Hamilton - Best Hikes Near San Francisco

Copyright 2009 by Morris Book Publishing, LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or by the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to The Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

Falcon and FalconGuides are registered trademarks of Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Interior photos by Linda Hamilton unless otherwise credited

Art page iii Shutterstock

Text design by Sheryl P. Kober

Maps created by Ben Pease Morris Book Publishing, LLC

ISBN 978-1-4930-0620-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

The author and The Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Contents

Preface

The two questions I hear most often as a hiking guide are: What makes your book different? Where can I hike in the Bay Area where no one else goes?

Two things make this book an essential addition to a Bay Area hikers library. One, the information for each hike is comprehensive, with maps, directions, contact information, in-depth descriptions, and other important information. Thats a FalconGuide!

The second thing that makes this book unique is the description of each hike, designed to bring the trails to life with stories of both their human and ecological history. I hope these stories enhance your sense of discovery and adventure on the trail.

To answer the second question, this guide contains more permit-only or permission-required hikes. The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), the Marin Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and other agencies in the Bay Area offer hiking on access-restricted trails. Some require a fee, others just a phone call. This red tape definitely keeps the masses away. Other ways to avoid the crowds are hiking on weekdays, during off-season, or in poor (but not dangerous) weather conditions that may keep others from venturing out.

Ocean Beach, San Francisco, on a sunny day Shutterstock

I feel lucky to have hiked in this area my whole life, since I became a hiker at the age of six. On that day, I was one mad six-year-old. Sitting cross-legged in a circle, I listened frustrated to the other first graders rattle off their religions. I didnt know what mine was. With hands on hips, I confronted my mother. To my surprise, our family had a religion, and she told me what it was. I couldnt wait to share this revelation at school.

The next day, when the topic came up again, I was ready. Pulling back my shoulders, I declared proudly, Im a pedestrian.

My mispronunciation has become the truth. Since I was six, walking has been my self-declared doctrine. I love the outdoors. So it is no wonder I wound up writing this book.

It seems an appropriate basis for a religion, if you think about it. Hiking feeds the spirit. Doctors write about its capacity to heal mind, body, and soul. Coexisting with the wilderness requires rules of behavior that translate well into positive ways of living. And I cant think of a prettier cathedral than a forest of 2,000-year-old redwood trees.

Born and raised in the East Bay, I watched the San Ramon Valley grow from scattered ranches and countryside to thriving cities and suburbsand traffic jams. People sometimes dont believe me when I tell them that we didnt know what a traffic backup was when I was first driving in 1981.

Many people associate hiking with wilderness areas like the Sierras, and not a major metropolitan region like the Bay Area. But right here, just beyond our cities, sandwiched between our towns, is a wild, diverse, and beautiful landscape.

Taking a closer look at the hills and trails I adore, I found the history and spirit of the San Francisco Bay Area embodied in its open space. Still alive in our parklands are the stories of peaceful native life, of exploration, of survival and destruction, of staking claim and prospering in a new land, of the tough physical existence of western living and the genteel traditions of the San Francisco elite.

I am grateful for the experience of creating Best Hikes Near San Francisco. I hope that in sharing this book, I can guide you to places of magic and beauty you can only see by foot. You too may join me in saying, Im proud to be a pedestrian.

Happy hiking!

Golden Gate Bridge, the symbol of San Francisco Shutterstock

Introduction

Welcome to the wild variety of hiking in the San Francisco Bay Area. No other metropolitan area in the world offers so much open space so close to a major city. Whether you like it wet, dry, high, low, perfectly level, or mountain goat steep, theres something nearby for you.

Hiking is a wonderful way to discover the beauty of the Bay Area. Beyond the daily commute, beyond the sleepy suburbs, beyond the familiar tourist attractions, there are places where no roads go, where you can look out at nothing but hillsides or ocean, or take in the sights of the city from a lofty perch. Reach out and touch the trunk of a giant redwood or stick your hand into cool creek water, and you can almost feel the rich history of this place. The trails in this guide lead you to roaring waterfalls, silent glades, and wind-whipped mountaintops. Theyll show you quiet meadows covered with wildflowers and swarming with butterflies, and deep, verdant forests where ferns grow lush and colossal trees stand like pillars holding up the sky. And theyll take you to places to breathe anew.

The purpose of this guide is to offer readers an opportunity to explore the San Francisco Bay Areas many facets. It was hard to create a perimeter for the hikes. The beauty of Northern California continues in all directions. Nonetheless, the epicenter, if you will, is the San Francisco Bay Bridge, and all the hikes, with only a couple exceptions, are within an hour and a halfs weekend drive from there one way. Within this range, the book features the most diverse, exhilarating, and beautiful hikes around the bay, hikes that do justice to the regions history, natural diversity, and character. The hikes are geared for every level of experience, some with options for families and longer treks. Though all are day hikes, many chapters provide ideas for exciting overnight excursions.