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.

Skyline view from Coyote Ridge Trail
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

1.52 miles round-trip
Running along Coyote Ridge, this trail presents visitors with panoramic, eye-popping views of San Francisco, the Pacific, the rolling hills and valleys of the Marin Headlands , and, on clear days, even Mt. Diablo far to the east. This trail can be reached by a number of trails from Muir...
Fawn strikes a pose in the brush
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

2.08 miles round-trip
While on the Fox Trail, breathing heavily as you reach the summit and its gorgeous views, you may notice a doe and her two fawns grazing in the grasslands.
Nike Missile Site
Hiking
  • Hikes
Starting at road's end in Tennessee Valley , the route starts towards the beach but soon picks up the Coastal Trail and ascends steeply up Wolf Ridge. Staying mostly on the high ridge back, it gives great sweeping views of the Golden Gate Recreation Area, Mt. Tamalpais , the Pacific,...
Green Gulch Farm
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

2.82 miles round-trip
To get to the trailhead, you'll need to make your way into the Green Gulch Farm. Go past the left side of the farm, and you'll start an ascent. You'll be working around to the eastern slope of the hill, then as you come back around toward the west you'll...
Rendering of the proposed Marincello development in the Marin Headlands
Trail

Length

2.90 miles round-trip
Named for an ill-fated residential development called Marincello, this trail tracks along what was supposed to be the main thoroughfare of the failed 1960s-era project. Here both the Pacific and the Bay are visible from the narrow ridgeback. Stay right on the rocky wide road down the short 0.3 mile...
View over Green Gulch
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

3.68 miles round-trip
Middle Green Gulch Trail is a 4.1-mile loop trail located near Sausalito, California that offers scenic views. The trail is rated as moderate and offers a number of activity options. Horses are also able to use this trail.
View over Tennessee Valley toward the beach and ocean
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

2.61 miles round-trip
Best used in the downhill, northerly direction into Tennessee Valley . From the junction with the Miwok Trail - Bunker Road to Wolf Ridge, the trail starts fairly level, crossing several wood bridges with nice views over Tennessee Valley out to the Pacific Ocean. Dropping from the ridge, it gets...
Pirates Cove Trail
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

2.92 miles round-trip
Picture just you, the chaparral, the crashing waves, the sky, and a trail that runs along the rugged coast just south of Muir Beach. The Pirate's Cove Trail is probably what you've been imagining. From the north, connect to this trail from a section of the Coastal Trail at Muir...
Western brush rabbit
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

1.43 miles round-trip
This short and simple trail is often overlooked, despite being a wonderful access trail that is sometimes utilized by cyclists coming out of the Tennessee Valley.
Habitat restoration volunteers work on Alta Ridge
Trail
Difficulty: Easiest

Length

1.39 miles round-trip
The Rodeo Avenue Trail begins with a series of switchbacks. It seems that every time you come around one of these turns you are looking at a different forest. Eucalyptus, tall and full, then the yellow Acacia followed immediately by the cypress grove and near the top, a mix of...
Tennessee Valley trail
Hiking
  • Hikes
Tucked in the Marin Headlands, Tennessee Valley opens a clear plain to the ocean through the scrub and grasses.
Alta Trail
Trail
Difficulty: Very Strenuous

Length

5.70 miles round-trip
Within the blissfully remote Marin Headlands , Tennessee Valley has become a prime destination spot for casual hikers, bikers, and riders. Down the valley, mountainous sentinels stand guard over a tiny idyllic beach and a sensational framed view of the Pacific. But to experience the lonesome solidarity that nature can...

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