"The Bay Area is so beautiful, I hesitate to preach about Heaven while I'm here."
~ Billy Graham
Ryan was up for the weekend so we wanted to do something fun. We also hadn't hung out with our other good friend Mike, so we decided we should enjoy the dryish spot we saw in the weather forecast with something outdoorsy.
Aaron turned me on to a website called Sosh.com that showcases fun things to do and new places to go in the Bay Area, and while surfing it the other day I found a suggested hike at Land's End, near where the ruins of Sutro Baths are. Nick and I visited the ruins for the first time last year, but never even realized such a cool trail existed literally just steps away.
The trail starts just above the Sutro ruins - there's even a parking lot. Today it wasn't crowded because of the rainy weather.
This trail is part of the California Coastal Trail, which is a network of public trails along the 1200-mile California coastline, from the Oregon Border to Mexico.
There are great informational signs at the beginning of the trail, with maps and suggestions on what to do and what to look for. The path we decided to take was to a place called "Eagle's Point", about a mile and a half away, and then we'd take a slightly different route back for a change of scenery.
We hadn't walked far before we saw a great spot to just sit and enjoy the surroundings. Even though the sun wasn't out, the view was still beautiful:
A good deal of the path was either paved, or packed solid, and there weren't that many big puddles or muddy spots. It was a very pleasant walk. There are a lot of little spots through the trees where you can catch more glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge. You forget that you're in San Francisco until you see it, but even then it's from a different perspective, and it's majestic every time.
Along the way, there are signs at points with more information about their historical significance. Did you know that hundreds of shipwrecks have occurred at the Golden Gate because large ships could not navigate the challenging conditions of the channel? The wrecks have been dynamited and mostly cleared away, but you can still see parts of them at low tide.
About halfway to Eagle's Landing, the trail becomes more "trail-like" - at a certain point bikes are no longer allowed because the trail isn't smooth, and there are stairs and other surface variations. But the views are still gorgeous.
Along this more secluded area of the trail, there were some off-limit paths off the main one, and more wildlife to be seen:
We made it to Eagle's Point and although it was raining, we were still having a lot of fun. We even stopped for a beverage break (thanks, Ryan!).
After reaching Eagle's Point, we took the El Camino del Mar path back down to where we started. As we were walking along, Nick noticed we were able to see our old trail below us. Super cool!
I had so much fun on this hike. I can just imagine how breathtaking the views are when the sun is out! Thanks so much to Nicky, Ryan, and Mike for hanging out today and going on this wet adventure with me through the rain! Awesome times! Twenty-TWOOO!!!
Related Links:
Land's End - Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
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