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Crosstown Trail

A Very Special Day in San Francisco

On a recent Saturday, the United States observed the 20th anniversary of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks.  I definitely did not want to be sitting home all day watching the news that day.  So I made a plan to be out of the house and away far from any tv sets.

San Francisco has a Crosstown Trail that goes from the southeast corner of the city on San Francisco Bay to the northwest corner on the Pacific Ocean. It’s 17-miles long and broken up into 5 sections. I set out in the morning and figured I’d do as much as I could. I ended up doing 4 of the 5 sections. That’s 13 miles, plus another mile to get to the start of the trail from the bus, so 14 miles altogether. I saw some places I’ve wanted to see since I moved to San Francisco 7 years ago, and I saw some places I’d never heard of. So I made the very best of the day that I didn’t want to be inside watching the news.

Starting off my hike in the southeast corner of San Francisco.

Section 1

Candlestick Point State Recreation Area

View of San Francisco Bay from Sunrise Point
How cool would it be to be able to be perched up there watching the world go by!
Old fishing pier.

Visitacion Valley Greenway

The Visitacion Valley Greenway is a series of block-long garden-lined walkways up a relatively steep hill.
Another section of Visitacion Valley Greenway.

John McLaren Park

View of San Francisco Bay from McLaren Park.
View of Downtown from McLaren Park.
Interesting tree in McLaren Park.

Section 2

After I stopped for lunch in the Glen Park neighborhood of San Francisco, I continued on to the 2nd portion of the Crosstown Trail.

Glen Canyon Park

Glen Canyon is one of the parts of San Francisco that feels miles away from a major city.
A rocky outcrop above Glen Canyon.
There were a lot of arched trees like this across the trail.

Midtown Terrace

View of Mount Davidson from Midtown Terrace, a neighborhood on the western slope of Twin Peaks. At 928 feet, Mount Davidson is the highest point in San Francisco. Even though it was only early afternoon, the fog was already rolling over the hills.

Laguna Honda Community Trail System

Colorful graffiti on water tanks.
Sutro Tower.
Flowers along the trail.
Unusual plant.
This was one of the points that really doesn’t feel like you’re in the middle of a major city.
Section 2 comes to an end at classical revival Forest Hill Station, the oldest subway station in the western US.

Section 3

Walking the 3rd section of the trail means walking up stairs and down stairs and up stairs and down stairs and…

Grand Pacheco Stairway.
Another staircase to climb.

Rocky Outcrop Park

Pretty landscaping along the Rocky Outcrop.
The Rocky Outcrop.

Grandview Park

Moraga Street becomes a steep staircase to get to the top of Grandview Park, 666 feet above sea level.
Seen from Grandview Park, the western part of San Francisco is covered in fog. But you can always make out the dark green of Golden Gate Park as it stretches west to where it meets the Pacific Ocean.
View of Downtown from Grandview Park.

16th Avenue Tiled Steps

Moraga Street becomes a staircase again, the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, as it descends to 16th Avenue. Here’s the view down.
And here’s the view up the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps.
Another view up the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps.

Hidden Garden Steps

A different set of tiled steps. This time 16th Avenue becomes a staircase at the Hidden Garden Steps.
Another view up the Hidden Garden Steps.
Yet another view up the Hidden Garden Steps.

Section 4

Golden Gate Park

Rustic Bridge in Golden Gate Park.
Unusual tree trunk in Golden Gate Park.
Stow Lake Boathouse.
Pioneer Log Cabin.
Pioneer Mother Memorial.
Golden Gate Park’s Rose Garden.

Park Presidio Boulevard Greenway

The final stretch of the 4th section of the Crosstown Trail is the greenway along Park Presidio Boulevard.

Section 5

At the end of Section 4, I called it quits for the day.  A 14-mile hike was pretty good, I thought.  By that point, I was tired and I had a headache, and I knew the fog would obstruct the oceanfront views along Section 5.  Also, I had already been to many of the spots along Section 5 during previous sightseeing days.

If I had kept going, I would have entered the Presidio and then walked along a boardwalk, eventually coming out to the Pacific Ocean at Baker Beach.  The trail then passes China Beach.  Because of the fog that day, I wouldn’t have gotten the spectacular views I’d gotten when I visited there in 2017.  The Crosstown Trail reaches its end after passing through Lands End, one of the most beautiful spots in San Francisco.

Related posts:

San Francisco 2017, Day 1, Part 3 San Francisco 2017, Day 2, Part 1 The 2017 BSFBB Awards The 2017 BSFBB Awards (Part 2)

Comments

  1. Ray S says

    Great photo-essay, Billy. It’s been awhile since I’ve done this hike and your photos make me want to do it again.

    Reply

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