San Bruno Mountain State and County Park,
County of San Mateo Parks, San Mateo County
1.2 mile all access loop hike through coastal scrub.
Distance, category, and difficulty:
This 1.2 mile loop hike is almost completly flat, and is very easy.
Exposure:
Mixed shade and sun.
Trail traffic:
Moderate.
Trail surfaces:
Dirt trail and paved trail.
Hiking time:
1 hour or less.
Season:
Nice any time.
Getting there:
• From US Highway 101 in San Francisco County, exit #429B Third Street/Cow Palace. Drive south on Bayshore to the junction with Guadalupe Canyon Parkway. Turn right and drive uphill about 2 miles, to the park entrance on the right side of the road.
• From Interstate 280 in San Mateo County, exit #50 Mission Street. Take Market to Guadalupe Canyon Parkway, and drive east to the park entrance on the left side of the road.
GPS Coordinates* for Trailhead:
Latitude
Longitude
(* based on Google Earth data, shown as degrees, minutes, seconds)
Gas, food, and lodging:
Gas, stores, and restaurants on Mission and Bayshore. No camping.
Trailhead details:
$5 entrance fee (self-registration if entrance kiosk is unstaffed). Once past the kiosk, drive straight a few feet, then turn right just before the gated fire road, into the parking lot. Three designated handicapped parking spots, and lots more parking. Restrooms near picnic area, north of the parking lot. Maps available at the entrance kiosk. Pay phone in parking lot. There is no direct public transportation to the park.
Rules:
Bikes permitted on a few trails. Horses and hikers share the rest. No dogs.
The Official Story:
CSMP's San Bruno page
Park office 650-992-6770
Map Choices/More Info:
• Use AAA's San Francisco Bay Area map to get there.
• Map from CSMP
• Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area, by David Weintraub (order this book from Amazon.com) has a great map and descriptions of a San Bruno hike.
• Trails of the Coastside and Northern Peninsula (map) is a good guide (available from Pease Press).
• Peninsula Trails, by Jean Rusmore, has a simple map and trail descriptions (order this book from Amazon.com).
• The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book, by Tom Taber, has a simple map and trail descriptions (order this book from Amazon.com).
• Bay Nature article about San Bruno Mountain
• View photos from the hike
Just
a short drive from San Francisco, San Bruno Mountain offers 
wheelchair
users a pleasant jaunt through the typical plant communities of the park's
north section. Technically, the wheelchair-accessible Bog Trail is an
out-and-back path, but you may be able to navigate a short uphill grade
on a path that connects to the paved flat Old Guadalupe Trail, creating
a loop.
Start at the trailhead and head north
(toward the picnic area) for a few feet. When you reach the paved
path (Saddle Trail), turn left, cross the access road, and look for
the signed beginning of the Bog Trail, off to the left. Turn left
onto Bog Trail. The compacted earth path tows the line between a seasonally
damp meadow, dotted with dogwood, willows, 
coyote
brush and California coffeeberry, and tall eucalyptus and cypress trees.
A guidewire on the left side of the path assists visually impaired visitors.
After about 100 feet, the trail splits at a signed junction. Stay to
the right.
You may see plenty of birds flitting through
a melange of non-native and native plants. Alien plants include eucalyptus,
cotoneaster, and ivy. In addition to the previously mentioned coffeeberry
and coyote brush, other natives such as blackberry and lupine are common.
Bog Trail features a few benches along the way, pleasant spots for rest
breaks. The path winds under some cypress, then reaches a signed junction
at 0.3 mile. The other end of the Bog Trail Loop,
to the left, is not suitable for wheelchairs, although it's an easy path
for hikers. You may wish to turn around at this junction and retrace
your journey to the trailhead. Another option is continue uphill
to the right, on the connector path to Old Guadalupe Trail.
The slight ascent switchbacks through eucalyptus.
At 0.4 mile, the path ends at a signed junction. Turn right onto Old
Guadalupe Trail.
The wide paved trail, open to cyclists,
winds levelly under the deep shade of eucalyptus. At 1.2 miles, the Old
Guadalupe Trail ends at a previously encountered junction. Continue
past Bog Trail, cross the service road, and return to the trailhead.
Total distance: 0.6 mile (out-and-back on Bog Trail), 1.2 miles if you
make a loop out of Old Guadalupe Trail.
Last hiked: Friday, November 17, 2000
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