San Francisco just got a new trail: a roughly 13-mile route that starts at Crissy Field, hugs the bay, bends south along the entire oceanfront, and finishes out at Fort Funston, collecting a dozen national park sites on the way.
It's called the Golden Gate Dozen, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy unveiled it ahead of Fourth of July weekend as a fresh way to hike, bike, or run to 12 national park destinations without ever leaving the city.
Working with the National Park Service and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the Conservancy stitched the route together entirely from existing trails, sidewalks, and streets, so nothing new was paved; the parks were always here. The pitch is that most of us just never connected the dots between them.
The Golden Gate Dozen borrows the same idea as the Crosstown Trails, those designated routes that thread SF neighborhoods together using stairways, paths, and sidewalks you already walk. This one just happens to link national park land the whole way.
There is also, naturally, a mascot. The Conservancy went with a cartoon donut, and CEO Christine Lehnertz explained the branding logic to the Chronicle with the line of the year: "We didn't want to be the dirty dozen." A charismatic pastry it is.
The 12 stops, in order
Here's everything you'll tick off if you run the full route from north to south:
- Crissy Field. Start at the East Beach parking lot and take the mostly flat promenade through the marsh.
- Presidio Tunnel Tops. Swing by the Presidio Visitor Center, grab a layer for the inevitable wind, hit the food trucks, and soak up those wide-open bridge views.
- Fort Point. The free historic fort tucked directly under the bridge is packed with interactive exhibits and one very good photo angle. Detour to the Warming Hut for a Crissy Mocha if you need fuel.
- Golden Gate Bridge. No introduction required. Cross it, or just stop at the Welcome Plaza and keep moving.
- Baker Beach. Another postcard bridge view, plus the Sand Ladder down to the sand if you want to make it a beach day.
- The Presidio. You've technically been in it the whole time, so it counts; for the full experience, take the quick Lobos Creek Valley Trail detour through native dune habitat.
- China Beach. A quieter cove currently getting a makeover, with hidden views across to the Marin Headlands.
- Lands End. The Coastal Trail here traces the old railroad route to the "outerlands," with Ohlone and civil-rights history waiting at the Lookout.
- Sutro Baths. The haunting ruins of the old saltwater swimming palace; a good place to pause before the home stretch.
- Sutro Heights. Adolph Sutro's old public park, complete with lion statues (replicas of the originals, but we won't tell) and the Parapet overlook.
- Ocean Beach. The long, flat, sunset-soaked payoff. Give the Snowy Plovers a wide berth.
- Fort Funston. You made it. Reward yourself on the bluffs with hang gliders overhead and a truly excellent volume of off-leash dogs.
(BTW I seldom hear about China Beach, and it made me think of this)
The logistics
The full route runs about 13 miles; AllTrails clocks it at 12.7 as a point-to-point with roughly 870 feet of elevation gain, and pegs the walking time at around four and a half to five hours. It's rated moderate, which in practice means it's long rather than steep, with that brutal 5.7-mile Ocean Beach-to-Fort Funston finale doing most of the heavy lifting.
You don't have to do it all in one shot. The Conservancy is explicitly encouraging people to tackle it in chunks, dipping into a favorite stretch for an afternoon rather than committing to the whole cross-city march. And if you'd rather roll than walk, the entire thing is bikeable in a fraction of the time; cyclists hit all 12 sites, though you'll swap the footpath through Lands End for a slightly inland detour past the Legion of Honor.
The reward: finish (or just show up and claim it) and you can snag a limited-edition Golden Gate Dozen sticker. Mention that you're doing the trail to any Parks Conservancy staffer at the Presidio Visitor Center, the Warming Hut, or Lands End Lookout, and it's yours.
Getting there without a car: take the 30-Stockton, the 43-Masonic, or the Presidio GO shuttle up to the Presidio. From the Fort Funston finish, the 58-Lake Merced connects to Stonestown for the M-Ocean View, or you can double back to the Zoo and catch the L-Taraval.
Accessibility: the Conservancy has mapped out options for visitors of all abilities. Many segments, including the Crissy Field Promenade, are wheelchair-accessible; beach wheelchairs are available on request at Crissy Field, Baker Beach, and Ocean Beach; and there are tactile maps for blind and low-vision visitors at Fort Point and Lands End.
The Golden Gate Dozen just gives you a reason to string them into one very good, very foggy day. Complete it and you've earned the title the Conservancy is handing out: you're officially a Dozen-er, I guess. Given the mascot, it's like you bought a dirty dozen donuts in the morning and worked them off by the afternoon.
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