Best Flat Hikes: Marina Green to Fort Mason in San Francisco
Our Best Flat Hikes in Marin series of posts is always among the most read content on our Marin Hotels blog. To see why, click that Best Flat Hikes in Marin link, and you’ll find 14 of our favorite flat trails to experience the wild coastline, towering redwoods, mountaintops, and wide open vistas in Marin.
Even with the abundance of hiking trails in Marin, every so often we like to take a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge to visit San Francisco—our famous next door neighbor—to walk the most wonderful flat path along the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay.
We introduced you to this path a few months ago in our post titled Best Flat Hikes in Marin: Let’s Go Over the Golden Gate Bridge! And we’re going to start in the same place with our walk to Fort Mason by parking at East Beach at Crissy Field.
Getting To Crissy Field From Marin
Crissy Field is so close to Marin! Only 14 minutes from Acqua Hotel, 21 minutes from Mill Valley Inn, and 25 minutes from Waters Edge Hotel. Set your destination to East Beach in San Francisco and you’re on your way. There’s plenty of free parking at East Beach, and facilities near the parking area.
Walking To Fort Mason From Crissy Field
First up, details: This walk is just over 1.5 miles each way, for a total of about 3 miles round trip. Plan a couple of hours to allow plenty of time for photos, exploring Fort Mason, longer if you plan to have lunch there (more on that at the bottom of this post).
Okay, let’s start the walk! Instead of going toward the bridge as we outlined in our Crissy Field Promenade Flat Hike, the way to Fort Mason is away from the bridge. You’ll walk the path along Marina Boulevard where the San Francisco Bay dotted with marinas is to your left and stately mediterranean-style homes along the boulevard are to your right.
Join the walkers, bikers, and dogs on the easy and incredibly pleasant stroll towards Fort Mason. Along the way you may spot some sea lions playing in the water and sunning themselves on the docks. There are lots of benches positioned perfectly to enjoy the views of the boats, the bay, and the skyline.
You’re going to meander back to Crissy Field the same way, on the way back you may choose the path that is closer to the water to mix it up a bit. And you will experience amazing Golden Gate Bridge views on your way back!
Things To Do at Fort Mason
Pro-Tip and an excellent Date Idea: Plan ahead and make a reservation at world-famous vegetarian restaurant Greens. You can do no better than enjoying a meal in this special location and then walking back to Crissy Field after lunch. Trust us on this!
Be sure to walk the perimeter of the area for only-at-Fort Mason views of the Bay and the City. As you’re wandering around, you’ll see a few cafes, an art store, and on the weekends there are often events and art exhibits.
See you out there!
