Currently viewing the tag: "Hike"
Briones Regional Park, about an hour northeast of the city, is the kind of place you’ve seen on the map countless times but rarely think to check out. It’s not quite as sexy as Point Reyes or Mt. Tam, but the rolling green hills in this 6,000 acre park are sublime. There’s hiking, horseback riding [...]
It’s been said a lot, but that doesn’t make it any less true: Big Sur is beautiful. Really beautiful. The kind of beautiful where you pull the car over lookout point after lookout point until finally the sun sets, and you’re still a half hour from the Big Sur Bakery, where dinner is. It’s the [...]
For the first few minutes, you’d be forgiven for thinking your directions were wrong. Park in a gravel lot off the main road, walk past a row of houses and down a wooded trail, and descend through switchbacks deeper into the forest. This couldn’t possibly be the right path, could it? Your patience during the [...]
The Rodeo Ave. exit off 101 is just minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s an exit you’ve driven by countless times. There’s no reason to stop, especially, as the road signs explain the exit doesn’t lead anywhere. Oh how wrong that is. The road does indeed end, but hop out of the car and make your way up and west, and soon the rolling hills of the Marin Headlands open up and you’re amidst at least a dozen shades of green.
With so many outdoor options nearby, it’s easy to feel that Henry Coe State Park, just south of Gilroy, is about forty minutes too far away. It’s true it’ll take you about an hour and forty to get there from San Francisco, but time your trip right and the ponderosa pines, wild flowers and 360-degree views make just about any drive worth it. With its 87,000 acres, Henry Coe is Northern California’s largest state park, and the Coyote Creek entrance to the south offers a mix of day hikes, moderate and difficult, and overnight backpacking options.
Bernal Hill, the towering anchor of Bernal Heights, is beloved by joggers, dog-walkers, speed-walkers, urban hikers, locals out for a leisurely stroll and anyone looking for an outdoor date spot. It’s one of the city’s great peaks, and on clear days, you’ll get a 360-degree panoramic, overlooking China Basin, City Hall, the downtown skyline, Noe Valley, South San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. It’s just a mile around the hill, so the loop won’t take long, but bring a picnic or a book or just try to find your apartment. There are a handful of short paths shooting off to the east, which should be explored, leading to a slightly different view and little more privacy.
With its Monterey pines and views of rolling hills and the crisp, clear water in Drake’s Estero, the Sunset Beach hike in Point Reyes makes for an exquisite afternoon. Unlike a lot of hikes in this National Park, the wildlife, especially the birds, may just outnumber the hikers. Start at the Estero Trailhead and take in the rolling grasses, cross the wooden footbridge over Home Bay and, if starting later in the day, bask in the sun streaking through those pines.
Nestled in the Marin Headlands, a mere 20 minutes from the heart of San Francisco, is the exquisite Tennessee Valley trailhead, at its simplest a 3 mile there and back, where the ‘there’ is a stunning beach. The beach is actually a cove, surrounded by the sheer rock drops of the Headlands, which is to say it’s excessively beautiful and beautifully accessible.
Sign Up
Sign up here to get our free emails with creative day trip ideas, bang for the buck restaurants and cool events.