Fort Funston, Fort Funston Road, San Francisco, CA 94132
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Fort Funston is at the far southwest corner of San Francisco, a short distance south of the San Francisco Zoo, just past the junction of Great Highway and Skyline Blvd. Turn up the hill from Skyline Blvd. onto Fort Funston Road (right when southbound, left when northbound). If traveling south and you pass the Olympic Club sign on your left, you’ve gone too far.
(Information links are sometimes changed at the source unexpectedly. We do our best to update.)
Fort Funston information:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/fort-funston.html
Fort Funston Disability Accessibility information:
The hang gliding viewing deck is wheelchair-accessible. Some of the upper trail areas are smooth enough to be accessible by wheelchair; trails and stairs to the beach are not.
Maps with trails (Fort Funston, each map has its pros and cons, try these or search online for your preferred map, select and paste links if they don’t jump automatically):
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+Funston/@37.7135653,-122.502336,17.55z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x2c5b494bcda94ecc!8m2!3d37.7195436!4d-122.5028052
Distance: You can make a Fort Funston visit as short (just check out the hang gliding viewing deck), or as long (traipse along the beach and back and forth on the upper trails) as you want. This Fort Funston Beach Walk post describes an approximately 1 mile loop from the main parking lot, down to the beach, heading north on the beach, up to an upper trail, and south again to the parking lot.
Considerations: Dogs are officially allowed off leash here. We have a family member who is very skittish around dogs, but he manages to enjoy walks here despite the numerous dogs.
The stairs down to the beach are beautiful but steep. If you choose to return to the parking lot by the same steps, it is a fairly strenuous climb.
Portable toilets are available at the parking area.
When at the beach: Do not turn your back on the ocean. Sneaker waves and rip tide warnings apply to all beaches.
The trail:
The parking area is large. Facing straight toward the ocean from the parking lot is the short walkway to the hang gliding viewing deck, a great spot for a wide view of the coast, whether hang gliders are flying or not.
For this Fort Funston Beach Walk (a different Fort Funston walk will appear in a future post), facing the ocean, head to the left and find the trail that leads at an angle down and to the left. You’ll be on a beautiful sandy trail/stair combination that opens out to the southwest looking toward the San Mateo County coast. This is a pretty stretch with views that change as you hit patches of windswept trees.
Once down at the beach, turn right, ocean on your left. There are some old concrete structures you’ll pass as you walk north. There are sporadic logs for sitting for a little snack break, or just to soak up the sound of the waves.
The geological strata formations as you pass the cliffs on your right are fascinating. This is fairly loosely packed rock/sand, however, and we’ve seen rock/sand slides happen right when small children were in the path of the falling debris. Always good to stay alert.
A few minutes’ walk heading north will bring you to a wide sandy opening to the right leading uphill. This Funston Beach Trail (Pedro Point Trail on the Parks Conservancy map) will lead you to the upper trails.
A suggestion for this walk is to take the first trail to the right, heading south, that will take you back to the parking lot. This Sunset Trail (Coastal Trail on the Parks Conservancy map) hugs the coast most closely, and will lead past the old Battery Davis military structure on your right.
(If you happen to end up a little further uphill on the Battery Davis Trail, Chip Trail, or Horse Trail, you’ll still get back to the parking lot. Those trails will be covered in a future Hike post.) Photos illustrate both sunny and overcast days.
(Fort Funston Beach Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “So Close and Yet So Far” 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: Fort Funston is at the far southwest corner of San Francisco, a short distance south of the San Francisco Zoo, just past the junction of Great Highway and Skyline Blvd. Turn up the hill from Skyline Blvd. onto Fort Funston Road (right when southbound, left when northbound). If traveling south and you pass the Olympic Club sign on your left, you’ve gone too far.
(Information links are sometimes changed at the source unexpectedly. We do our best to update.)
Fort Funston information:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/fort-funston.html
Fort Funston Disability Accessibility information:
The hang gliding viewing deck is wheelchair-accessible. Some of the upper trail areas are smooth enough to be accessible by wheelchair; trails and stairs to the beach are not.
Maps with trails (Fort Funston, each map has its pros and cons, try these or search online for your preferred map, select and paste links if they don’t jump automatically):
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+Funston/@37.7135653,-122.502336,17.55z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x2c5b494bcda94ecc!8m2!3d37.7195436!4d-122.5028052
Distance: You can make a Fort Funston visit as short (just check out the hang gliding viewing deck), or as long (traipse along the beach and back and forth on the upper trails) as you want. This Fort Funston Beach Walk post describes an approximately 1 mile loop from the main parking lot, down to the beach, heading north on the beach, up to an upper trail, and south again to the parking lot.
Considerations: Dogs are officially allowed off leash here. We have a family member who is very skittish around dogs, but he manages to enjoy walks here despite the numerous dogs.
The stairs down to the beach are beautiful but steep. If you choose to return to the parking lot by the same steps, it is a fairly strenuous climb.
Portable toilets are available at the parking area.
When at the beach: Do not turn your back on the ocean. Sneaker waves and rip tide warnings apply to all beaches.
The trail:
The parking area is large. Facing straight toward the ocean from the parking lot is the short walkway to the hang gliding viewing deck, a great spot for a wide view of the coast, whether hang gliders are flying or not.
For this Fort Funston Beach Walk (a different Fort Funston walk will appear in a future post), facing the ocean, head to the left and find the trail that leads at an angle down and to the left. You’ll be on a beautiful sandy trail/stair combination that opens out to the southwest looking toward the San Mateo County coast. This is a pretty stretch with views that change as you hit patches of windswept trees.
Once down at the beach, turn right, ocean on your left. There are some old concrete structures you’ll pass as you walk north. There are sporadic logs for sitting for a little snack break, or just to soak up the sound of the waves.
The geological strata formations as you pass the cliffs on your right are fascinating. This is fairly loosely packed rock/sand, however, and we’ve seen rock/sand slides happen right when small children were in the path of the falling debris. Always good to stay alert.
A few minutes’ walk heading north will bring you to a wide sandy opening to the right leading uphill. This Funston Beach Trail (Pedro Point Trail on the Parks Conservancy map) will lead you to the upper trails.
A suggestion for this walk is to take the first trail to the right, heading south, that will take you back to the parking lot. This Sunset Trail (Coastal Trail on the Parks Conservancy map) hugs the coast most closely, and will lead past the old Battery Davis military structure on your right.
(If you happen to end up a little further uphill on the Battery Davis Trail, Chip Trail, or Horse Trail, you’ll still get back to the parking lot. Those trails will be covered in a future Hike post.) Photos illustrate both sunny and overcast days.
(Fort Funston Beach Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “So Close and Yet So Far” 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
