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Activities in the Parks

Activities in the Parks

Can’t Choose Your Own Adventure? Start Here and Go!

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Picturesque landscapes abound in the Golden Gate National Parks

Paul Myers/Parks Conservancy

With hundreds of miles of trails threading through 37 distinct sites across 80,000 acres of the Golden Gate National Parks, it can be hard to decide where to go and what to do. Let the Parks Conservancy’s experts be your guide! We’ve carefully curated our favorite hikes, walks, and excursions to share with you and your loved ones. There’s something (and some place) for everyone! We reveal some of the natural wonders and historical highlights you’ll experience along the way, but there are plenty more surprises for you to discover. So browse below, then grab your boots and backpack. Your national parks are waiting.

Rodeo Lagoon view toward Marin Headlands Visitor Center
Lagoon Loop Trail
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 3.18 miles round trip

Rodeo Lagoon offers habitat for birds, butterflies, and bobcats—as well as miles of backcountry and coastal trails.

Lands End
Lands End Loop
Difficulty Level: Moderately Strenuous
Trail Length: 3.10 miles round trip

A morning outing to Lands End provides about as much wilderness as can be found in San Francisco; the beauty is so stunning, it's easy to miss the ghosts. But walk a few minutes under the thick mantle of Monterey cypress and they'll appear.

Sunset through the cypress at Lands End
Lands End Loop

A morning outing to Lands End provides about as much wilderness as can be found in San Francisco.

Rancho Corral de Tierra
Le Conte Trail
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 0.82 miles round trip

At the end of Le Conte Avenue in Montara, near Farallone View Elementary School, you'll come to the start of the Le Conte Trail. Passing through coastal meadows, this short trail connects you to longer trails that snake across the sprawling Rancho Corral de Tierra.

Cypress trees in fog at Lands End
Legion of Honor Trail
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 0.24 miles round trip

This short connector trail links the main Coastal Trail thoroughfare across Lands End to El Camino del Mar, near the Legion of Honor art museum. 

A part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Legion of Honor houses a vast collection of ancient and European art in a

San Francisco garter snake
Lishumsha Trail
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 0.38 miles round trip

The Lishumsha Trail takes visitors from the flat Old Mori Road Trail up the hill toward the blufftops at Mori Point.

"Lishumsha" is the local Ohlone Native word for "garter snake"--an allusion to the endangered San Francisco garter snake that is protected at Mori Point, and which is making

Lobos Creek Trail boardwalk
Lobos Creek Trail
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 0.68 miles round trip

Before San Francisco became the bustling city we know today, a large part of it was made up of coastal sand dunes. With the development of San Francisco over two centuries, much of the native landscape no longer exists.

Douglas iris in Phleger Estate
Lonely Trail
Difficulty Level: Moderately Strenuous
Trail Length: 3.40 miles round trip

Logged during the 19th century, the area is especially popular now with equestrians.

Intersection of the Lost Trail and Canopy View Trail
Lost Trail
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 1.09 miles round trip

From the top descending into Muir Woods National Monument, you'll find switchbacks, loose footing, and plenty of roots and branches and rocks to step over. The descent will take you through a fast-changing landscape.

Hikers explore a newly built segment of the Hawk Hill Trail
Marin Headlands Lookouts and Hawk Hill
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Trail Length: 0.70 miles round trip

This hike will take you to the top of one of the most famous lookout spots in the Marin Headlands, and is an easy jaunt from San Francisco.

Get there by taking the twisty and scenic Conzelman Road, which offer many amazing lookout spots with ample parking.

Spectacular views of Golden Gate from the Marin Headlands
Marin Headlands Lookouts and Hawk Hill Hike

This hike will take you to the top of one of the most famous lookout spots in the Marin Headlands, and is an easy jaunt from San Francisco.

Get there by taking the twisty and scenic Conzelman Road, which offers many amazing lookout spots with ample parking.

Rodeo Valley
Marin Headlands Rodeo Beach Ramble
Difficulty Level: Moderately Strenuous
Trail Length: 7.80 miles round trip

Take Golden Gate 70/80 from Civic Center in San Francisco to Marin City transfer station. A short walk through a residential neighborhood will lead you to the Pacheco Fire Road trail head.