NOTE: As of 3/03, a significant portion of Coastal Trail is washed
out just south of the Sand Ladder. Park staff are unsure if the segment will be
rebuilt. The following descriptions are no longer valid.
Fort
Funston
GGNRA/NPS,
San Francisco County
Difficulty:
Elevation ranges from sea level to about 180 feet. In general, the hiking is easy
here, with a few exceptions. Sand Ladder Trail is very steep, but short. Trails
can be impossible to follow, and it's easy to get off course. Some sections require
scrambling down/up steep and sandy dunes. Walking is loose sand is not easy for
most of us, and there's a lot of loose sand at Fort Funston.
Getting there:
• From southbound CA 35 in San Francisco, pass John Muir Drive, then take
the first right (signed Fort Funston). Bear right and continue to the parking
lot.
• From northbound CA 35 in San Francisco (just north of the San Mateo County
border), make a U-turn at John Muir Drive. Drive southbound and take the first
right (signed Fort Funston). Bear right and continue to the parking lot.
GPS Coordinates for Trailhead:
Latitude
37.7143°
Longitude -122.502°
Details:
No parking or entrance fees. Large paved lot (nonetheless, parking is usually
tight on weekends). A drinking fountain sits on the southwest corner of the lot;
to get to the pay phone walk back toward the highway, then bear right on the road
leading to the ranger station. The pay phone is on the right. There are wheelchair-accessible
pit toilets and designated handicapped parking spots. Fort Funston's main trail
is wheelchair accessible. Gas, restaurants, and stores to the south on John Daly
Boulevard, and north on Sloat. Muni bus #18 accesses the park entrance at Skyline
and John Muir Drive.
Rules:
Dogs are permitted off leash under voice control, excepting the 12-acre closure
in northwest Ft. Funston. Equestrians and hikers share the Bay Area Ridge Trail
segment.
The Official Story:
GGNRA's Fort
Funston page
Map Choices:
• Use AAA's San Francisco and Vicinity map to get there.
• Trails of the Coastside and Northern Peninsula (map) is a great
guide (available from Pease
Press).
• Jean Rusmore's The Bay Area Ridge Trail has a simple map and trail
descriptions.
• The San Francisco Convention and Visitor Bureau provides a useful map
of the area.
View
photos from this hike.
View
photos of an extended version of this hike.
Fort Funston is a popular San Francisco dogwalking location.
Most
visitors walk the paved Sunset Trail, a north to south route on the bluff, and
reach Ocean Beach via Fort Funston's northern section. Fort Funston's stretch
of Ocean Beach is where you'll see scores of dripping wet dogs, romping across
the sand with driftwood stick in their mouths.
I prefer the rough dune trails that depart from
Fort Funston and travel south along the ocean into San Mateo County. There's less
foot traffic, and the early summer flowers are spectacular. If you decide to follow
my lead and hike on what is (in theory) this Bay Area Ridge Trail segment, be
aware that this hike has some hazards. The route is mostly unsigned, and paths
wind over unstable terrain. Be prepared to scramble up and down loose sandy dunes,
and know that winter storms often change this landscape. The route I present might
not exist when you visit. If you have questions or concerns, contact the ranger
station. This is suitable hike for folks 
who
crave a little adventure, but do use caution on the trails, and be flexible with
your route.
By early summer, when bay area hills are brown and
dry, the dunes along the ocean are dotted with vivid swaths of flowers. Since
oceanside temperatures are cool, and the plants so pretty, summer is the optimal
time to visit. Winter and early spring weather generally does not accommodate
beach walks, and the hillsides are most unstable that time of year.
That chronic instability is the primary contributor
to this trail's wild disposition. Although with the ocean visible at all times
you'll never be lost, there's plenty of unpredictability in these dunes. A wrong
turn off the main trail might bring you to a dense thicket of willow, with a 5
foot tall passage worn under the branches. This dark secret tunnel delivers you,
blinking, back into the bright sunlight of the dunes. It's an Alice in Wonderland
kind of experience.
I 
doubt
that anywhere else in San Francisco you'll find such an extensive variety of plants
and wildlife. Sea fig, a common marine ground cover, turns rust colored in summer,
and from a distance the landscape resembles desert camouflage. Cottontail rabbits
dart through the brush, trying to evade redtail hawks. All the while the soothing
murmur of the ocean blocks sounds from civilization.
You'll probably be most comfortable wearing sport sandals
or slip-on shoes for this hike (hiking boots and sand don't mix well). Start
at the southwest corner of the parking lot. A handful of unsigned paths depart;
walk toward to ocean and look for the signed Sand Ladder Trail at the edge
of the bluff. Sand Ladder Trail drops sharply, but the views are so fabulous
that you'll probably not notice the grade until your return ascent. At the bottom
of the sand ladder, a small Bay Area Ridge Trail medallion is sometimes attached
to a post, but from here on, you're mostly 
on
your own, with little guidance from trail signs. Walk on the obvious path south
and toward the ocean, ignoring two path that veer off to the left, heading back
uphill. A few steps before a steep dropoff to the beach, at about .21 mile,
you'll reach an easy-to-miss junction just before a cypress tree. Turn left
and select a route from the paths that score the dunes.
Generally, you don't want to climb east out of the
dunes, but retain a level steady southern course. Sea fig is the dominant ground
cover, and shrubby willows are common. Bermuda sorrel, fine-leaved fumitory, manroot,
California poppy, and beeplant flower in early spring, but nothing competes with
mustard and sea fig for sheer volume of blossoms. In summer the dunes are tinted
with a riotous jumble of yellow flowers on bush lupine, mustard, and lizardtail
plants. Seaside daisy, wild radish, sand verbenas, and paintbrush contribute their
color to the palate. You might also glimpse searocket, 
miner's
lettuce, beach strawberry, blackberry, curly dock, and New Zealand spinach, all
edible plants. Pelicans and seagulls are commonly spotted flying over the water.
The paths wander at a mostly level course through the dunes. At about .47 mile,
you'll reach an important junction. Beware of a promising-looking trail that climbs
out of the dunes, slightly east. I once ended up on this path, and while the views
are nice, it ends up on the bluff, at a chain-link fence and ugly dead-end road.
Here as I pondered my next move, I encountered a guy hitting golf balls (most
of the Olympic Golf Course sits right across Skyline Boulevard, but apparently
they own land on the west side of the road as well). Unwilling to retrace my steps,
I crawled through an opening in the fence and scooted down a steep sandy shoot
on my butt. This put me back on the BART. I would not repeat this route again.
Stay to the right on a path
that veers toward the ocean.
The trail curves left and ascends a few feet, then
levels off. The view south extends past the clifftop houses of Daly City to Montara
Mountain. Descending slightly, you'll reach a junction with what I call the sand
canyon trail, at about .78 mile. (From here you can continue straight and extend
this hike another .7 mile; there are no markers at the turn-around point, but
a good place to end your southern progress is at about 1.5 miles, where a series
of paths climb up toward the houses. Then retrace your steps back to this junction.)
Turn right.
A deep channel worn into the damp sand descends,
then ends at the beach at about .83 mile. Turn right.
On this gentle stroll along the beach you'll have
great views north. When you reach a cypress tree (you should be able to see the
orange wind sock at the hang gliding platform uphill near the Fort Funston parking
lot), at about 1.31 miles. Turn right and scramble up a short steep path
to a previously encountered junction. Retrace your steps back to Sand Ladder
Trail and the trailhead.
Total mileage: about 1.52 miles
Last hiked: Monday, March 25, 2002
Go to Bay Area Hiker Home page
Most
visitors walk the paved Sunset Trail, a north to south route on the bluff, and
reach Ocean Beach via Fort Funston's northern section. Fort Funston's stretch
of Ocean Beach is where you'll see scores of dripping wet dogs, romping across
the sand with driftwood stick in their mouths.
who
crave a little adventure, but do use caution on the trails, and be flexible with
your route.
doubt
that anywhere else in San Francisco you'll find such an extensive variety of plants
and wildlife. Sea fig, a common marine ground cover, turns rust colored in summer,
and from a distance the landscape resembles desert camouflage. Cottontail rabbits
dart through the brush, trying to evade redtail hawks. All the while the soothing
murmur of the ocean blocks sounds from civilization.
on
your own, with little guidance from trail signs. Walk on the obvious path south
and toward the ocean, ignoring two path that veer off to the left, heading back
uphill. A few steps before a steep dropoff to the beach, at about .21 mile,
you'll reach an easy-to-miss junction just before a cypress tree. Turn left
and select a route from the paths that score the dunes. 
miner's
lettuce, beach strawberry, blackberry, curly dock, and New Zealand spinach, all
edible plants. Pelicans and seagulls are commonly spotted flying over the water.
The paths wander at a mostly level course through the dunes. At about .47 mile,
you'll reach an important junction. Beware of a promising-looking trail that climbs
out of the dunes, slightly east. I once ended up on this path, and while the views
are nice, it ends up on the bluff, at a chain-link fence and ugly dead-end road.
Here as I pondered my next move, I encountered a guy hitting golf balls (most
of the Olympic Golf Course sits right across Skyline Boulevard, but apparently
they own land on the west side of the road as well). Unwilling to retrace my steps,
I crawled through an opening in the fence and scooted down a steep sandy shoot
on my butt. This put me back on the BART. I would not repeat this route again.
Stay to the right on a path
that veers toward the ocean.