Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Golden Gate National Recreation Area is one of the most vast National Parks, going as far south as San Francisco’s Fort Mason, and as far north as Pt. Reyes Station. Pt. Reyes National Seashore is part of it. It encompasses the Earthquake Trail, Drake’s Beach, the iconic lighthouse, Tomales Bay and Bolinas Lagoon, along with the Marin headlands. It’s a geologically fascinating place as the San Andreas Fault forms the Olema Valley of the Pt. Reyes Peninsula. There’s plenty of hiking. A spectacular urban/​rural setting.

Better views of the Golden Gate from this angle. This place great and I’d make it a stop everytime I visit if time allows.
A couple of things to keep in mind.
— its free which means it’s packed.
— the drive up could be scary for those not accustomed to driving on a two lane road with such huge changes of grade.
— it gets packed but don’t be discouraged. You get great views right away which is probably why most stop at the first lot they see but parking could be difficult in those areas.
— The true beauty is reaching the top. Its also where there’s a tunnel to view the beach side of the area. There’s also a single one way lane road to drive down to Black Sand beach and the lighthouse. Once you’ve gone that far you could just jump on the local streets to get to your next destination.

I experienced the golden gate bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge did have some beautiful scenery around the Bridge it was nice and cool but the thing that I really didn’t like traffic and I hate the toll roads they charge you to use the bridge they say they use that money to remodel street and the bridge. I have not seen that bridge remodeled since it was built so where is all that money going too. And it doesn’t take all that money to do repairs to that bridge there’s a lot of people that drive through that bridge in a daily basis Bridge looks like s*** streets in San Francisco are all f***** up horrible ugly city. And that’s my opinion

Not much to see alas. We did the loop around the Marin headlands. I can’t say it was disappointing, since the thick fog and excess of tourists was entirely predictable for June, as well as the stiff wind.
Still, some glimpses of Land’s End and other parts of the Peninsula. Perhaps a repeat later in the year would be worthwhile.

Great trails to hike, run and bike on, you just need to try them out and see what you like best! Tourist traffic can be problematic but it is worth figuring that out. This is a gorgeous area, even when the fog rolls in and cools things down or limits the views. If you get outside the fog, you can see it dance over the hills and that is beautiful to watch.

Go take a stroll around Golden Gate! It is such a large park, and there’s so many things to see! We stumbled upon an Angler fishing club as well as small bison area! Also, the man made lake is pretty cool. Overall, great place for a nice tranquil walk. I wish I was in the city more so I could run a few miles around it!

I absolutely loved Golden Gate National Rec Area. I can’t imagine it gets much more beautiful than this! The hike to Point Bonita Lighthouse was great as well! So amazing!

There is no other place like this in the US. Most of it is FREE (except for Alcatraz). GGNRA is a flurry of parks to see starting south of SF to the Marin Headlands. You can be in SF and 15 min drive to Marin you’re in wilderness. I don’t know of any city that combines urban living within being in the redwoods. The views are heaven on earth.

The GGNRA is the best part of the SF Bay Area. The views are outstanding, and you can’t believe that you are seeing such beauty. From the bridges to the Headlands, it’s all filled with hiking trails, photo ops, and adventure.

More beautiful than if a Claude Monet painting and a Pablo Picasso masterpiece slept together, to spawn some interpicture baby portrait.
Really breathtaking.
Closing out my reviews of San Francisco is the gorgeous Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
After great meal, figured I’d say goodbye to this amazing city by checking out some historical landmarks. Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, checking out the high mountain points in the Recreation Area and the Full House house. (Oh that crazy Tanner family)
As great as it was to see where the Tanner’s fictionally lived, this was the most amazing thing to see on my trip.
Once you drive up the hill for awhile, you can start hiking up. Went up a bit and got to see some amazing views of everything.
It was an unbelievable view of the entire city. Nice way to peace out and say goodbye.
Thank you San Francisco, for such an wonderful time!

What a cool natural place right outside of San Francisco! This National Recreation area is located not far from San Francisco. In fact, one of the borders is just right outside the Golden Gate Bridge and it spans all the way up to part of Point Reyes! It’s huge and just driving the whole length can take about 1 hour, part of it is because the roads can get really windy and you cannot drive all that fast. We drove through this, but didn’t have time to really make many stops as we spent most of the day at Point Reyes and were on a schedule to get into town. The only point we stopped at was Point Vista (you can read my review on that for more info).
The drive throughout is beautiful and you feel like you are in another world. There are lots of trails to take, and so many beaches to stop at along the way. The famous John Muir woods is also here and it has it’s own visitor center as well. I’m not sure if you have to pay for parking, but I didn’t notice anything about fees.
This area is huge and spans through a few cities and there are small towns in between too. They are very cute. Who knew you could practically travel to another world without going far away at all! The views are gorgeous! The pacific is so beautiful! There are many places you can pull out to look at the scenery, so please do that if you are driving! Don’t try to look as you drive because that is VERY dangerous! I wish we had more time to stop at the many beaches and to do some hikes. Next time! I will be back! When going through this, I think it’s best to take your time, hike, and enjoy the sights!

Gorgeous views

My heart belongs in San Francisco and this place is one of the reasons why. There are few cities in the world with such close proximity to nature and the wild. It never fails to mesmerize and one can truly get lost and meander the day away enjoying the vistas and sights. The majesty of this place cannot be understated, there’s so much to explore and it never becomes unexciting. If I’m ever lacking motivation with my photography, I come to this place to gain inspiration because this place is one of the most photogenic places on earth.

GGNRA… GOGA…or Golden Gate National Recreation Area is epic! This park is made up of many… Alcatraz, Muir Woods, Marin Headlands, Crissy Field, The Presidio, Fort Point, Lands End, Milagra Ridge, Mori Point, Rancho Corral del Tierra, Bolinas Ridge, Fort Mason, Ocean Beach, Stinson Beach, Olema Valley, Tennessee Valley, Fort Miley, Sutro Heights, Fort Funston, and now Golden Gate Bridge… and there’s probably even MORE places!
All of them are awesome and all of them protect special places in San Francisco and the United States history and also offers swimming, hiking, biking, accessible trails, birdwatching, swimming, surfing, tidepooling, tours, talks, visitor centers, shopping, boat rides, and much more. No less than 5 stars!
You can certainly find something you’ll enjoy in Golden Gate.

GGNRA covers a large region from near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco thru Muir Woods. It might even cover near Point Reyes but I can’t be sure. Definitely a lot of great places for sighseeing, hiking, or relaxing in a car looking towards a scenic view.

Why San Francisco is one of the greatest cities in the entire country. I never feel like I need to «get out of the city» because you can get out of the city w/​o actually ever leaving. One of the best things of this place, and makes me wonder if there’s another place that can even come close to it.

I love SF.
The views are amazing regardless of where you are in the GG National Recreation Area, and even under less than ideal weather conditions (even fog, which cloaks everything in chilly dreaminess).
Make sure you explore both sides of the bridge! I especially like the views you get of GGB and the city from the Marin headlands. And definitely check it out at different hours of the day and night– seeing GGB aglow with commuter headlights with SF glittering in the background is just magical.
Love love love!

Excellent vistas, even with fog. You know you’re at the right spot when you see a row of amateur artists reproducing the view on canvas.
More interesting than the view, for me, was the Nike missile installation. Very enthusiastic veterans from when the site was active are at each attraction, offering quite biased color commentary on those durn Reds and how «we» got ‘em dead to rights with our missiles.
Seriously though, really nice volunteers offer tons of interesting data on the installation from obvious to very technical detail. Riding the missile elevator was fun, and a surprising benefit; how someone hasn’t pinched their finger and sued the exhibit into being off-​limits I don’t know, but I’m so glad they haven’t!
Good thing these weapons were never deployed. They’re where they belong: disarmed and on display as a reminder of how stupid humanity can be.

THIS is why I love where I live.
There’s a reason why the GG bridge and surrounding trails/​views make for the 2^nd most visited spot in CA.
If I ever hear someone complaining of the weather, I remind them of the obvious — we are so spoiled.
Get out there and enjoy people. Stop reading this and head over.

One of the things I love most about San Francisco is the proximity of the wild place. Few other large cities have this much nature so close to urban.
Its 6:30 AM and 20 minutes from the city center — Point Bonita. Now I’m standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and surrounded by rutting dear (1 doe and 4 bucks fighting, eating, watching, living) — phenomenal. One daybreak hour of wind, cliffs, surf, deer, birds, conifer and eucalyptus. Soul food.