Transit and Trails: How to hike the Bay Area, car-free
Posted by Sherezada on Oct 17, 2009
Transit and Trails invites outdoor aficionados to leave their cars behind and get on the bus (or train, or ferry) to reach Bay Area hiking trails and campgrounds.
The new interactive website identifies more than 500 trailheads and 150 campgrounds that pepper the region’s 1.2 million acres of preserved lands. Just enter your starting location (say, one of our hostels in San Francisco) at Transit and Trails’ Google Maps-powered site, and select the radius. Once you’ve picked your ideal trail from the results, Transit and Trails will open a new link in 511 Transit Trip Planner, where you’ll find a detailed trip itinerary, complete with a map, transit times, fares, and walking directions to and from the transit stop.
This is a wonderfully useful tool for both eco-conscious adventurers and car-free travelers. Not only does using public transit help reduce your carbon footprint, but you also save money on gas, bridge tolls, and parking fees.
San Francisco hostellers looking for a day trip can use Transit and Trails to plot hiking adventures outside the usual tourist spots. BART and bus your way down the San Mateo coast, up into beautiful Marin County, or into the East Bay’s hilly regional parks including Redwood, Tilden, and Chabot.
The site also includes directions for 20 featured trips, ranging from easy (Headlands Loop Car Free Challenge) to strenuous (Sausalito to Muir Woods). City dwellers may enjoy the long walk along San Francisco’s waterfront, stretching from the Ferry Building to Baker Beach.
Completely free to use, the Transit to Trails website evolved from a print version that has been produced since 1995 by the Bay Area Open Space Council (BAOSC). The map is still available for download by travelers who prefer to have a compact guide they can carry in their pocket.
Other Guides
Even if you forgot to pack your hiking boots, you can still take advantage of the Bay Area’s robust public transit systems. The 511 Transit Trip Planner is a great online tool for planning your urban adventures, or you can phone "511" for quick info on transit arrival times, fares, traffic reports, and more.
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) also offers downloadable guides on their website. First-time riders may find the "BART Basics" guide handy, and folks looking to connect to other transit will want to download a copy of "BART Transit Connections."