Arguably the best way to see the City of San Francisco is by foot, or what I like to call Urban Hike. You may have to drive into San Francisco to the start of some of your urban hikes if the start of the hike is somewhat difficult to get to by foot without having to spend most of the time just getting to that starting point. Note, now that I live in the East Bay, I oftentimes take BART into San Francisco to most of my urban hikes and continue with local Muni public transit to the starting point if necessary. A lot of times, taking public transit is better than driving and having to fight the traffic and then having to find parking and still have to pay a King’s ransom for that parking! The environment will thank you too. But in any case, for this urban hike starting from Crissy Field in San Francisco’s Presidio to the fabled Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and Square at the tail end of Fisherman’s Wharf, we decided to drive via the Golden Gate Bridge down to Crissy Field since there is ample free parking at Crissy Field and the start of the urban hike at Crissy Field is a location that is somewhat neither here nor there when it comes to public transit access. And we want to start from Crissy Field because it is a great scenic starting point with sweeping views looking back at the Golden Gate Bridge that continues this “A San Francisco Bay Area Through The Eyes of a Local Artist and Photographer Series” from where we last left off – Crissy Field! As you can see from the Google Maps above, Crissy Field to Ghirardelli Square is roughly 49 minutes covering 2.4 miles. That 49 minutes is one way, so you will want to double that and round off to 2-hours purely for the hike itself. But you should add sufficient time to that 2-hours for the best parts of an urban hike which is absorbing the magnificent sights, smelling the salty waters from the Pacific Ocean in the Bay, enjoying a chat with the locals and other urban hikers, photo ops, take breaks, have lunch, snack time, shopping, etc., so I’d say a total of 6-7 hours would be good, YMMV. This urban hike is relatively flat most of the way, there is a slight hill when you get to the Fort Mason Center, but all in all, it’s a pretty flat hike.
When you get to your starting point at Crissy Field in the Presidio, find a parking space at Hamilton St Parking and park your car since we will be starting our Urban Hike at the Torpedo Wharf. If you can’t find a parking at that lot, and there is a good chance you won’t if you go on a weekend, there are ample parking all throughout Crissy Field in the Presidio, most are free. But be careful, there are some that are marked for private parking only, you don’t want to enjoy the day only to come back to either a ticket or a tolled car!
According to wikipedia,
“Crissy Field, a former U.S. Army airfield, is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, California, United States. Historically part of the Presidio of San Francisco, Crissy Field closed as an airfield after 1974.”
And the magnificent San Francisco Presidio,
“The Presidio, a 1,500-acre park on a former military post, is a major outdoor recreation hub. It has forested areas, miles of trails, a golf course and scenic overlooks. Other highlights include grassy Crissy Field with Golden Gate Bridge views, Civil War–era Fort Point and sandy Baker Beach. Historic buildings house the Walt Disney Family Museum, eateries, homes and businesses like Lucasfilm, with its Yoda Fountain.” -wikipedia
You will want to pencil your next trip into the City for the Presidio, you can spend a lot of time there and still discover something new and adventurous! But for today, we will start from where we left off last time, at Crissy Field’s “Warming Hut Bookstore and Cafe” next to the Torpedo fishing Wharf which is a very distinctive point in Crissy Field. Note, that “Warming Hut Bookstore and Cafe” may or may not be there the next time you visit, I keep hearing rumors it may be or will be closed. Moving on, you will want to get on the San Francisco Bay Trail next to the Bay/North side of Mason Street along the shore in Crissy Field and enjoy spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This trail will allow you to kick some sand and refresh yourself with a splash from the Bay waters along the beach. The salty Bay water from the Ocean is invigorating! The San Francisco Bay Trail at Crissy Field is just a short stretch of the entire Bay Trail which consists of a 500-mile walking and cycling path around the entire San Francisco Bay running through all nine Bay Area counties, 47 cities, and across seven toll bridges! This Bay Trail path would be my choice, but you can also walk along the Buildings/South side of Mason Street if you want to take some time to explore some of the buildings in the Presidio. And you will still get great views of the Golden Gate Bridge from that side too. But we won’t be exploring too much of the Presidio today, we have a full itinerary ahead of us.
Continuing on the San Francisco Bay Trail past the Crissy Field Marsh and further past the Crissy Beach parking log on the right, you’re exiting the Presidio and starting to see the St. Francis Yacht Club in front of you. The St. Francis Yacht Club is the oldest sailing club in the western United States and arguable the most prestigious.
On the front side of the Club is the Yacht Harbor where you can enjoy views of a wide range of docked sailboats and engine powered boats. You are now in the Marina District. If the Bay tides are low, you can continue to walk along the shore behind and past the St. Francis Yacht Club, or if the tide is high, walk around to the front of the Club past the parking lot. You may want to take a few photo ops of the Yacht Club but you will want to continue along the SF Bay shores where you will be hiking towards a dead end! But rest assure, this dead-end is not just any other dead-end. It’s a wonderful delight only locals would know about and appreciate. But before we get to this dead-end, at the east end of the St. Francis Yacht Club parking lot is what looks like a miniature stone lighthouse. In fact, this is the little known Marina District Lighthouse. Built in 1931 for the two yacht clubs located there, it was constructed with cut stones from the old Pope Mansion that once stood on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Divisadero Street, and was for the purpose of sending out its beam to guide pleasure boaters into their docks. Photos Op! And by the way, the shores along this small paved pedestrian road is also a popular place for local fishermen that fish along the shore throughout the year. And during the Salmon and Blue Striper runs, you can even catch one of these prized fish that measure upwards of three feet.
Name dropping alert, this part of the Bay was also the backdrop and raceway of the America’s Cup in 2013! Continuing on towards this “mysterious” dead-end, we past the St. Francis Yacht Club’s much smaller very distant cousin, the Golden Gate Yacht Club. And finally, arriving at our dead-end destination, your San Francisco Treat! Along the Bay is this fabulous “Wave Organ” only locals will know about. It’s off the beaten path and I doubt there is enough room for tour buses to get to!
According to wikipedia,
“The Wave Organ is a sculpture constructed on the shore of San Francisco Bay in May 1986 by the Exploritorium, and more specifically, by Exploratorium artist in residence Peter Richards, who conceived and designed the organ, working with sculptor and mason George Gonzales. Through a series of pipes, the Wave Organ interacts with the waves of the bay and conveys their sound to listeners at several different stations. The effects produced vary depending on the level of the tide but include rumbles, gurgles, sloshes, hisses, and other more typical wave sounds. The structure incorporates stone platforms and benches where visitors may sit near the mouths of pipes, listening.”
But wait, that’s just part of the treat at this dead-end! Did you know that the Richmond District in San Francisco used to be filled with cemeteries! (I promise, this little side trip will bring us back to our current Urban Hike at the Wave Organ) Yes, a lot of those expensive million dollar homes in the Richmond District are built on top of old cemeteries! In fact, the old “San Francisco Columbarium & Funeral Home” is still housed there on Loraine Ct, wrapped in the middle of Geary Blvd, Arguello Blvd, Anza St, and Stanyan St. So when the City decided to move the Richmond District and other San Francisco cemeteries to Colma in the late 1920s, the existing tombstones were only preserved if the descendants were willing to pay for the relocation. Tombstones that were left behind were used as part of several Works Progress Administration (WPA) projects including the sea walls at Aquatic Park and the Yacht Harbor in the Marina, while bits of tombstones were used to line the gutters at Buena Vista Park. Remember the Yacht Harbor back at the St Francis Yacht Club? Yes, that’s the same Yacht Harbor sea wall location where these old “unclaimed” Richmond District tombstones were moved to. And if you look down at that part of the sea wall, you can still make out the actual epitaphs on the tombstones! A definite photo op! And speaking of photo ops, take a peak North Easterly out in the Bay and you will start to get a glimpse of a small rock more commonly known simply as Alcatraz. And just behind that small rock is a bigger rock, Angel Island, where a lot of San Franciscan’s ancestors where detained and interrogated enroute to their immigration journey into America from faraway countries. It was the home of Angel Island Immigration Station from January 21, 1910 to November 5, 1940.
Now make your way back along the Bay towards the St Francis Yacht Club and the first chance you get to take a left just beyond the Harbor, take it. But if you miss it, don’t fret, any left turn will do once you are past the Harbor. You are only trying to get back to the big street, Marina Blvd, where you will take a left Eastward and onward towards Ghirardelli Square. Marina Blvd is also part of the San Francisco Bay Trail. But when you get to Marina Blvd, you will want to take a peak South Westward across the street beyond the houses.
You can’t miss it, it’s the dome of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts. You will want to continue walking Eastward on Marina Blvd while taking peaks back at the dome and taking a few photos of the beautiful Palace along with other sights of interest. We will visit and take a closer look at the SF Palace of Fine Arts at a later blog so don’t be discouraged if you miss a few photo ops, our destination today is the Urban Hike towards Ghirardelli Square and a lot of these photo ops will show up at a distance which would be a good chance to get your wide angle shots before we make those later more detail visits.
Continue walking along Marina Blvd and you will see the Marina Greens to your left which is a long patch of grass where locals oftentimes gather for simple outdoor activities. Just past the Marina Greens, the road will make an elbow zig with Safeway on the right and the end of Marina Blvd will run into Laguna Street with the Great Meadow Park at Fort Mason right in front of you.
Stroll around the park, walk to the top and take in some sweeping views of San Francisco, maybe even take a lunch break here or wait until you get to Ghirardelli Square and have lunch at one of their many fine restaurants. When you’re ready, continue Northward across the park towards the rows of buildings at Fort Mason Center where you can wander around, do a little shopping, even have lunch there if you see a restaurant you like.
According to wikipedia,
“Fort Mason, once known as San Francisco Port of Embarkation, US Army, in San Francisco, California, is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defense site and subsequently as a military port facility. During World War II, it was the principal port for the Pacific campaign.
[Today,] The lower portion of the site is known as the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (FMCAC). FMCAC is a non-profit and their campus houses the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute graduate campus, Blue Bear School of Music, City College of San Francisco Art Campus, The Interval, Greens Restaurant, Readers Bookstore, Magic Theatre, the Mexican Museum, Embark Gallery, Off the Grid, BATS Improv, San Francisco Children’s Art Center, Museo ItaloAmericano, Flax art & design, California Lawyers for the Arts and other organizations connected to arts and culture. The newest space is Gallery 308, whose inaugural exhibition was Janet Cardiff’sThe Forty Part Motet, followed by Sophie Calle’s. In the fall of 2017, the San Francisco Art Institute opened a graduate program campus, housed in FMCAC’s historic Herbst Pavilion. The National Park Service headquarters for both the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park are located in Fort Mason.”
When you’re ready, walk back towards the Great Meadow Park at Fort Mason and get back on the first paved pedestrian and bike road you see which should be on the North side of the park. Continue your Urban Hike along this pedestrian and bike road making sure you stick to the North perimeter of the park as this pedestrian and bike road forks into other roads that meander through the park. The Great Meadow Park is relatively small, you shouldn’t have any problem keeping your coordinates, but if you do go astray, simply go towards the Bay until you relocate the North perimeter paved pedestrian and bike road.
Follow this road Eastward and you will come to a slightly steep drop which by the way has unreal vistas back to the Golden Gate Bridge, photo op! Then walk on, we’re almost at our destination for this Urban Hike.
But before we get there, you’ll come to the long semi-circular Municipal Pier at Aquatic Park Cove. Take a stroll out to the end of the pier. A lot of local fishermen fish there too since it has magnificent views of both the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, and on top of that, pier fishing is free, no license required! Oh, and by the way, views of Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Treasure Island, and the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge from there is not too shabby either! At the far end of the Municipal Pier, you will see this wonderous small older structure that captured my fascination when I first came upon it. I thought it was some historic military station so when I got home that day, I did a little research and to my own private little chuckle, I was surprised to find its true identity.
It turns out that structure at the end of Aquatic Pier was originally designed by William Mooser as one of three “comfort stations” stylistically compatible to the surrounding architecture. Comfort stations in more traditional terms are restrooms! LOL! Yes, that structure at the end of Aquatic Pier was designed as a restroom, but it was the only one of three that was never completed.
When you’re ready to leave the Aquatic Pier, turn back towards the pedestrian and bike road and continue that loop towards Fisherman’s Wharf. Just a few hundred yards back into that road, you will come upon the Aquatic Park Tombstones. Remember the tombstone history back at the Wave Organ at the far end of the St Francis Yacht Club? These Aquatic Park Tombstones are part of that same history where a lot of the tombstones from the same cemeteries in the Richmond District were relocated to. Continuing on this Pedestrian/Bike road and just before we get to our final destination, Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and Square, you will see the Maritime Museum on the right.
The museum is free but they do take donations, and it’s a nice short visit so it won’t take up much time and it’s seldom crowded and worth taking a peek inside.
According to nps.gov,
“The exhibit “Maritime Arts – At Sea and Ashore” opens January 28, 2016 in the Maritime Museum. The new exhibit showcases the skills and techniques of the sailors’ trade. Open seven days a week, 10am to 4pm, free.
Museum phone number: 415-561-7100. The Bathhouse building was built in 1939 as a joint project of the City of San Francisco and the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA), and is the focal point of the Aquatic Park Historic Landmark District. This unique structure was designed in the Streamline Moderne style, a late offshoot of the Art Deco period, and mimics the clean lines of an ocean liner.”
When you’re done with the Maritime Museum, the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory Square and Market is right across Beach Street at the South part of the Maritime Museum. The Square is wrapped around by Beach Street, Larkin Street, North Point Street, and Polk Street – I’m confident you can’t miss it!
Enjoy the Square, have lunch there if you haven’t already, have a drink or two, and of course, you “must” have some chocolate and some ice cream at the Original Chocolate and Ice Cream shop! Congratulate and pamper yourself, you deserve it after a good day’s Urban Hike! The route can continue through to Fisherman’s Wharf and Pier 39 and onward to the San Francisco Ferry Building along the Embarcadero and even further under and past the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge and onward to the Giants’ Oracle Park, continuing until your legs and feet start to bark at you at the new Golden State Warriors Chase Center! 🙂 But those trips are for another day unless you planned it ahead of time and have the energy and time.
Nonetheless, if you are still motivated and want to take a short trip, you can easily walk to the top of the crookedest street in America, Lombard Street. Go up hilly Larkin Street on one side of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory and Square for about three blocks and you’ve reached Lombard Street. Take a left on Lombard Street and walk for one block and you will have reached the top of America’s crookedest street! I take it you will know what to do there.
Oh, and by the way, our Urban Hike is only half done. You’ll have to make your way back to your car at Crissy Field! I’m confident you know your way by now. Hope you enjoyed this Urban Hike day trip. Come back soon for my next Urban Hike as part of my “A San Francisco Bay Area Through The Eyes of a Local Artist and Photographer Series.”
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