How much of San Francisco have you seen?

Over the years, I've met a number of people with a bold goal: walking or running every street in San Francisco. It's a significant undertaking, covering over 1,000 miles—and closer to 1,500 or 1,700 miles if you include hiking trails.

One person who accomplished this feat, Travis Monson, also took unique photos of the city along the way. He used a paper map, coloring in the streets he completed with a red pen.

I just finished writing my third book, so I’m not committing to such a huge goal right now. Still, I enjoy casually tracking which streets I've visited and which are new to me. While there's something beautiful about the analog method, I knew a tech-based solution would work best for me.

If you're looking for an easy way to track how much of the city you've seen, I recommend CityStrides.

To get started, you'll need a Strava or Runkeeper account (CityStrides supports a few other types as well, but I use Strava). Simply record your walks and runs on Strava, then connect your account to CityStrides.

The result is your "LifeMap." While my home city is SF, CityStrides works for the entire world. The purple lines on the map show all the streets I've completed, and the white space indicates streets I haven't been on yet.

A Few Things to Know About CityStrides

It’s for walking and running. CityStrides doesn’t track cycling, so make sure to record your activities as walks or runs if you want them to appear on your map.
There’s a free option. You can use the service for free, or you can pay a small monthly fee (as low as $2/month) to support the creator and refresh your activities more frequently.
Completing a street requires walking its full length. This means a one-block street and a multi-block street like Geary Street both count as a single completed street once you've walked it from end to end. It’s a bit of an odd way of counting, but I've gotten used to it.

Now that I have my LifeMap, I use it to find unexplored areas of the city and create new routes on Strava. It's a fun motivator and a great way to discover new parts of San Francisco. Looks like it's time for me to explore the Outer Sunset!

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...

Two Great Hikes Near Cavallo Point and Fort Baker

Links and images refreshed 7/30/2025 Last 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 2.0 miles, 260 feet elevation gain 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 ...

Urban Hiker SF

Search This Blog