Ocean Beach – North End
(scroll to bottom for photo gallery)
Location: Ocean Beach, far west edge of the Richmond District and Sunset District of San Francisco. Ocean Beach stretches from just south of the Cliff House and Seal Rocks to around the San Francisco Zoo.
Starting Point: Great Highway, starting from Balboa Street and heading south to Lincoln or maybe as far as Noriega. There is no official “north and south Ocean Beach.” I’m arbitrarily splitting this into what we consider to be the north half of Ocean Beach for our own walks. There is free beach parking along the Great Highway starting from Balboa Street.
Info/Links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links are sometimes changed at the source unexpectedly. We do our best to update.)
National Park Service Ocean Beach info link:
https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/oceanbeach.htm
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Ocean Beach info link:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/ocean-beach.html
Distance:
Ocean Beach is about 3.5 miles between the north and south ends. We typically walk about a mile from the north end and then make our way back, for a two mile round trip walk. The nice thing about beach walks is you can make them as long or short as you want.
Considerations:
• Ocean Beach is notorious for dangerous riptides and currents. Our hearts sink every time we see fire trucks at the beach, because someone has usually been pulled out to sea. Pay attention to warning signs, and do not turn your back on waves. This beach is best left to experienced surfers, for those who wish to catch waves.
• The Beach Chalet Soccer Fields has toilet facilities. Up the hill past the Cliff House is the Lands End Lookout visitor center, which also has toilet facilities. There are also public toilets along the inner Great Highway at Judah, and then further south at Taraval and Sloat.
• Weather is often chilly and foggy, but there are also hot, sunny days. Layers are always a good option.
• Ocean Beach, the Great Highway, and the western end of Golden Gate Park bear the brunt of countless big events such as running races and huge concerts (not to mention the Corgi Convention!). Check traffic or event listings to avoid a traffic trap.
• Rules about fires on the beach as well as dog leash issues and wildlife protection change over time. Check the general links above for updated information on these and other issues.
• The stairwells along the beach parking lot leading down to the beach are numbered. We learned years ago that it helps to remember which stairwell number our car was parked near.
The trail:
Walking on Ocean Beach can be whatever you want it to be: a sidewalk stroll looking out at the shore, a walk in dry sand along the dunes away from the water, or a wet sand walk dodging the ever changing water line.
Or you can just plop down on the sand for a long think or even a nap.
There is no “trail” on the beach, but the natural tendency is to walk parallel to the shore.
Surfers, kite surfers, kite flyers, walkers, runners… Kids playing in the sand, families having picnics, people playing catch or volleyball. There’s something for everyone.
Our favorite activity is simply to walk. The dry sand offers a certain kind of leg exercise and the wet sand offers another.
We also like climbing up into the dunes for a good view.
On the very north end, under the cliffs below the Cliff House, is a small cave. This is only accessible at very low tide. It’s fun to walk through and possible to pass through the narrow end and emerge on some rocks, but caution is always in order even in the tamest of caves, especially when there are tide levels and waves to be considered.
The views toward the north include the Marin Headlands, with several points of land standing out as you look further west along the Marin shore. On days with the clearest visibility, you can see all the way to Chimney Rock in Point Reyes, several jutting landmarks out to the left.
On a really clear day, the silhouette of the distant Farallon Islands rise above the horizon.
On almost any day, foggy or not, big ships are visible making their way to or from the Golden Gate for stops in the bay.
A short steep walk up the sidewalk above the beach offers stops at the giant camera obscura under the Cliff House, the Cliff House restaurant and visitor shop, and a further turn up to the Lands End Lookout visitor center if you want to adventure past the beach.
(Ocean Beach - North End Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Home Turf” 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: Ocean Beach, far west edge of the Richmond District and Sunset District of San Francisco. Ocean Beach stretches from just south of the Cliff House and Seal Rocks to around the San Francisco Zoo.
Starting Point: Great Highway, starting from Balboa Street and heading south to Lincoln or maybe as far as Noriega. There is no official “north and south Ocean Beach.” I’m arbitrarily splitting this into what we consider to be the north half of Ocean Beach for our own walks. There is free beach parking along the Great Highway starting from Balboa Street.
Info/Links:
For all web links, if a link doesn’t jump directly, copy and paste into browser. (Information links are sometimes changed at the source unexpectedly. We do our best to update.)
National Park Service Ocean Beach info link:
https://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/oceanbeach.htm
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Ocean Beach info link:
http://www.parksconservancy.org/visit/park-sites/ocean-beach.html
Distance:
Ocean Beach is about 3.5 miles between the north and south ends. We typically walk about a mile from the north end and then make our way back, for a two mile round trip walk. The nice thing about beach walks is you can make them as long or short as you want.
Considerations:
• Ocean Beach is notorious for dangerous riptides and currents. Our hearts sink every time we see fire trucks at the beach, because someone has usually been pulled out to sea. Pay attention to warning signs, and do not turn your back on waves. This beach is best left to experienced surfers, for those who wish to catch waves.
• The Beach Chalet Soccer Fields has toilet facilities. Up the hill past the Cliff House is the Lands End Lookout visitor center, which also has toilet facilities. There are also public toilets along the inner Great Highway at Judah, and then further south at Taraval and Sloat.
• Weather is often chilly and foggy, but there are also hot, sunny days. Layers are always a good option.
• Ocean Beach, the Great Highway, and the western end of Golden Gate Park bear the brunt of countless big events such as running races and huge concerts (not to mention the Corgi Convention!). Check traffic or event listings to avoid a traffic trap.
• Rules about fires on the beach as well as dog leash issues and wildlife protection change over time. Check the general links above for updated information on these and other issues.
• The stairwells along the beach parking lot leading down to the beach are numbered. We learned years ago that it helps to remember which stairwell number our car was parked near.
The trail:
Walking on Ocean Beach can be whatever you want it to be: a sidewalk stroll looking out at the shore, a walk in dry sand along the dunes away from the water, or a wet sand walk dodging the ever changing water line.
Or you can just plop down on the sand for a long think or even a nap.
There is no “trail” on the beach, but the natural tendency is to walk parallel to the shore.
Surfers, kite surfers, kite flyers, walkers, runners… Kids playing in the sand, families having picnics, people playing catch or volleyball. There’s something for everyone.
Our favorite activity is simply to walk. The dry sand offers a certain kind of leg exercise and the wet sand offers another.
We also like climbing up into the dunes for a good view.
On the very north end, under the cliffs below the Cliff House, is a small cave. This is only accessible at very low tide. It’s fun to walk through and possible to pass through the narrow end and emerge on some rocks, but caution is always in order even in the tamest of caves, especially when there are tide levels and waves to be considered.
The views toward the north include the Marin Headlands, with several points of land standing out as you look further west along the Marin shore. On days with the clearest visibility, you can see all the way to Chimney Rock in Point Reyes, several jutting landmarks out to the left.
On a really clear day, the silhouette of the distant Farallon Islands rise above the horizon.
On almost any day, foggy or not, big ships are visible making their way to or from the Golden Gate for stops in the bay.
A short steep walk up the sidewalk above the beach offers stops at the giant camera obscura under the Cliff House, the Cliff House restaurant and visitor shop, and a further turn up to the Lands End Lookout visitor center if you want to adventure past the beach.
(Ocean Beach - North End Hike Notes were originally paired with the “Home Turf” 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
