One thing we love about San Francisco is exploring all the hidden nooks. Even long-time locals like us never tire of them. There are several great nature walks that you can do right out our front door, and several more that you need to drive or bus to. Here are our top 10, though if we had the time we'd easily list a dozen more! Links to Google maps included.
5 From Our Front Door:
Twin Peaks
difficulty: strenuous walk uphill
time: 50 minutes round trip
Twin Peaks has an elevation of about 922 feet situated in center of the city. They form the second highest point in San Francisco, after Mount Davidson. The radio tower, Sutro Tower, can seen from across the Bay. At the top of Twin Peaks is a popular vista point, which offers panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay. If you are up for a bit of a climb and adventure, it takes about 25 min to reach the top.
• Head out our door and veer left up the hill on Grand View Ave, taking the corkscrew stairway bridge up and over Market Street.
• Keep navigating up the streets using combination of stairs and streets and soon you will find yourself on top of Twin Peaks. The view (and finding your way) is well worth the effort.
Kite Hill
difficulty: easy
time: 15 minutes round trip
One of our quickie favorites on a sunny day. Kite Hill is a windy, grassy hill with amazing downtown and bay views. Mostly known to neighborhood locals, this park is popular with dogs and sightseers.
• Head out our door and turn right onto Grand View Ave for 3 blocks
• Take right onto Grand View Terrace and enter park at end of cul-de-sac.
• The park is small, has a few meandering paths, and one vista bench.
• Continue through park to lower right exit onto Corwin Street
• To extend your walk, take a left at the community gardens and continue to the slides, or make a left at the Corwin-bend to steps that lead down to Douglas Street and the Castro neighborhood.
• To head back home continue on Corwin Street which becomes Douglass Street. Follow this for a few blocks and turn right onto 22nd Street to head up our hill. Then.. collapse on the couch ;) If you want to avoid our giant hill, take a right onto 21st street and a left onto Grand View Ave. You can easily find your way back from here.
Upper Douglas Playground Ridge
difficulty: moderate-strenuous
time: 35 minutes round trip
The Douglas Upper Playground is an old baseball field now overrun with frolicking dogs. Come here to get your dog fix and a little off road trek through some tall trees.
• Head down our hill and turn right onto Douglas Street for 10 blocks.
• Turn right onto 27th street and enter park.
• Hang an immediate left the entrance of the park and follow the fence up along the ridge. This takes you through the trees to the other end of the playground down a rocky slope and back onto the field.
Tank Hill
difficulty: moderate-strenuous
time: 55 minutes round trip
This is walkable if you have time. It's a 650-foot-high small park that offers really amazing views. It's so small that many maps of San Francisco don't list Tank Hill, yet this spot provides a panorama from the Golden Gate Bridge to Bayview Hill.
• Head out our door and turn right onto Grand View Ave for 4 blocks.
• Turn right onto Market Street and head to the first traffic light.
• At traffic light turn left onto Clayton Street for 2 long and 1 short blocks. You can stop and rest at the small community garden on the corner of Clayton and Corbett.
• Turn left onto Twin Peaks Blvd and the park will be on your right.
Glen Park Canyon
difficulty: moderate-strenuous
time: 1.5-3 hours round trip depending on your stay at the park
This is walkable if you have time. The great part is, the entrance is through the parking lot of the Safeway mini mall with a variety of food and snack options to take along into the park. The park is 70 acres, and has a variety of terrain.
• Head out our door and straight onto Hoffman, all the way to the end.
• Take a left onto 25th Street
• Turn right onto Douglas Street for 5 blocks
• Turn right onto Duncan Street for 1 block
• Turn left onto Diamond Heights Blvd.
• Turn right into Safeway parking lot.. get supplies and head behind the mall to the park entrance.
• Follow the path behind the playing fields and down the trails into the park. Read here about the trails at the park. There is a lot to do and see here in one afternoon.
5 To Drive or Bus To:
Fort Funston
Go here if you want to know what it feels like to stand on the edge of our continent. • Head left up Grand View Ave and turn right at Clipper St. 0.2 mi
• Turn left at Portola Dr. 1.8 mi
• Turn right at Sloat Blvd 1.3 mi
• Continue on CA-35/Skyline Blvd 1.2 mi
• Turn right into parking lot
• Stay to the right and park as close to the right side entrance as possible
• Walk up the wide sandy/bark pathway and go right on winding concrete walkway
• Veer left at Y (at dog water fountain)
• Turn left where the paths meet back up, down the steep sandy path to the beach or our favorite is to climb up on the right to the top of the hill to perch above everything.
• Explore around.. you have beach walking, meandering dune paths and the old army fort ruins.
Corona Heights
This is probably walkable if you have the time, but we typically stop by here by car when we're out-n-about and are up for a quick nature-hit. We recommend grabbing a Peasant Pie or a Holy Bagel egg tasty and a drink, and enjoy it at the top with the stunning view. Both shops are on 24th Street in Noe Valley. And for some personal trivia: this is where Dave proposed to me :)
• Head down our hill and turn left onto Eureka for X blocks
• Turn left onto Market St
• Make next right onto Douglas St
• Make next left onto 17th St for 3 blocks
• Make right onto Roosevelt Way for 5 blocks
• Park at the Roosevelt Way and Museum Way intersection, enter the park and head up up up!
The Cross at Mt Davidson
We recommend taking a blanket (or even beach chairs) and some snacks up to the top bluff where you can enjoy the view and sun and a good book. There is some interesting history about The Cross.
• Go left up Grand View Ave Turn right at Clipper St 0.2 mi
• Turn left at Portola Dr 0.6 mi
• Turn left at Evelyn Way 328 ft
• Turn right at Juanita Way 0.5 mi
• Turn left to stay on Juanita Way 308 ft
• Turn left at Dalewood Way
• Trail entrance will be on your left, park anywhere
Sutro Baths Ruins
This is less of a walk or hike, but rather a place to meander around and hang out by the sea. Here's some background on the Sutro Baths. It's also very close to The Cliff House, Ocean Beach and Fort Miley.
• Head down our hill and turn left at Eureka St 0.2 mi
• Turn right at 20th St 0.2 mi
• Turn left at Castro St 0.9 mi
• Continue on Divisadero St 0.9 mi
• Turn left at Geary Blvd 3.5 mi
• Continue on Point Lobos Ave a park at the bend just before The Cliff House
• Entrance is on your right.
Fort Miley
There's more than one hike here, all enjoyable. See if you can find the rock labyrinth! Fort Miley is also very close to The Cliff House, Ocean Beach and The Sutro Bath Ruins.
• Head down our hill and turn left at Eureka St 0.2 mi
• Turn right at 20th St 0.2 mi
• Turn left at Castro St 0.9 mi
• Continue on Divisadero St 0.9 mi
• Turn left at Geary Blvd 3.5 mi
• Continue on Point Lobos Ave for 6 blocks
• Turn right on El Camino De Mar into the parking lot
• Entrance is at the left end of the lot.
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