Activities in the Parks

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

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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.

Battery Alexander Trailhead
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

0.97 miles round-trip
This trail involves walking along a dirt trail through several Civil War-era military batteries near a cliff edge. It also includes several areas where terrain varies and involves stairs.
Battery Alexander near Battery Mendell
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

1.58 miles round-trip
This is a wide open pathway that gives access to bunkers, cliffs, beach, crashing waves and views in all directions. At the end, there is a little loop that looks down to the Rodeo Lagoon and Cronkhite Beach. Take the dog, let the kids explore, picnic, be in the wind...
Visitors cross the bridge to Point Bonita Light
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

1.10 miles round-trip
The walk down to Point Bonita Lighthouse is a hallmark Bay Area experience that offers panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge .
Views toward Fort Cronkhite from Battery Alexander
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

0.38 miles round-trip
This short trail segment connects Rodeo Beach with Battery Alexander, one of five powerful batteries built by the U.S. Army around the turn of the 20th century. Those guns, manned by soldiers at nearby Fort Barry, were emblematic of the "Endicott Period" of coastal defense technology.

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