Skip to main content

Getting out of the City by Staying in the City

If you live in or near San Francisco, you are within a reasonably short drive of some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world - Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, Napa and Sonoma Counties, and more. People travel from all over the world to visit these spots that are seemingly right in our backyard.

But sometimes you might not feel like going away for the weekend to visit somewhere beautiful, and the reasons for sticking close to home are numerous: you may not want to deal with logistics, pay for a hotel, deal with traffic, etc. Or, like me, you might not even have a car with which to escape the city!

Luckily for those of us who live in the Bay Area, we have many great options for getting out of the city by staying in the city. One of these such options is Glen Canyon Park. Glen Canyon Park is located within a 10 minute walk of Glen Park BART, and contains 70 acres of parkland.

The terrain of the park is varied, but it's hard not to notice the myriad rock outcroppings throughout the park. Some folks think there's not a lot to see here, but I disagree - you just need to get off the main trails. 

If you enter from the southern end of the park either from Bosworth or Elk Street, you'll pass the visitor center as you head North. The trail splits into a "V" in front of you, and you should take the path to the right. It's paved with asphalt for a little bit, and then you'll see some wooden stairs to your right.


When you take the stairs, you're transported off the paved trail and onto some narrow dirt trails where you can climb upward to get an interesting perspective on the park below.

You can visit the park yourself or take my Walk on the Wild Side hike to see more. I've added some photos below, and here's a more extensive photo gallery of what you can expect to see there.





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Four Quick Steps For Identifying Poison Oak

It's that time of year again, and poison oak leaves are sprouting out all over the Bay Area. Getting poison oak is no fun, so if you don't know what poison oak looks like, today is your day to learn!   Poi son oak, you say... So first, why is poison oak so poisonous? It's not that it's actually poisonous, but it does contain urushiol , an oil that can irritate the skin, causing rashes or blisters. The frustrating thing about poison oak (well, one of many frustrating things) is that it's hard to know immediately if you've had contact with the plant. It normally takes 24-36 hours for any skin irritation to appear. I have a quick four-step system to identify poison oak. Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. (Remember, I am not a medical professional. This is not medical advice. :)) The four-step system Step 1: Listen to the old adage, "Leaves of three, let it be." Poison oak has clusters of three leaves on the entire plan

Visiting San Francisco's TEN Mosaic Stairways

San Francisco is home to TEN beautiful mosaic stairways ( see map here ), but they were all inspired by one. The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps Project (2005) The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project began in early 2003 when Sunset residents Jessie Audette and Alice Xavier decided to bring people together while beautifying their neighborhood. Aileen Barr and Colette Crutcher were chosen as the project artists. The 163-step mosaic features a landscape that spans from the bottom of the ocean all the way to the sun in the sky. The inspiration for the steps came from SelarĂ³n’s staircase , a mosaic staircase in Rio de Janeiro named after artist Jorge SelarĂ³n. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on August 27, 2005–which the mayor’s office proclaimed “16th Avenue Tiled Steps Day.” Location: Moraga Street between 15th and 16th Avenues Hidden Garden Steps (2013) Inspired by the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, the neighboring Hidden Garden Steps were conceived in January 2010 and completed in November

Two Great Hikes Near Cavallo Point and Fort Baker

L ast year, I went to a wedding reception at the Cavallo Point Lodge and my boyfriend and I decided to spend the night there. The morning after the reception, we wanted to take advantage of our location and get some exercise, so we decided to explore some local trails. I revisited these trails again recently and wanted to write about them so you can take advantage of them, too. Hike 1: Cavallo Point Loop 
1.9 miles, 300 feet elevation gain Shortened version on the trail on Relive     Strava route to download or duplicate From outside the hotel’s main building (where the valet stand is) walk diagonally across the large lawn to reach the intersection of Murray Circle and Center Road. There you'll see a (small) trail sign for the Bay Trail. Head straight here onto Moore Road and then take your first left onto Sommerville Street. Start walking along Horseshoe Bay.  When you reach the Presidio Yacht Club after about 0.1 mile, take a wood walkway in front of the buildi