Here’s Where We’re Hiking in the Bay Area This Summer

We love Muir Woods, but have you tried to find parking near there on a summer weekend? Yikes. So we’re looking for the path less traveled for our Bay Area jaunts this season. Check out these hiking trails courtesy of SF Curbed, even with a nifty map. Happy trails!

Pulgas Water Tower

Redwood City

Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy feeds SF its water, and the Pulgas Water Temple was built at the end as a monument to the new water system. It’s located within the watershed, just south of Crystal Springs reservoir. The site (and its parking lot) are only open to the public on Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., so plan accordingly.

Point Bonita

Sausalito

Point Bonita is still an active lighthouse in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Don’t let the short half-mile hike fool you—it requires passing through a tunnel carved by Chinese laborers in 1876 and crossing over the water on a suspension bridge. A free shuttle runs Saturdays and Sundays from a designated drop-off/pickup point inside the Marin Headlands, going directly to the lighthouse trail head.

Pillar Point Bluff

Half Moon Bay

The 140-acre bluff top has killer views of the whole coast, but also a direct view of the world-famous Mavericks surf break. It’s about half a mile offshore from the Pillar Point Air Force tracking station, but you’ll probably need binoculars to see anything. A parking lot is near the Jean Lauer trailhead.

Get more awesome hike ideas here.