Hike all of SF Post 5: We put the "fun" in "Funston"

I'm on a mission to #hikeallofsf. These are the stories of my hikes.
______________________________________________________

In February, I wrote about my first #hikeallofsf hike, Fort Funston to the Cliff House. Today, I'm writing about a second hike around Fort Funston. This hike explores the area's upper trails.

Fort Funston Loop

Distance: 2.0 miles
Elevation: ~100 feet
Difficulty: Easy
Time: <1 hour
Dog Friendly: Off-leash walking is permitted

Hike Description

A view of the Ocean from the trails

This hike is a nice, easy loop that will guide you through a number of Fort Funston’s trails. On a nice day, you get stunning views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and Sutro Tower to the northeast. Even on a foggy day, you can still take in ocean air, and enjoy the sandy landscape littered with ice plants and Monterey cypress trees.

Route Details

Battery Davis

To embark on this hike, you will

start on the Sunset Trail, a paved and flat trail that departs from Fort Funston's main parking lot. This trail will pass by Battery Davis, and if you continue straight from there, you will be on the California Coastal Trail. While also paved, sections of this path have disappeared under sand drifts. When you see a habitat restoration area sign, you have reached the Coastal Trail’s junction with the Horse Trail (yes, you can bring horses here!). To complete your loop, take the Horse Trail. At first, you will be walking above US-35/Skyline Boulevard. Then, you will head back into first some covered, wooded areas and then some other sandy areas. Before you know it, you’ll be back at the Fort Funston parking lot.

Two colors of ice plans at Fort Funston

Getting there

Public Transit: MUNI Bus #18 brings you close to Fort Funston. For MUNI bus information, call 311. Outside San Francisco, call (415) 701-2311.
Parking: Free parking is available at Fort Funston off Highway 35.

Happy Trails, hikers!

Comments

The San Francisco Roundabout Trail - An urban hike fueled by determination, grit, and pain meds

On October 5, 2025, five of us met before dawn at the corner of John Muir Drive and Sklyine Boulevard. Our goal: Complete the new 38-mile Roundabout Trail . To walk the route in one day, we’d have to keep our bodies moving for over half a day with minimal stops, witnessing the sunrise, the full day, and the sunset. I’d walked up to 34 miles in a day on the NYC Shorewalkers Great Saunter , but 38-miles was terra incognita for me. Internalizing my learnings from the Great Saunter, I popped some “vitamin I” — or ibuprofen before we even started walking. Stats: Distance: 41.67 miles — 3 miles longer than predicted. Every extra step hurt. Steps: 81k steps — and I felt every single step beyond 60k. Time: 14 hours on the dot (6:30 am - 8:30 pm including all stops). Company: Started with 5, picked up 4 en route, and ended with 4 The Roundabout Trail is broken into five sections, and we decided to start somewhere in the middle of section 4 w...

Hike all of SF Post 6: Lake Merced Loop

I'm on a mission to #hikeallofsf . These are the stories of my hikes. _______________ ______________________________ _________ The Lake Merced Loop at 4.2 or 4.5 miles Hike Name: Lake Merced Loop Distance: 4.2 - 4.5 miles Elevation: <100 feet Difficulty: Easy to moderate Time: 1.5 - 2 hours Dog Friendly: Yes, on leash Hike Description Lake Merced is located in the Lakeshore neighborhood in the southwestern corner of San Francisco. The Lake Merced loop is not the most scenic hike in San Francisco, nor it is the most peaceful. Despite these negatives, what I like about this hike is that it carries a certain sense of accomplishment with it. It’s a good enough distance that you’re going to be walking for an hour to an hour and a half, and you get to circle an entire natural lake and bird habitat. Much of this route is flanked with busy roads - namely Lake Merced Boulevard, John Muir Drive, and Skyline Drive, so expect to hear some leve...

Why Amtrak’s Coast Starlight between San Francisco to Los Angeles is a traveler’s delight

I love the magic of train travel. The soothing movement of the cars, the rhythmic sound of the wheels on the rails, watching the ever-changing landscapes flash by in front of your eyes, what’s not to love? This is exactly why I had a trip on Amtrak’s Coast Starlight train on my to-do list for so long. We finally got to experience this route for ourselves on a trip from the Bay Area to LA in February 2025. The Coast Starlight runs daily between Seattle and Los Angeles. There are six stops in Washington, six in Oregon, and a whopping eighteen in California. The full route takes 35 hours, and the Amtrak website asserts it’s “widely regarded as one of the most spectacular of all train routes.” For Bay Area travelers, there are three Amtrak stations to choose from: Emeryville, Oakland, and San Jose. Given traffic from San Francisco to the East Bay, and given the train timing, we opted to take Caltrain from 4th Street to San Jose’s Diridon Station. We knew we were going to fly...

Urban Hiker SF

Search This Blog