Climbing to Twin Peaks’ grassy cap is an ultimate San Francisco urban hike.
Between the renowned attractions, rolling hills, natural vegetation and rugged scenery, urban hiking in San Francisco is a favorite activity in the City by the Bay. Visitors stumble upon secret stairwells lined by sandstone cliffs and rocky beauty along the coastline, but San Francisco holds so many secrets nature lovers are best off booking a hiking tour – an urban hiking tour that is.
One of the more well-known urban hikes is the challenging walk from Coit Tower to Russian Hill. Travelers start by ascending the steep set of Filbert Steps through a slice of temperate forest (wild parrot territory) and past terraced housing up to Coit Tower. From here, it’s down hill through North Beach until you get to Lombard Street and Russian Hill.
When hiking the Filbert Steps, keep your eyes peeled for a resident flock of wild parrots. Photo by Eliya/Flickr.
Hiking in the Presidio is great for history and culture buffs as well as outdoor adventurers. Relics from the former military post are evident from the red-roof army housing that’s been transformed into a hotel to the San Francisco National Cemetery. The Presidio is also a hotspot for San Francisco public art, most notably the Wood Line by Andy Goldsworthy, which snakes through the eucalyptus groves.
Travelers looking for a little more fresh air should take the Hills and Hidden Gems urban hiking tour, which mixes well known hills such as Twin Peaks with little known treasures like Tank Hill and the delightful Seward Street Slides. That’s right – slides.
Many more hikes exist outside the city center, whether you hit the coast or one of San Francisco’s many bay islands.
—Contributed by Serena Renner
Urban Hiking in San Francisco from San Francisco Things to Do