China Beach Stroll
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location:China Beach, Sea Cliff neighborhood, San Francisco, southwest of Baker Beach
Starting Point: Parking lot on Sea Cliff Ave., sharp southwest turn off El Camino Del Mar, Sea Cliff neighborhood
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
China Beach info link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/chinabeach.htm
China Beach info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy):
https://www.parksconservancy.org/parks/china-beach
China Beach tide charts:
https://tides.willyweather.com/ca/san-francisco-county/china-beach.html
https://www.tideschart.com/United-States/California/City-and-County-of-San-Francisco/China-Beach/
For map search: input “China Beach, San Francisco”
Distance:
China Beach is more of a cove than a long beach for walking. You could definitely add up a good workout from walking or running up and down the stairs and ramp leading to the beach, or walking or jogging back and forth along the beach.
Considerations:
• Parking is available on Sea Cliff Ave., off El Camino del Mar in the Sea Cliff neighborhood. Good weather and weekends typically raise flags for crowded parking, but there were plenty of open spots on our recent (chilly) Saturday visit.
• Bathrooms and cold water shower are noted as being available from sunrise to sunset in web link info, but a sign during our visit said no bathrooms available.
• First-come, first-served picnic tables available during daylight hours.
• Rough surf, strong undertows, and no lifeguard on duty are signals to use caution by the water, as is the case with any beach visit.
• No pets, no fires, no glass containers.
The trail:
This is a spot for a short beach stroll rather than a hike. China Beach is a pleasant little patch of beach hidden behind the back edge of San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood. A sharp turn off El Camino Del Mar down Sea Cliff Ave. leads to a parking area with a National Park Service sign for China Beach.
Just inside the pathway leading down to the beach is a stone memorial explaining the significance of China Beach (see gallery).
You can get down to the beach by a stairway or a paved ramp.
There are old lifeguard facilities to walk through or past, but no lifeguards on duty as of current information.
The beach opens up to the left facing Mile Rock and the open Pacific, looks straight across to the Marin Headlands, and to the right gives a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This is a great place to watch container ships and other vessels making their way in and out of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay.
Check the tide charts for super low tides. The lowest tides open a walkable connection between China Beach and Baker Beach. Sea stars, mussels, anemones and other creatures can be seen clinging to the lower levels of rocks, rather than being in tide pools by strict definition.
For a quick and easy beach visit with amazing views, sunny day or misty, China Beach is a great spot to stop.
(China Beach Stroll Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Take a Pause” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location:China Beach, Sea Cliff neighborhood, San Francisco, southwest of Baker Beach
Starting Point: Parking lot on Sea Cliff Ave., sharp southwest turn off El Camino Del Mar, Sea Cliff neighborhood
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
China Beach info link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/chinabeach.htm
China Beach info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy):
https://www.parksconservancy.org/parks/china-beach
China Beach tide charts:
https://tides.willyweather.com/ca/san-francisco-county/china-beach.html
https://www.tideschart.com/United-States/California/City-and-County-of-San-Francisco/China-Beach/
For map search: input “China Beach, San Francisco”
Distance:
China Beach is more of a cove than a long beach for walking. You could definitely add up a good workout from walking or running up and down the stairs and ramp leading to the beach, or walking or jogging back and forth along the beach.
Considerations:
• Parking is available on Sea Cliff Ave., off El Camino del Mar in the Sea Cliff neighborhood. Good weather and weekends typically raise flags for crowded parking, but there were plenty of open spots on our recent (chilly) Saturday visit.
• Bathrooms and cold water shower are noted as being available from sunrise to sunset in web link info, but a sign during our visit said no bathrooms available.
• First-come, first-served picnic tables available during daylight hours.
• Rough surf, strong undertows, and no lifeguard on duty are signals to use caution by the water, as is the case with any beach visit.
• No pets, no fires, no glass containers.
The trail:
This is a spot for a short beach stroll rather than a hike. China Beach is a pleasant little patch of beach hidden behind the back edge of San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood. A sharp turn off El Camino Del Mar down Sea Cliff Ave. leads to a parking area with a National Park Service sign for China Beach.
Just inside the pathway leading down to the beach is a stone memorial explaining the significance of China Beach (see gallery).
You can get down to the beach by a stairway or a paved ramp.
There are old lifeguard facilities to walk through or past, but no lifeguards on duty as of current information.
The beach opens up to the left facing Mile Rock and the open Pacific, looks straight across to the Marin Headlands, and to the right gives a view of the Golden Gate Bridge.
This is a great place to watch container ships and other vessels making their way in and out of the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay.
Check the tide charts for super low tides. The lowest tides open a walkable connection between China Beach and Baker Beach. Sea stars, mussels, anemones and other creatures can be seen clinging to the lower levels of rocks, rather than being in tide pools by strict definition.
For a quick and easy beach visit with amazing views, sunny day or misty, China Beach is a great spot to stop.
(China Beach Stroll Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Take a Pause” Insights post.)
Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area page. Check out selected articles and interviews under Media. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact. See products with inspiring designs that support the efforts of HikingAutism under Support/Shop. The Links page lists a loose collection of helpful information links.
Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Feel free to share and follow on Facebook at HikingAutism, follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism and Instagram at lisalouis777
