Fort Point
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Fort Point National Historic Site, Marine Drive, San Francisco, under the Golden Gate Bridge
Starting Point: To get to Fort Point, from Lincoln Blvd. which cuts through the Presidio, take Long Ave. (a turnoff that can be easy to miss) down the hill. This becomes Marine Drive veering to the left at the bottom of the hill, and leads to Fort Point, with parking on Marine Drive as well as in the lot at Fort Point.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Fort Point info link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/fopo/index.htm
Fort Point info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy):
http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/fort-point.html
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy map link:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/map/#/visit/park-sites/fort-point.html?coords=14:37.8036:-122.4609
Distance:
If you park at Fort Point itself, or in a nearby parking spot on Marine Drive, you will not be covering a lot of linear walking distance. There are three floors plus the top level to explore, however, which means plenty of stairs and the option to walk a loop around each floor and the top level if you want extra exercise.
It is about 0.4 miles to walk from Fort Point to the Warming Hut at the other end of Marine Drive, so doing that walk out and back adds almost a mile of walking.
You can also park in the parking lot above the Fort Point turnoff (often quite full) and take the trail that parallels Long Ave. That makes for a scenic additional walk.
Considerations:
• Open Fort Point hours are currently noted as Friday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. This can change. Double check using one of the info links above.
• Even if the Fort Point gate is locked, you can still enjoy the astounding base view of the Golden Gate Bridge from outside the fort.
• Many people find the Presidio a confusing place to get around. Have a map. Streets are clearly marked, and the Fort Point turnoff is from a main road, Lincoln Blvd. Enjoy the scenery as you find your way.
• There are bathroom facilities just outside the Fort Point parking lot.
• There is a visitor center/gift shop inside Fort Point.
• The top level of the fort can get extremely windy. Hold onto your hat.
• If walking along Marine Drive, big surf at high tide can splash up across the road.
The trail:
This is not so much a trail walk as an active outing. We fell in love with the stunning view from under the Golden Gate Bridge before we had kids. We’d drive guests along the route past the Legion of Honor to get to Fort Point that Jimmy Stewart drives in the Hitchcock film, “Vertigo,” and then we’d show the ledge where Jimmy Stewart dives into the water to save Kim Novak’s character. Due to post 9/11 security, we can no longer walk along that part of the fort, but you can catch a glimpse from behind a fence.
With kids, Fort Point makes a great spot to get out and about even on a somewhat rainy day. There are lots of stairs to climb, long hallways full of historic exhibits to walk through, spiral stone stairwells to feel medieval in, and spooky dark shadows to explore in the empty corners of the fort.
Watching surfers dodge the rocks is another visual adventure. During the right season, you can see whales breaching right out under the bridge. Seals sometimes swim right up along shore on Marine Drive.
There are many nooks and crannies with historic information and objects, including cannons, a powder magazine, officer quarters and a kitchen. The long, Escher-esque indoor hallways lead through informational photo exhibits.
More than anything else, though, climbing to the top level offers amazing views. Standing right under the engineering stunner that is the Golden Gate Bridge never gets old. The views from under the bridge are postcard-worthy in every direction: The Marin Headlands at the other end of the bridge, the far western edge of San Francisco looking west to the wide Pacific, and Alcatraz, Angel Island, the San Francisco cityscape and the east bay in the distance looking east.
Even when we’re not up for a full on hike, we like to get outside somewhere, and Fort Point never disappoints.
(Fort Point Hike Notes originally paired with “Thanks to the Pied Pipers” 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 Point National Historic Site, Marine Drive, San Francisco, under the Golden Gate Bridge
Starting Point: To get to Fort Point, from Lincoln Blvd. which cuts through the Presidio, take Long Ave. (a turnoff that can be easy to miss) down the hill. This becomes Marine Drive veering to the left at the bottom of the hill, and leads to Fort Point, with parking on Marine Drive as well as in the lot at Fort Point.
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Fort Point info link (National Park Service):
https://www.nps.gov/fopo/index.htm
Fort Point info link (Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy):
http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/fort-point.html
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy map link:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/map/#/visit/park-sites/fort-point.html?coords=14:37.8036:-122.4609
Distance:
If you park at Fort Point itself, or in a nearby parking spot on Marine Drive, you will not be covering a lot of linear walking distance. There are three floors plus the top level to explore, however, which means plenty of stairs and the option to walk a loop around each floor and the top level if you want extra exercise.
It is about 0.4 miles to walk from Fort Point to the Warming Hut at the other end of Marine Drive, so doing that walk out and back adds almost a mile of walking.
You can also park in the parking lot above the Fort Point turnoff (often quite full) and take the trail that parallels Long Ave. That makes for a scenic additional walk.
Considerations:
• Open Fort Point hours are currently noted as Friday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. This can change. Double check using one of the info links above.
• Even if the Fort Point gate is locked, you can still enjoy the astounding base view of the Golden Gate Bridge from outside the fort.
• Many people find the Presidio a confusing place to get around. Have a map. Streets are clearly marked, and the Fort Point turnoff is from a main road, Lincoln Blvd. Enjoy the scenery as you find your way.
• There are bathroom facilities just outside the Fort Point parking lot.
• There is a visitor center/gift shop inside Fort Point.
• The top level of the fort can get extremely windy. Hold onto your hat.
• If walking along Marine Drive, big surf at high tide can splash up across the road.
The trail:
This is not so much a trail walk as an active outing. We fell in love with the stunning view from under the Golden Gate Bridge before we had kids. We’d drive guests along the route past the Legion of Honor to get to Fort Point that Jimmy Stewart drives in the Hitchcock film, “Vertigo,” and then we’d show the ledge where Jimmy Stewart dives into the water to save Kim Novak’s character. Due to post 9/11 security, we can no longer walk along that part of the fort, but you can catch a glimpse from behind a fence.
With kids, Fort Point makes a great spot to get out and about even on a somewhat rainy day. There are lots of stairs to climb, long hallways full of historic exhibits to walk through, spiral stone stairwells to feel medieval in, and spooky dark shadows to explore in the empty corners of the fort.
Watching surfers dodge the rocks is another visual adventure. During the right season, you can see whales breaching right out under the bridge. Seals sometimes swim right up along shore on Marine Drive.
There are many nooks and crannies with historic information and objects, including cannons, a powder magazine, officer quarters and a kitchen. The long, Escher-esque indoor hallways lead through informational photo exhibits.
More than anything else, though, climbing to the top level offers amazing views. Standing right under the engineering stunner that is the Golden Gate Bridge never gets old. The views from under the bridge are postcard-worthy in every direction: The Marin Headlands at the other end of the bridge, the far western edge of San Francisco looking west to the wide Pacific, and Alcatraz, Angel Island, the San Francisco cityscape and the east bay in the distance looking east.
Even when we’re not up for a full on hike, we like to get outside somewhere, and Fort Point never disappoints.
(Fort Point Hike Notes originally paired with “Thanks to the Pied Pipers” 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
