Skip to main content

Epic Hikes in the Bay Area: Four Trails over 500 Miles


Many of us read the book or saw the movie Wild and were inspired by Cheryl Strayed's trek along the 2,600+ mile Pacific Crest Trail. Hiking the PCT is a massive accomplishment and not surprisingly, it takes most people five months to complete.

But, in case you don't have that sort of time right now, not to worry—there are plenty of adventures to embark upon a little closer to home. In fact, there are four 500+-mile-long trails that pass right through San Francisco. Each of these covers at least 10 miles in the city—and has plenty more mileage just outside city limits

Here's a list of these epic trails ordered from shortest to longest.

Heron's Head Park on the California Coastal Trail
1. Bay Trail 
The Bay Trail will be 500 miles long when completed, extending as far north as Napa and as far south as Milpitas. In San Francisco, the route traces the bay from Candlestick Point State Recreation Area to the Golden Gate Bridge stopping at Heron's Head Park, AT&T Park, the Ferry Building, Fort Mason, and Crissy Field.




The Presidio section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail
2. Bay Area Ridge Trail
The Bay Area Ridge Trail will be 550+ miles long when completed. It traces ridgelines and mountain summits between Mt. Saint Helena in Calistoga and Mt. Madonna in Watsonville. In San Francisco, the trail runs between Lake Merced and the Golden Gate Bridge, passing through Pine Lake Park, Stern Grove, Twin Peaks, Mount Olympus, Buena Vista Park, and the Presidio.




3. Coastal Trail
Baker Beach is part of the California Coastal Trail
One day, the California Coastal Trail will cover the entire west coast of California between the Oregon and Mexico borders—a whopping 1,200 miles. This route takes you from Fort Funston to the Golden Gate Bridge and everywhere in between, including: Ocean Beach, the Cliff House, the Lands End Trail, Baker Beach, and the Batteries to Bluffs Trail. Once you're over the bridge, you'll want to keep hiking. There are gorgeous trail sections that pass through Marin County.




Walkway on the Presidio Anza Trail
4. Juan Bautista de Anza Trail 
The 1,210 mile Juan Bautista de Anza trail starts in Nogales, Arizona and ends at the Golden Gate Bridge. It commemorates the 1775-1776 expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza and over 240 others as he sought to establish a Spanish colony in Alta California. In San Francisco, the trail runs from Lake Merced to the Golden Gate Bridge passing through Golden Gate Park, Mountain Lake, and the Presidio.


The San Francisco segments of these trails are a great starting point for exploration. Once you've conquered the city-based parts of the trails, venture out to Marin, the East Bay or the Peninsula to see what else the routes have to offer. An epic adventure awaits you, and it's all a short distance from home.
Labels:
Location: San Francisco, CA 94110, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

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
1 comment
Read more

Urban Hiking and Wine Tasting on Yerba Buena and Treasure Island

The desire to visit Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island had tugged at me for years. I found it fascinating that there were two islands sitting in the bay - one man made and one natural - that were part of the city I lived in. They were close by, yet completely unfamiliar. My birthday in December provided the perfect opportunity to finally explore the two islands. My dad and his wife were in town from LA, and after numerous visits to San Francisco, they were excited to see something new. At a happy hour a few months back, I had met a winemaker from Oro en Paz , and learned that there was wine tasting on Treasure Island. With that as my inspiration, I planned out a birthday itinerary. While you can certainly do this itinerary by car, you can also try it as an urban hike! To do so, check out this map .   Here are two hiking options: Yeba Buena Loop: 1.5 miles ( red ) = 1.5 miles Treasure Island Loop: ( blue ) = 2.75 miles You can combine the Yerba Buena Loop with e
2 comments
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more