My favorite ways to get outside without leaving the city: coastal trails, hidden beaches and a few hills with the whole city below you. Most of these link up along the new Golden Gate Dozen trail. Sources: 7x7's Golden Gate Dozen guide, the Parks Con...
Map
Follow the old rail route along the cliffs through Lincoln Park. Stop at Eagle's Point for the bridge, then keep going to the Lands End Lookout.
Lands End Trail
The harder, prettier way from the Golden Gate Bridge down to Baker Beach. Steep stairs down the Presidio bluffs, about an hour, and worth every step.
Batteries to Bluffs Trail
Ruins of what was once the world's largest indoor swimming pool, right at the end of Lands End. Read up on the history at the Lookout, then climb around the old foundations.
Sutro Baths
Quiet park on the bluff above Sutro Baths where Adolph Sutro's estate used to be. Walk the old parapet for a big view down the length of Ocean Beach.
Sutro Heights
Hidden cove below Sea Cliff where Gold Rush-era Chinese immigrants once camped and fished. Usually calmer and emptier than Baker Beach next door.
China Beach, San Francisco
Flat, easy walk along the bay with the bridge in front of you the whole way. Stop at the Warming Hut for a Crissy Mocha, then keep going to Fort Point.
Crissy Field
Short trail up from Crissy Field with some of the closest views of the bridge towers, plus an overlook with benches. Keep going on the Coastal Trail if you want more.
Battery East Trail
Walk up from Midtown Terrace on the Marview Trail. It was redone this year with a smooth path and a rail fence, so it's no longer a muddy scramble. The whole city is below you at the top.
Twin Peaks
Sandy bluffs at the south end of the city, the last stop on the Golden Gate Dozen. Explore the old battery, watch the hang gliders and walk down to the beach.
Fort Funston
Classic view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the sand, with Battery Chamberlin at one end. Come at sunset and bring a layer, it gets windy.
