Lake Merced East Walk
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: From Sunset Circle Parking Lot on Lake Merced Blvd. at Sunset Blvd., north trails on eastern section of Lake Merced looping to Middlefield Drive and back
Starting Point: Sunset Circle Parking Lot on Lake Merced Blvd. at Sunset Blvd., San Francisco
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Lake Merced Park information link (San Francisco Rec and Park):
https://sfrecpark.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Lake-Merced-Trail-58
Lake Merced Park information link (San Francisco Parks Alliance):
https://www.sfparksalliance.org/our-parks/parks/lake-merced
Map link:
Lake Merced trail map (San Francisco Rec and Park):
https://sfrecpark.org/DocumentCenter/View/5663/Lake-Merced-Trail-Info-PDF?bidId=
Distance:
Our trail walk started at the Sunset Circle Parking area at Lake Merced Blvd. at Sunset Blvd. We headed east, wound through trails following the contour of the lake, and then at Middlefield Drive, headed back to the starting point. The distance by car from the parking area to the junction with Middlefield Drive is under 0.5 miles, so our meandering walk along the trails by the lake and looping back is about 1.5 miles.
Considerations:
• The Sunset Circle parking area has quite a lot of parking capacity, but like anywhere else, tends to be fuller on weekends.
• There were port-a-potties at the parking lot during our visit. A public bathroom can be found with a short drive to the Harding Park/Lake Merced parking area.
• Poison oak shows up on many Bay Area trails. Having a medicinal scrub like Tecnu handy is a good idea.
• Pay attention to health and safety signs, including wildlife information signs.
• Street smarts: Never leave items in sight inside your car, even just a jacket, and be sure to lock vehicle.
The trail:
The parking area at Sunset and Lake Merced Blvd. is marked by the looming presence of a statue of historic figure on a horse. For this walk, go past the de Anza statue and find the stairway that leads down toward the lake.
Information signs and benches mark the paths along the lake. At the bottom of the stairs, we turned left and followed the path. At one point there’s a little wooden foot bridge extending over the water. The other end was closed by a gate, but the views of the water are nice from the small bridge.
We kept walking along the path after our bridge stop, going up the slight rise to street level. We walked along the roadside path that many walkers take, despite the traffic on Lake Merced Blvd.
When a path toward the lake opened to the right off the roadside path, we took that. There are no big hills to deal with, and walkers can enjoy a very rural, nature feel along these paths, despite being in San Francisco. The lake views are pretty, and you can see the trees lining the edge of the golf course across the water.
When our path looped up back toward the road, we were at the intersection of Middlefield Drive. Rather than the option of walking the whole way back on the roadside path, we took the nature paths a bit away from the road until we reached the spot where we had to walk that last short stretch back along the road to the parking area.
Keeping a sense of city street smarts with parking, etc. is always a necessity in urban areas, but Lake Merced offers lovely views over a short distance (or longer if walkers wish), with paths that are not steep or rough.
For another Presidio stair walk from this same area, also check out Lake Merced-Harding Park Stroll.
(Lake Merced East Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Get Up, Get Out” 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: From Sunset Circle Parking Lot on Lake Merced Blvd. at Sunset Blvd., north trails on eastern section of Lake Merced looping to Middlefield Drive and back
Starting Point: Sunset Circle Parking Lot on Lake Merced Blvd. at Sunset Blvd., San Francisco
Info links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser.
Lake Merced Park information link (San Francisco Rec and Park):
https://sfrecpark.org/Facilities/Facility/Details/Lake-Merced-Trail-58
Lake Merced Park information link (San Francisco Parks Alliance):
https://www.sfparksalliance.org/our-parks/parks/lake-merced
Map link:
Lake Merced trail map (San Francisco Rec and Park):
https://sfrecpark.org/DocumentCenter/View/5663/Lake-Merced-Trail-Info-PDF?bidId=
Distance:
Our trail walk started at the Sunset Circle Parking area at Lake Merced Blvd. at Sunset Blvd. We headed east, wound through trails following the contour of the lake, and then at Middlefield Drive, headed back to the starting point. The distance by car from the parking area to the junction with Middlefield Drive is under 0.5 miles, so our meandering walk along the trails by the lake and looping back is about 1.5 miles.
Considerations:
• The Sunset Circle parking area has quite a lot of parking capacity, but like anywhere else, tends to be fuller on weekends.
• There were port-a-potties at the parking lot during our visit. A public bathroom can be found with a short drive to the Harding Park/Lake Merced parking area.
• Poison oak shows up on many Bay Area trails. Having a medicinal scrub like Tecnu handy is a good idea.
• Pay attention to health and safety signs, including wildlife information signs.
• Street smarts: Never leave items in sight inside your car, even just a jacket, and be sure to lock vehicle.
The trail:
The parking area at Sunset and Lake Merced Blvd. is marked by the looming presence of a statue of historic figure on a horse. For this walk, go past the de Anza statue and find the stairway that leads down toward the lake.
Information signs and benches mark the paths along the lake. At the bottom of the stairs, we turned left and followed the path. At one point there’s a little wooden foot bridge extending over the water. The other end was closed by a gate, but the views of the water are nice from the small bridge.
We kept walking along the path after our bridge stop, going up the slight rise to street level. We walked along the roadside path that many walkers take, despite the traffic on Lake Merced Blvd.
When a path toward the lake opened to the right off the roadside path, we took that. There are no big hills to deal with, and walkers can enjoy a very rural, nature feel along these paths, despite being in San Francisco. The lake views are pretty, and you can see the trees lining the edge of the golf course across the water.
When our path looped up back toward the road, we were at the intersection of Middlefield Drive. Rather than the option of walking the whole way back on the roadside path, we took the nature paths a bit away from the road until we reached the spot where we had to walk that last short stretch back along the road to the parking area.
Keeping a sense of city street smarts with parking, etc. is always a necessity in urban areas, but Lake Merced offers lovely views over a short distance (or longer if walkers wish), with paths that are not steep or rough.
For another Presidio stair walk from this same area, also check out Lake Merced-Harding Park Stroll.
(Lake Merced East Walk Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Get Up, Get Out” 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
