Who built that?
Why is Sausalito famous?
Sausalito's houseboats. A true story near Sausalito, CA, told for kids 3–6.
The Sausalito, California story, read aloud
Can a house float like a boat? In Sausalito, some houses do! They are called houseboats. They sit right on the water. When the water goes up, the houses go up. When the water goes down, the houses go down. Bob, bob, bob!
Just like a rubber duck in your bathtub. Imagine your bed going up and down! Can you bob in your seat? Up, down, up, down! And the name Sausalito is Spanish. It means little willow trees. Willow trees have long, droopy branches.
Like a puppy's floppy ears! Look out the window now. Do you see the water? Do you see any boats? Maybe one is somebody's house!
Quiz the back seat
What do some houses in Sausalito do?
Show the answer
Float on the water. They float! Lots and lots of houseboats live right on the bay.
Sausalito, California facts for kids
- Sausalito has large numbers of houseboats on San Francisco Bay.
- The name Sausalito comes from Spanish words meaning small willow grove.
- Sausalito sits near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Questions kids ask about Sausalito, California
Why is Sausalito famous?
Sausalito is famous for its many houseboats, homes that float right on the bay.
What does the name Sausalito mean?
Sausalito comes from Spanish words that mean little willow grove.
Do houseboats move up and down?
Yes, houseboats float, so they rise and fall as the water goes up and down.
For grown-ups
Written with AI from public sources, then checked claim by claim against the sources below before it was published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- bayareamodern.com/sausalito-real-estate/sausalito-floating-homes
- marincounty.com/sausalito/floating-homes
- tyler-stewart.com/blog/thinking-about-a-floating-home-heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-houseboats-around-marin-county
- floatinghomes.org/FAQs.html
- roadtrippers.com/magazine/sausalito-floating-homes-california
- bookahouseboat.com/pages/rent-a-houseboat-in-sausalito-san-francisco
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausalito,_California
- sausalitohistoricalsociety.com/2019-columns/2019/12/4/sausalito-or-saucelito
More stories in Sausalito
Inventors and firsts The Whole Bay in One Building
Look out the window! See that big, long building?
The first people here Who Lived Here First?
You live in Sausalito, right on the edge of Richardson Bay. But who lived here before there were any houses at all?
Trains, ships and planes When the Train Met the Boat
Here in Sausalito, right by the water, is the ferry dock. A ferry is a big boat that carries people across the water, like a bus that…
Long, long ago The Town Named for Trees
You live in Sausalito, a town by the bay. And its name is a word puzzle!Build one with bricks
How things work: roads, bridges, oceans →All stories →
Between stories: 25 road trip games for kids · Road trip bingo cards · Road trip trivia · Christmas light scavenger hunt · Christmas trivia
Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).