Hit the hiking trails of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
May 14, 2008
It’s nothing personal, but rangers in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) would like nothing better than to see you take a hike! And take a camera or picnic basket with you.
With more than 73,000 acres of magnificent terrain stretching across the coastal areas of San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties — 5,000 of those acres within the San Francisco city limits — serious backpackers and Sunday strollers alike can go on day-long walkabouts, and still make it back to civilization in time for a night on the town.
Rangers throughout the GGNRA regularly conduct nature walks, historical walking tours, environmental field trips, and school group programs. For schedules, advice, and trail information — including details on hiking connections to adjacent public park lands such as the GGNRA’s sister national park, Point Reyes National Seashore (home to the Point Reyes Hostel) — stop in at a ranger station, or visit the Golden Gate National Recreation Area website.
Hikes in San Francisco
The approximately 12 miles of trails within San Francisco’s city boundary wrap around the western and northern waterfront, hugging some of the most photogenic curves along the coastline and bay shore. At Fort Funston, in the southwest corner of the city, you can take the moderate-to-easy trails, ride horseback, picnic, hang-glide, or just observe the scenery from the spectacular wooden viewing deck.
Or take a walk. Heading north, the San Francisco headlands are five miles away along Ocean Beach, the city’s widest and longest expanse of sandy shore. Popular for seaside drives, brisk jogs, and sunset walks, Ocean Beach was once just a vast sand dune wilderness.
Walking north to the Sutro Historic District, you can explore the ruins of the once-elaborate Sutro Baths (near the historic Cliff House) or stop to picnic in the quiet Sutro Heights Garden before continuing on the moderate Land’s End Trail towards the Golden Gate Bridge. This four-mile stretch offers stunning views of the fabled harbor entrance to San Francisco Bay and the celebrated 1.2-mile suspension span.
East of the bridge, the National Park Service created a 3.5-mile footpath between Fort Point, a Civil War-era fortress, and the San Francisco Maritime Park (which is only a short walk from the San Francisco Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel). This partly paved promenade follows the waterfront against a backdrop of sandy beach, bay water, greenbelt, and the ever-resplendent Golden Gate Bridge.
Hikes in Marin
On the northern side of the Golden Gate in the Marin Headlands and West Marin Coast area, the bulk of the park’s 100-plus miles of trails traverse diverse terrain.
Mount Tamalpais has been a favorite destination for hikers since the 1880s. The highest peak in Marin, "Mt. Tam" is the perfect vantage point for sweeping views of the Marin Headlands, the Pacific Ocean, San Francisco, and — on a clear day — the mountains of the Sierra Nevada 200 miles away. Trails through both State and National Park land dip into redwood valleys, wind across open grasslands, and follow ridgelines from summit to coast.
In the heart of Mt. Tamalpais State Park is the enclave of majestic, virgin redwoods that moved Joseph Strauss, builder of the Golden Gate Bridge, to entreat: "Sink down, oh traveller, on your knees. God stands before you in these trees." Muir Woods is accessible to all, including the disabled, by a gentle, paved trail that loops through the towering grove. For a more challenging workout, hikers can expand their walk to include moderate to strenuous side-trails.
Serious hikers opt for the backcountry any day. For them, the extensive network of trails in Gerbode Valley and Tennessee Valley in the Marin Headlands is a wanderer’s paradise, traversing grassland and coastal chaparral. The wilderness is rich with wildlife here, and it is not uncommon to spy a black-tailed deer, bush rabbit, red-tailed hawk, or other bird of prey on a day’s outing. Even a bobcat or two may make an appearance on a nice spring or summer day.
To round out the hiking experience, what could be better than spending the night in the park? The Marin Headlands Hostel, nestled among the trees in historic Fort Barry, is the perfect base camp for exploring Mount Tamalpais, Muir Woods, and the diverse landscape of the Marin Headlands by day, while still being able to cook a hot meal and nestle into a warm bed at night.
Hikes in San Mateo
In the heart of San Mateo County south of the city, an excursion to Sweeney Ridge and Milagra Ridge yields incomparable views of the South Bay, the Pacific coast, and the region’s mountain ranges. It was here that Spanish explorer Captain Gaspar de Portola first sighted the San Francisco Bay. A four-mile loop takes visitors to the historic site on Sweeney’s 1,200-foot-high crest, where Portola discovered this "enormous arm of the sea" over 200 years ago.
Both ridges are about 8.5 miles north of the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel, which is a sightseeing destination in and of itself. Located on California State Parks land, the hostel is perched on a coastal bluff within walking distance to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and other natural treasures outside the GGNRA’s borders.