I Hiked the SF Crosstown Trail!

One of my San Francisco bucket list activities was to hike the SF Crosstown Trail. This urban hike meanders through a dozen incredible neighborhoods, hitting up hidden parks, gardens, stairways, lookout points, two lakes, and more.

Doing the hike was particularly important to me when I was diagnosed in February with tendinitis and minor arthritis in my knees. A major PT goal was to build up enough strength to be able to do this 17 mile hike and not feel totally wrecked.

As a precaution, I decided to do the hike in two stages, which I think was the right choice. I did the first two-thirds of the route with my friend Kenny, who’s an impressive athlete and great documentarian of any adventure. On a very hot Wednesday, on my actual birthday, we started way out in Candlestick Park at about 10am. It took us four and a half hours to cover about 12 miles from there back to my home in the inner sunset.

Along the way, we went through the neighborhoods of Bay View, Visitation Valley, Portola, Glen Park, Twin Peaks and the Inner Sunset. Glen Canyon Park was particularly beautiful, so wooded and quiet it was hard to believe you were still in a major metropolis.

*First leg of SF Crosstown Trail (about 12-13 miles)*

I was happy to get home and still feel like I had some gas in the tank.

Today, Sunday July 7th, we did the final six mile leg from the Inner Sunset to Land’s End. This time, I picked up several more friends to do the hike with me — Diane, Jodie, Kacie, Cassidy, Kenny (again) and Mimi for a brief bit! It was a bit slower going with a bigger group, but also more bonding time.

For this route, we meandered through Golden Gate Park (accidentally circling Blue Heron Lake twice!), walked through the Richmond District, went around Mountain Lake, gawked at the mansions in Sea Cliff (including Robin William’s former residence), and ended up at Land’s End.