Best 3 Bay Area Hikes
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Bay area hikes are huge particularly in the city. You wouldn’t think a city as small (land wise) would actually have hikes, but we do! The best way to learn the city whether you are visiting or a new local is to get out and explore. These bay area hikes help me really understanding where things are in San Francisco.
Each of these hikes can be accomplished by just about anyone that can walk. They are very mellow and well maintained, unlike a few I have posted about. If you are looking for a challenge check out my favorite Alamere Falls and Mission Peak.
Park near the cliff house restaurant and start at the Sutro Baths. The best part about this bay area hike is that there are so many cut offs to explore, whether it is one of the beaches along the way or the baths. If you start here you will walk closer to the Golden Gate Bridge. AKA get your camera ready for some epic pics!
What to expect: An easy hike with a decent staircase in the middle. You can expect ocean & Golden Gate Bridge views.
Sutro Baths
A little history: On this bay area hike your first sight will be the ruins of a bath house built in 1896. When it was running it filled enough salt water pools to accommodate 10,000 people. A development company bought this building to put a residential high-rise in place of the baths. During demolition there was a fire and the company bailed on the plans to rebuild. Leaving the ruins as they are today. In 1973 it was recognized as part of the Golden Gate Recreational Area. This is one of my husband’s favorite parts of the hike (he loves history!)
Golden Gate Views
The clearer the day the better pictures, but don’t let the fog keep you away. Bundle up and you can walk to a clearer view and even get close enough to touch the bridge. If it is unbearably cold which sometimes SF is, says the FL girl with her thin blood. You can always drive to different cut offs and take pictures of the bridge. It is kind of cheating but, you can’t control the weather, so go for it!
Mile Rock Beach
Walk down a lot of steps to get to an almost private beach! Coming from Florida I am spoiled on the beach front, but Mile Rock is completely different from any I have been to. The large rocks make you feel small with the sound of the ocean and the view of the bridge, really is magical.
Land's End Labyrinth
Before heading back onto the trail, walk up the path to the top of the cliff. There is a labyrinth created from rocks. This stems from the Greek mythology and the meaning is a maze. From the picture you can see the rocks are placed in circles but not complete circles creating the maze. Climb up the rock by the Labyrinth to get eye level with the bridge.
These places listed are closest to the starting point at the Sutro Baths. You can take the whole hike where you walk through nice neighborhoods, cut through China Beach, Baker Beach, Presidio and to the Golden Gate Bridge. This is my go to hike in the city, when I am looking for an easy but long trail.
Second tallest mountain (hill?) in San Francisco after Mt. Davidson, sitting at about 922 feet. The best way to describe this is as a drive by bay area hike. Drive up the horseshoe-shaped road and park at the lookout spot, this is going to be the quickest way to accomplish this bucket list item. You can also park at the bottom near the Crestline Trail, to make the ‘drive by hike’ an actual hike. If you do that, it is about 2 miles round trip.
Where: 501 Twin Peaks Blvd. SF (Near Haight and Ashbury /Noe Valley Neighborhoods)
What to expect: 360 view, of all of San Francisco, you will see the Golden Gate Bridge, the beach, the huge buildings in Financial District and even the Bay Bridge.
Parking is not a problem. Heads up there are break-ins so lock it up. Unfortunately, I did the drive by hike, but I have heard by driving you miss out on all the natural plants and shrubs.
P.S. POISON OAK IS HIDDEN THROUGHOUT THE TRAIL!
I drove up here after an interview when we first got to California. At the time we were staying with family in San Jose, so any opportunity to see and explore the city I would jump on. The drive was easy, with tons of parking at the lookout point. After I took in the view and some pictures of course. I headed over to the Twin Peaks to see them for myself. Standing over 900 feet, it amazes me something so large could be in the middle of this busy city.
HISTORY LESSON:
Before, we came along and renamed the Twin Peaks the Spanish settlers called them, “Los Pechos de la Choca” meaning, “Breasts of the Maiden”. I never thought about it until I read this, but they do look like boobs. LOL
Walking up Twin Peaks is relaxing, minus the amount of people you are surrounded by. There are wooden stairs that were made to make the uphill easier. I am an all or nothing kind of girl so once I got to the top of the first peak, I had to accomplish the second as well. A must is the pano opportunity at the top of the peaks.
My first time on this hike, I fell in love and had to take my younger sister-in-laws when they came to visit. This was one of my most saved pins on Pinterest.
The history behind it is the true beauty in this community. In 2003, two community members decided they wanted to bring the community together to beautify their neighborhood. They asked two artists to lead the project.
The neighborhood supported the beautification by tile sponsorship’s. And the artists held classes where the neighborhood painted the mosaic tiles. By 2007, they had the opening ceremony for the tiles and that day of August 27th is considered, “16th Avenue Tiled Steps Day”!
Where: 16th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122
What to expect: 163 painted tiles that take you to another neighborhood where you can look out at the city
This is a hidden gem, literally on a lot in between to homes in the Inner Sunset/Golden Gate Heights Districts. If you type in 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, your GPS on your phone will pull it up. It is 3 miles from Twin Peaks, I recommend doing both of these in the same day! Kill two birds with one stone!
There is street parking, just be mindful because it is a neighborhood. Once you park you will see 163 steps of original hand-crafted mosaic tiles the community designed and painted. You could spend all day looking at the different tiles that are placed together to create a sea of stars and suns. Inside some of the tiles are the community members names who contributed.
The Grand View
At the top of the steps lies another stairway that will take you to a peak called ‘The Grand View’. After the 16th Ave Tiled Steps were completed the community received support from other organizations.
When you are walking towards the second set of steps there is a community funded garden. You’ll see succulents and other plants that support the endangered Green Hairstreak Butterfly. Once you get to the top of the Grand View Staircase you can walk around to get another 360 of the city. And on a clear day you can see the bridges (both), the ocean and the beaches.
Recap:
Land’s End is the most like a hike on this list. Not only can catch some sights and snap pictures but you can make it last up to 11 miles.
Twin Peaks is best for the panoramic picture you can get at the top and the adventure through the different neighborhoods leading to the lookout.
16th Ave Tiled Steps is a must for anyone looking to up their Insta likes and walk the unique community project.
If you want you can do all three of these in one day, which is what I love about the city… you always have options.
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