San Francisco Hikes

San Francisco offers fantastic urban hiking within the city limits, plus easy access to some of the great hikes in the inner Bay Area. Explore expansive city parks from one corner of the city clear across to the other on the Crosstown Trail, hop on a ferry to Angel Island, or check out one of the historic forts in the Golden Gate National Recreation area.

San Francisco is an urban hiker’s dream. The city is dense, walkable, and has some of the best access to neighborhood parks of any city in the country, according to the Trust for Public Land.

What other major cities often lack that San Francisco has is large swathes of genuine nature tucked away in various parts of its park system. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area makes up a large chunk of the open land in the city, from the famous and touristy Presidio in the northwest to the quiet but windy Fort Funston in the southwest well known only to locals and hang-gliders.

Angel Island

Angel Island is located in the middle of the San Francisco Bay, a short ride from the San Francisco Ferry Building. Its strategic location has meant that it has played an outsized role in the history of immigration and war. Since the end of World War II, nearly the whole island has become a state park, with only small sections remaining active Coast Guard uses. Apart from the historc remnants, the island is nearly entirely a nature preserve, with forests covering the sheltered northern side and grasses and classic Californian chapparal covering the windswept southern side.

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The Crosstown Trail

The best way to take in the widest swath of San Francisco’s hidden trails, stairs, and gardens is the Crosstown Trail. This 17-mile trail is split up into different segments that cover some of the city’s biggest and most scenic parks, including several of my favorites in the city: Glen Canyon Park, right off of Glen Park BART, is a particular favorite; McClaren Park is a low-traffic getaway right in the southeast of the city; and of course Lands End’s rocky trails crumbling into the Pacific are spectacular enough to warrant a place in many tourist guides.

For information on the Crosstown Trail, including maps and transit access, visit the Crosstown Trail’s website.

The Double Cross Trail

The other trail crossing the city from corner to corner is the Double Cross Trail. From the city’s densest, most urban neighborhoods in the northeast to the most remote southwestern neighborhoods along the chilly Pacific, this trail has by far the best views of urban sights like the Painted Ladies and the cable cars (plus the skyline from the top of Twin Peaks!) as well as the forests of Stern Grove, bluffs of Fort Funston, and the city’s rare freshwater lakes.

For information on the Double Cross Trail, including maps and transit access, visit the Double Cross Trail page on the Crosstown Trail’s website.

The Presidio & the Golden Gate Bridge

The Presidio is San Francisco’s urban National Park. A former military installation, it’s now a dense urban forest right on the doorstep of the Golden Gate, and a historic landmark popular with both tourists and locals. Inland trails show the diverse ecosystems of the pre-development and post-development San Francisco landscapes, while coastal trails offer views of sandy beaches at the bottom of tall bluffs, the Marin headlands just across the Golden Gate, and of the Golden Gate Bridge itself.

For information on the trails in the Presidio, visit their website at Presidio.gov.