have moved the same thing, the discount on a connection, onto a card tap.
If you take a Marin Transit bus to the terminal, one free day is still ahead. On Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, every Marin Transit local bus trip is free.
What Stays the Same at the Terminal
The everyday basics at Larkspur Landing aren't changing, and some of them work especially well for the trips Sail and Rail used to cover.
Parking in the terminal and overflow lots costs $2 on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's free after 1 p.m., on weekends, and on the holidays Golden Gate lists. Spaces are first-come, first-served. Overnight parking isn't allowed, and a car left longer than 24 hours can be fined or towed.
The Larkspur timetable in effect since April 13, 2026 has these Saturday, Sunday and holiday departures:
- 9:00 a.m.
- 10:00 a.m.
- 11:30 a.m.
- 1:30 p.m.
- 3:00 p.m.
- 4:30 p.m.
- 6:00 p.m.
That April update was a small one. It moved one weekday midday round trip 30 minutes earlier and adjusted the SMART connections to match. A weekend round trip to the city with free parking costs $19 in ferry fares per adult on Clipper. Sail and Rail never changed that.
The Giants Ferry isn't running right now, since Golden Gate lists the 2026 season as over. The Chase Center boat is suspended.
The Station Is Next in Line, on Paper
The fare changes are already dated. Changes to the station itself are still proposals. On Sept. 24, 2026, the Transportation Authority of Marin board voted unanimously to adopt the Marin County Mobility Hub Plan. It covers the ferry terminals in Larkspur, Sausalito and Tiburon and the six rail stations in Novato, San Rafael and Larkspur, as the Marin Independent Journal reported.
For the Larkspur SMART station, the plan calls for three things. It recommends repairing the sidewalks, landscaping and curb ramps along Larkspur Landing Road, adding a new bus stop on Highway 101, and building a solar canopy over the parking lot. Countywide, it also suggests bike lockers, repair stations, e-bike charging, shelters and new lighting.
According to the Independent Journal, Derek McGill, TAM's director of planning, said adopting the plan puts the county in a better position to seek grant money. He also said the next step is approval from each jurisdiction named in the plan, either by adopting it or by folding its recommendations into capital improvement programs. San Rafael Mayor Kate Colin, who chairs the TAM board, told the paper that the plan "gives us a thoughtful planning framework for each location." None of the Larkspur items has funding or a construction date yet.
Saturday, Oct. 31, at the Landing
The last day to buy Sail and Rail is also a busy day next door at Marin Country Mart, 2257 Larkspur Landing Circle. The Mart's Halloween Spectacular runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a costume contest at 11 followed by trick-or-treating around the Mart. It's also the final day of the honor-system heirloom pumpkin patch, which runs Oct. 1 through 31. The night before, Friday, Oct. 30, is the last of the Mart's 6 p.m. outdoor movie nights for the season. Ferry parking is free all day Saturday.
If you've been using the combo for longer rides up the SMART line, Oct. 31 is your last chance to buy it. If your trips stay close to Larkspur, a card tap already covers them for less.
At the McArthur Love Team, we follow the changes at Larkspur Landing, from the ferry timetable to the proposals for the SMART station, because they shape everyday life in the town where our office sits. If you'd like to talk through what's planned near the Landing, Contact Us.
