Bridge Is Centerpiece of San Francisco Walks

San Francisco is known as the city of walkers. Whether this reputation is due to its relatively healthy, vigorous, upscale population, or to the city’s terrible traffic and paucity of parking, is open for debate.

Some of the city’s best walks are the coast walks that explore the northern and western edges of San Francisco’s shoreline. A good part of this shoreline is under the jurisdiction of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. An intrepid walker could explore much of the urban shoreline of the recreation area in one long day.

One could begin at Ft. Funston, walk along Ocean Beach, visit the Cliff House, Land’s End, Baker Beach, Ft. Point and the Golden Gate. The tireless walker could then continue along the city’s north shore, heading bayside past Crissy Field and along Golden Promenade to park headquarters and Ft. Mason.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is more than just shore. The Presidio is being “decommissioned,” and what was once a military post employing 6,000 people will soon become national parkland. A nature preserve and a Colonial Williamsburg-like living history center are two of the many ideas that the National Park Service is considering as it makes plans to take over the 1,400-acre Presidio.

The National Park Service and docent groups lead walks through the Presidio and through already established parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. “Presidio Cemetery Walk,” “Coastal Defense Hike” and “Exploring Lobos Creek” are among a dozen guided walks provided by the National Park Service. Call the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for more information.

COASTAL TRAIL

One of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s best walks is the scenic and historic journey from the Cliff House to the Golden Gate Bridge. Join the Coastal Trail by driving west on Geary Boulevard. Near its end at the Pacific Ocean, the boulevard forks. Take the right fork, which continues west as Point Lobos Avenue. As the avenue turns south to join Great Highway Street, you’ll see Cliff House on your right. (Hikers shouldn’t overlook public transportation in San Francisco; Muni bus lines make it easy to reach trail heads.)

Today’s Cliff House, perched precariously above the shore, is the third structure erected on this site. In 1863, the first roadhouse was built. It catered to the wealthy, high-toned carriage crowd. Along came millionaire and philanthropist Adolph Sutro, who had moved to San Francisco after making his fortune as an engineer during Nevada’s silver-mining era. Sutro thought that the city’s working-class residents would enjoy a seaside diversion. He built a steam railway from downtown to the coast; the ride to Cliff House cost a nickel.

The original Cliff House, called Seal Rock House, burned. Sutro replaced it with a six-story, gingerbread-style Victorian mansion. This, too, burned in 1907. Sutro again rebuilt, this time constructing a more utilitarian structure--more or less the one you see today.

The present Cliff House includes a gift shop and Musee Mechanique, a room full of coin-operated games. There is also a Golden Gate National Recreation Area information center and a great collection of historic photographs and exhibits.

From the Cliff House balcony, you can enjoy the view of Seal Rocks, which are frequented by seals and noisy sea lions. After leaving Cliff House, walk northeast a short distance to the Greco-Roman-like ruins of the Sutro Baths. Six saltwater swimming pools and a freshwater plunge were heated by a complex series of pipes and canals. Museums, galleries and restaurants were also once part of the complex built by Adolph Sutro in 1890. The popularity of public spas gradually waned, and, in 1966, fire destroyed all but the cement foundations of the baths.

The Coastal Trail uses the abandoned railroad bed of the old Cliff House & Ferries Railroad. The trail winds through cypress and coastal sage, and hugs the cliff below El Camino del Mar.

Next, the trail leads along the Lincoln Park Bluffs. If it’s low tide when you look down at the shoreline, you might be able to spot the wreckage of some of the ships that have been dashed to pieces on the rocks below. This rocky, precipitous stretch of coast is known as Land’s End.

You’ll get great views from Eagle Point Lookout, then descend to China Beach, once a turn-of-the-century encampment for Chinese fishermen. The beach is also known as James Phelan Beach for the politician/philanthropist who left part of his fortune to help California writers and artists.

Another beach en route is expansive Baker Beach, where you’ll find the outlet of Lobos Creek. In his autobiography, Ansel Adams recalled the many delightful days he spent as a child exploring Lobos Creek. These childhood adventures were the great photographer’s first contact with the natural world.

At the north end of Baker Beach is Battery Chamberlain, a former coastal defense site complete with a “disappearing” 95,000-pound cannon. On weekends, park rangers demonstrate how the cannon could be cranked into its cement, tree-hidden bunker.

The Coastal Trail meanders among cypress trees and passes more military batteries, then leads under the Golden Gate Bridge. Just after the trail passes under the bridge, you can follow a path to historic Ft. Point.

GOLDEN GATE TRAIL

It’s known as one of the world’s engineering marvels, the proud emblem of a proud city, and “The Bridge at the End of the Continent.” The Golden Gate is all of this, and a great walk: One of those must-do-once-in-a-lifetime adventures.

The technically inclined revel in the bridge’s vital statistics: its 8,981-foot length, cables that support 200 million pounds, twin towers the height of 65-story buildings. Statisticians have calculated everything from the number of gallons of orange paint required to cover 10 million square feet of bridge, to the number of star-crossed lovers who have leaped from bridge to bay.

For all of its utilitarian value, the bridge is also an artistic triumph. As you walk the bridge, try to remember how many set-in-San Francisco movies and television shows have opened with an establishing shot of the bridge.

Guarding the Golden Gate is Ft. Point, a huge Civil War era structure built of red brick. The fort, similar in design to Ft. Sumter in South Carolina, was built for the then-astronomical cost of $2.8 million, and was intended to ensure California’s loyalty to the Union.

Ft. Point is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You’ll enjoy prowling the three-story fort’s many corridors and stairwells. There are several fine military exhibits, including one emphasizing the contributions of black American soldiers. From 1933-37, the fort was coordinating center for the bridge construction.

While the walk across the bridge is unique, and the clear-day views grand, the trip can also be wearing on the nerves. A bone-chilling wind often buffets bridge walkers, and traffic vibrating the bridge seems to vibrate one’s very being. Anyone afraid of heights should walk elsewhere.

First-time visitors invariably miss the viewpoint parking area just south of the toll plaza, and before they know it, end up in Sausalito. Ft. Point’s parking lot is one good place to leave your car, as are other parking lots along the bay.

From Ft. Point, a gravel, then paved, road leads up to a statue of visionary engineer Joseph Strauss, who persuaded a doubting populace to build the bridge.

As you start walking along the bridge’s east sidewalk, you’ll get a great view of Ft. Point. You’ll pause frequently to watch the ship traffic. Literally, everything necessary for modern life--from California almonds to Japanese cars--passes in and out of the bay by freighter.

Splendorous clear-day views include the cities of the East Bay and the bold headlands of Marin, which form the more rural part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. You’ll spot Treasure, Alcatraz and Angel islands, and of course, the San Francisco skyline.

The bridge’s second high tower marks the beginning of Marin County. Vista Point is the end of your bridge walk. Here you’ll witness tourists from around the world photographing each other and proclaiming their admiration for the Golden Gate Bridge in a dozen foreign languages.

Coastal, Golden Gate Trails Where: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Distance: 6 miles round trip; another 3 miles round trip to walk the Golden Gate Bridge. Terrain: Diverse shoreline of San Francisco. Degree of Difficulty: Easy to moderate. Highlights: Historic Cliff House and Ft. Point, fabulous bay views from the Golden Gate Bridge. For more information: Contact the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Ft. Mason, Building 201, San Francisco 94123, (415) 556-0560.