Walking Tours in the San Francisco Bay Area

ALAMEDA Island is near downtown Oakland but has the feel of a small town with beautiful beaches. From 880, take the Webster Street Tube and stay on Webster to the other side of the island. Turn left on Central and right on 8^th Street which is the edge of Washington Park. Look right for the parking lot to Robert Crown Memorial State Beach. A paved trail soon parallels Shoreline Drive or you can walk on the sandy beach to Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary—about one and a half miles. Continue along the beach on a dirt path to the bridge. Turn around here and walk back north. Near the sailboard concession building, bear right and return to the parking lot. There are toilets and picnic tables here. There are also good toilets along the beach.

For a more extensive walk, cross the bridge to Bay Farm Island and walk by Amelia Earhart School. Turn right on Robert Davey Drive. This will bring you to one of the lovely canals. Turn left and stay along the canal which will bring you to the Harbor Bay Landing Shopping Center. I suggest that you pick up a map at the entrance to Harbor Bay Realty unless you stay on the beautiful path along the meandering canals. This was once a mudflat but is now a well-planned community where the birds continue to thrive. Snowy Egrets nest from March to June. If you stay along the canal, you will end up at Shoreline Park. Look left to the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal to San Francisco. This is about a 6 mile loop but there are restaurants with a view at the shopping center and a toilet at the back of Safeway.

The summit of MOUNT DIABLO is especially spectacular on a clear day when you can see for miles in every direction. The winding drive to the top is beautiful, too, and the Visitors Center there is very informative. See the video downstairs. Clean bathrooms are outside, downstairs to the right of the Visitors Center.

Cross the street from the small parking area to find (to the right) the trailhead of the Mary Bowerman Interpretive Trail. Pick up the very good pamphlet which describes 14 places to stop and look. This is a mile-long, flat, paved path canopied by Live Oak trees. Watch for poison ivy. It becomes a dirt trail with panoramic views.

Next time I will look for the two-mile Juniper Trail to Juniper Diablo Valley Overlook. Ask/look inside the Visitors Center for more trails.

The MARIN HEADLANDS are at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Lots of good trails here. The Marin Headlands Visitor Center is near Rodeo Beach. Park beyond the Center where you can watch the surfers. There are even showers here to accommodate them and good toilets. From here the Coastal Trail climbs up and loops around for a little over 4 miles but you can almost always see the parking lot. The Battery Townsley will be on your left. Go up the log stairs. The Coastal Trail becomes the Wolf Ridge Trail. When you come to the top of the trail, you will see a sign “Rodeo Beach 1.7 miles” and “Hill, 1 mile,” look LEFT here to a parallel path and continue on the Miwok Trail to the right. Do not go to Hill 88. The trail will now begin to descend steeply. Do not take the trails to the left at the bottom. You will end up on Bunker Road where there are good picnic tables by the beach, better than the picnic tables at the parking lot which is nearby.

Tennessee Valley is also on the Miwok Trail but I suggest that it be a separate walk starting at the parking lot where there is a good trail map worth studying carefully before starting out. Again, good toilets at the parking lot. The most popular and paved trail takes you straight to an ocean beach.

Another trail, a three mile loop, begins at the edge of the parking lot, toward the stables. Initially follow the Marincello Trail a short distance to the top of the hill where it joins the Miwok Trail--on the left, before reaching the stables. At the top of the hill, turn right on the Bobcat Trail. Continue to a gate and FAA antenna and a road which heads south to see the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. Remain on the Miwok Trail, going sharply downhill. It will join the Old Spring Trail. Turn right, head downhill. Numerous wooden bridges on the way, good views of the ocean, Mt. Tam and Tennessee Valley. Follow Old Spring Trail taking a sharp turn left and descending through the horse stables. Follow the gravel road left, past the junctions with Miwok and Marincello Trail. Back to the parking lot.

REDWOOD REGIONAL PARK is an extension of the Berkeley Hills to the south. We are lucky to have these trails, all of them worth discovering. We started at Skyline Gate Staging Area parking lot. Follow the West Ridge Trail sign and look for Mt. Diablo on your left. After about a half mile, stay straight on West Ridge. Do not take French Trail which goes downhill on the left. There is a redwood-filled gorge on the left. The Tres Sendas Trail appears on the left. Turn left and descend this narrow, steep trail to a dark, shady area of redwood and CA Bay trees which arch over a dry creek. The Tres Sendas meets French Trail which breaks off on the left. Continue on Tres Sendas. Redwood Creek is fenced to protect erosion. Follow the path and cross the dry stream bed to Stream Trail which goes up a moderate slope. There is a Girls Camp on the left with picnic tables, water, a shelter and toilets. Continue uphill on Stream Trail and return to the parking lot. This loop is almost 3 miles.

In SAN FRANCISCO the library offers “free” (donation) walking tours every day of the week. These are lead by very knowledgeable guides and usually last about 1-2 hours. To see what is happening and where the tour is meeting, check out www.sfcityguides.org.

To walk along the waterfront, begin at the Embarcadero BART. Pick up a BART Transit Connections pamphlet so that you can return by bus at any time or place. Good maps included! Cross to the Ferry Building for good food and toilets and views. Then walk north along the Embarcadero stopping to read the history columns, wandering out on some of the piers which are being transformed into tourist-friendly places. This was once a very dangerous and depressing part of San Francisco. Some of the piers are still used by cruise ships but Pier 39 is the quintessential tourist destination. The Aquarium of the Bay is at the entrance and shops and restaurants line either side on two levels. An old carousel is toward the end and sea lions lounge on docks to the left as you walk toward the end. Toilets are at both ends and levels of Pier 39.

Continuing along the waterfront will take you to Fisherman’s Wharf, the Maritime National Historical Park where you can tour historic ships. To your left is the Cannery and Ghiradelli Square, both are attractively restored old, red brick buildings now shops and restaurants. Stay along the water and an old road up a hill will bring you to Fort Mason—more shops, museums and restaurants. Hug the waterfront on Golden Gate Promenade. The path turns inland at Scott Street taking you to Marina Blvd. Turn right on Marina passing the yacht harbor to your right. The Exploratorium will be the large, domed building on your left, the first hands-on public science experiments in the country. Across from the Exploratorium or Palace of Fine Arts is a continuation of the Golden Gate Promenade which will take you to Fort Point under the Golden Gate Bridge or up a hill to the left and through a low tunnel to the entrance of the Golden Gate Bridge. If you wish to walk across the bridge, I suggest ear plugs for the traffic noise. It takes about half an hour to walk across leisurely. Great views!

POINT REYES is one of my favorite places. The Bear Valley Visitor Center is just west of Highway 1 near Olema and a good place to get a trail map and talk to Rangers about the three different kinds of trails. One of the most scenic for wind-swept ocean views starts at Pierce Point Ranch. You will need a map to drive along Pierce Point Road to the north tip of the peninsula. McClures Beach is near the parking lot but the Tomales Point Trail continues north above cliffs and passes through a Tule Elk Reserve.

Before you get to Tomales Point, you will see TOMALES BAY STATE PARK. It is on the west side of Tomales Bay and the San Andreas Fault. The park entrance is to your right off Pierce Point Road and there are toilets there. At the end of the park road look for steps going up to the Jepson Trail which will cross a paved road. After about a mile the Jepson Trail ends. Turn left onto the Johnstone Trail which also crosses a paved road. At Pebble Beach turn right to the beach and retrace steps to the previous junction, then bear right and continue on Johnstone Trail. It will emerge in a clearing near the toilets, at the trailhead. Follow signs for Heart’s Desire Beach. There are picnic tables on the way and an interesting, annotated Indian Beach Nature Trail which goes up a small hill behind the toilets and continues to Indian Beach. Turn around here and retrace path to Heart’s Desire Beach. Look for the Jepson Trail which goes through the Jepson Memorial Grove
and returns to the parking lot. This is about 4 miles.

CAPITOLA is south of the Bay Area, a seaside village in a nook on the north end of Monterey Bay. It was first settled as a beach resort and rows of tiny, brightly painted cottages still remain along the beach. The Esplanade near the parking lot morphs into a beachfront promenade with beautiful begonia-filled planters. Where the river empties into the lagoon is an old wharf with more restaurants and fishermen. The river is lined with small private gardens and old Victorian houses, one is an old windmill.