This North Bay Town Has Gone Almost a Year With No Post Office

Bolinas locals are up in arms over the lack of postal service. (Paolo Bicchieri)

In Bolinas, a funky little coastal enclave in Marin County, residents are calling out the state government over a local lack of resources. No, it’s not food, thanks to a smattering of restaurants and markets, nor gas which comes courtesy of Bo Gas, though it’s as pricey a gallon of gas as they come. The consternation comes from a distinct lack of postal service, and a huge sign at the town’s entrance marks the days without a post office like accident-free days tallied on a factory floor. On February 2, 2024, the number had reached 335.

The Bolinas post office, which was located at 20 Brighton Avenue, now is marked as permanently closed. On February 17, 2023, the United States Postal Service let locals know in a press release that services would be temporarily suspended for “necessary repairs.” The federal agency encouraged using the Olema and Stinson Beach offices. The post office has still not reopened, nor do things seem very temporary.

Bolinas in the North Bay. (Ronan Furuta)

The Bolinas Civic Group, an aptly-named community organization, is continuing to keep pressure up to regain the post office. The most recent meeting in January 2024 reiterated the community’s hopes to have locals email their senator regarding the situation. Moreover, the Bolinas Civic Group proposes a number of grassroots solutions including an interim post office in nearby Mesa Park and documenting mismanagement.

Clearly, locals feel it’s a big problem to not have the post office set up. A worker at the Bolinas People’s Store, a grocery store near the community center, said everyone in the area now goes to Olema to get their mail. Olema is 11 miles from Bolinas, though there is a post office in Stinson Beach which is about two miles away. In a way, though, this is a fitting problem for a community known as a respite for the Beats after departing San Francisco; very anti-establishment. It’s the same area where renegade chai and coffee pop-ups take over streets and surfers flock to the laidback breaks. As a full year without the post office approaches, only time will tell if the empty office will resume moving mail.