Monday, June 6, 2016

Epic Hikes in the Bay Area: Four Trails over 500 Miles

Many of us read the book or saw the movie Wild and were inspired by Cheryl Strayed's trek along the 2,600+ mile Pacific Crest Trail. Hiking the PCT is a massive accomplishment and not surprisingly, it takes most people five months to complete.

But, in case you don't have that sort of time right now, not to worry—there are plenty of adventures to embark upon a little closer to home. In fact, there are four 500+-mile-long trails that pass right through San Francisco. Each of these covers at least 10 miles in the city—and has plenty more mileage just outside city limits

Here's a list of these epic trails ordered from shortest to longest.

Heron's Head Park on the California Coastal Trail
1. Bay Trail 
The Bay Trail will be 500 miles long when completed, extending as far north as Napa and as far south as Milpitas. In San Francisco, the route traces the bay from Candlestick Point State Recreation Area to the Golden Gate Bridge stopping at Heron's Head Park, AT&T Park, the Ferry Building, Fort Mason, and Crissy Field.

The Presidio section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail
The Bay Area Ridge Trail will be 550+ miles long when completed. It traces ridgelines and mountain summits between Mt. Saint Helena in Calistoga and Mt. Madonna in Watsonville. In San Francisco, the trail runs between Lake Merced and the Golden Gate Bridge, passing through Pine Lake Park, Stern Grove, Twin Peaks, Mount Olympus, Buena Vista Park, and the Presidio.

One day, the California Coastal Trail will cover the entire west coast of California between the Oregon and Mexico borders—a whopping 1,200 miles. This route takes you from Fort Funston to the Golden Gate Bridge and everywhere in between, including: Ocean Beach, the Cliff House, the Lands End Trail, Baker Beach, and the Batteries to Bluffs Trail. Once you're over the bridge, you'll want to keep hiking. There are gorgeous trail sections that pass through Marin County.

Walkway on the Presidio Anza Trail
The 1,210 mile Juan Bautista de Anza trail starts in Nogales, Arizona and ends at the Golden Gate Bridge. It commemorates the 1775-1776 expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza and over 240 others as he sought to establish a Spanish colony in Alta California. In San Francisco, the trail runs from Lake Merced to the Golden Gate Bridge passing through Golden Gate Park, Mountain Lake, and the Presidio.

The San Francisco segments of these trails are a great starting point for exploration. Once you've conquered the city-based parts of the trails, venture out to Marin, the East Bay or the Peninsula to see what else the routes have to offer. An epic adventure awaits you, and it's all a short distance from home.