Urban Hiker SF

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 o...

In mid-March 2020, the coronavirus began spreading rapidly across the United States, and here in San Francisco we were the first city in the country to go into lockdown. We were supposed to stay at home and only go out for the essentials, such as food and exercise, but as per usual I was antsy AF. 🤣 I wanted to follow Mayor Breed's stay at home order, so I decided I would go out, but I would only go as far as my legs would take me (no cars, buses, or Lyfts). After a few walks throughout the Mission, Castro, Glen Park, Diamond Heights, and Potrero Hill, I was reminded of all of the amazing stairways scattered throughout the city. Auspiciously, I had also checked out Stairway Walks in San Francisco from the library. I thought to myself, "What if I could see them all?" I then had the idea to document all of San Francisco's stairways. Over the past five months, I have documented 800 stairways on a map ( https://bit.ly/sfstairmap ), a spreadsheet ( https://bit...

This hike is based on a hike that you'll find in my second book,  Urban Trails: East Bay . Distance: 3.0 miles Elevation Gain: 10 feet High Point: 30 feet Difficulty: Easy Time: 2 ½ hours including stops at wineries Fitness: Walkers, hikers Family Friendly: Yes. The tasting rooms allow children in them. Dog Friendly : Yes, all wineries on this walk are dog friendly   Amenities: Restrooms at all of the wineries and in Jack London Square Marina, benches and picnic benches along the Bay Trail. Contact: City of Oakland GPS: 37° 47' 49.5132'' N 122° 15' 57.816'' W Map to: Lake Merritt BART Strava Route: https://www.strava.com/activities/1645656632 Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/9qFaLGgRV61YoFZ8A Getting there: Public Transit: The hike starts and ends at Lake Merritt BART Parking: There is $3 parking at Lake Merritt BART station   A short distance from the Bay Area are the world famous wine-growing regions of the Na...

Distance: 6.8 miles Elevation Gain: 1,055 feet High Point: 1060 feet Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging Time: 2 hours 45 minutes Fitness: Walkers, hikers, runners Family Friendly: Parents with small children can do an out-and-back on the Wildcat Canyon Trail for an easier hike. Dog Friendly: Off-leash; on-leash walking on Nimitz Way. Watch out for coyotes if you have a small dog. Amenities: Porta potties and picnic area at in the Alvarado Staging Area; picnic area; a few benches along the trail. Contact: East Bay Regional Park District GPS: 37° 57' 7.2396'' N 122° 19' 6.3912'' W   Map to: Alvarado Staging Area, Park Avenue, Richmond, CA Strava Route: https://www.strava.com/activities/1360164196 About Wildcat Canyon: Covering 2,427 acres, Wildcat Canyon is a popular destination for hikers, runners, mountain bikers, horseback riders—and wildlife. The park houses a wide range of animals including, but not limited to: deer, squirrels, foxes, coyotes,...

Name: Mint Hill Neighborhood: Duboce Triangle/Lower Haight   Elevation: 150 feet The history of Mint Hill is the history of the San Francisco Mint...or mints...there have been three in San Francisco so far, the last of which is the one on Mint Hill. The need for a mint in San Francisco came about due to the Gold Rush. At the time, there was so much gold flowing through the city that President James Polk asked Congress to allow for a new Mint to be built in the city, so that gold from California would no longer have to be sent to Philadelphia or New Orleans to be turned into coins. Congress voted for the creation of the new mint in 1852, and it was opened in 1854. The coins all bore the letter "S" for San Francisco. The mint remained in operation for just 20 years and was replaced wiht a second one in 1874. Then the second mint was then deemed too small in the 1930s, so a third mint was built in 1937 on a hilltop that's now called Mint Hill. This third ...

I'm on a mission to #hikeallofsf . These are the stories of my hikes. _______________ ______________________________ _________ Hike Statistics Distance: 0.5 miles one way Elevation: 150 feet Difficulty: Easy Time: <1 hour   Dog Friendly: No Introduction to The Visitacion Valley Greenway In 1995, Fran Martin and Anne Seeman had a vision for transforming Visitacion Valley, a working-class neighborhood that had developed a reputation for drugs and crime. The women worked with the Trust for Public Land to gain rights to empty lots in the neighborhood from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. The women’s vision was the Visitacion Valley Greenway, a checkerboard of six adjacent one-block-long parks: Hans Schiller Plaza, a community garden, an herb garden, a children’s playground, an agriculture garden, and a native plant garden.      In 1999, the parties agreed to make the Greenway a r...