The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most recognized bridges in the world. Painted in its famous orange color, this icon is seen from the Fisherman’s Wharf area. The bridge connects San Francisco and Marin County along highway 101. This was once the largest suspension bridge in the world. The steel girders were built in my hometown. Bethlehem Steel is listed on the construction plaque on the bridge.

I entered the visitor center from the San Francisco side. The bridge is even more impressive up close. Make sure you bring a jacket if you plan on walking the span of the bridge. It is 1 mile long and it gets very windy especially at mid span. You have a great view looking out both ways, one way the Pacific Ocean and the other the spectacular view of the city, Alcatraz and Angle Island. The bridge is notorious for suicides. The eerie thing about walking the bridge is all the suicide and help signs located along the span. Thirty four suicides were reported for 2006. After walking the bridge pull out of the parking lot and make a left and view the bridge from below. You get another prospective.

Take the drive across, the toll is only $4 round trip. There is another viewing point from this side.

I would not suggest taking a tour. My first visit I drove out on my own and the second time I took a tour and you only have 10 minutes to see the bridge. This does not give you time to walk the span of the bridge. Another way to see the bridge and is very popular is renting a bike and riding across. All over the wharf area are places to rent bikes.

A San Francisco trip would not be complete if you did not visit The Golden Gate Bridge. This is a must see site. You will never get tired of looking at this. The bridge has an all new look when the fog rolls in. This bridge is a photographers dream to photograph. I could not get enough shots of it.

The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most recognizable man-made structures in the United States. It's hard to think of an America without the Golden Gate, but the bridge has only been connecting Marin County to points north since 1937. In under 70 years its iconic Art Deco shape painted "International Orange" has become timeless. The 1.7-mile span over the opening of the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean has been crossed by over 1 billion people over the years. It's impossible to say what San Francisco would be like without it.

I must admit I was quite disappointed with the Golden Gate Bridge before I went to visit it. For the week before I went to the visitor center and crossed over the bridge itself, I could never even see the structure due to the thick fog that forms around it each and every day. I had seen the orange structure in movies and television shows, but I was very dismayed when I could not see it for myself. The fog is formed by the warm and humid Pacific air meeting the cold water of the bay almost at the point where the bridge spans. This is the reason why the bridge was painted the orange color to begin with.

When I did visit the visitor center (open from 8:30am to 7:30pm each day) on the Marin County side of the bridge, I was pleasantly surprised by the interesting facts and history that surround the structure. I wasn't quite as let down about not being able to see the bridge anymore. What I found particularly interesting was the information about painting and work on the bridge, which is continuously ongoing. These workers brave the fog and extreme heights to keep the roads and structure safe without having to close it down ever for repairs.

When I finally did leave Marin County by crossing the Golden Gate Bridge itself, I was even more pleasantly surprised. Though you could not see the bridge unless you were on it that day due to the fog, it was quite striking to see the beautiful orange Art Deco towers emerging from the mist as you made your way over. Though I never did get to see the bridge in its entirety from the distance, the trip over it more than made up for this.

Opened in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge is quite possibly San Francisco's most famous landmark. The massive 1.7-mile structure crosses the mouth of San Francisco Bay, connecting the city to Marin County to the north. The bridge not only provides a vital link in the area's highway system, but it also is a major tourist destination - each year thousands of people make the trip to visit the bridge and admire it's enormous art deco-styled structure.

Despite several previous trips to San Francisco, I had not actually been to the Golden Gate Bridge until my Labor Day 2003 trip. I'm surprised it took my fourth trip to the city for me to finally visit the bridge, as large suspension bridges have always fascinated me. Despite multiple trips to the Tacoma Narrows, Fred Hartman, and San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridges, I had somehow never managed to make it to the Golden Gate. So, my first trip was somewhat of a pilgrimage, but it will definitely not be my last.

Getting to the bridge without a rental car takes a little time, but is not that difficult, as the Muni nos. 28 and 29 bus routes go directly to the southern end of the bridge and the visitor's center. The bridge is also reachable via Golden Gate Transit buses, which cross the bridge into Marin County.

The bridge can be driven across if you have a car, but you may also walk across the bridge on the east sidewalk. Bicyclists may also cross the bridge on the sidewalks, using the east sidewalk at night and during the day, and the west sidewalk during evening rush hours. Information on biking across the bridge is available on the Golden Gate Bridge website.

My travel companion and I chose to walk about halfway across the bridge. I actually wanted to continue the rest of the way to the northern end of the bridge and back, but his feet were sore from walking, and it was rather cold on the day we visited. Walking out onto the bridge is quite an experience, especially for those of us with a fear of heights. The bridge is approximately 220 feet above the water, and is so massive that it makes the ships passing below look like toys. Fortunately the sidewalk is wide, and, if you choose to walk close to the roadway, the vertigo I experienced looking over the guardrail to the bay below was nonexistent.

When visiting the bridge, be sure to take a jacket, even if the weather downtown is warm. On the day we visited, downtown San Francisco was sunny and mild, but the area around the bridge was shrouded in fog, with a stiff wind and air temperature of about 55° F. These weather conditions are not atypical, and tourists who were there in t-shirts and shorts were truly suffering.

For more information on the bridge's history and planning your visit to this San Francisco icon, see the Golden Gate Bridge website.

The famous Golden Gate Bridge, distinguished by its unique 'International Orange' paint, truly is a phenomenal structure. After a long week of sedentary work in the office, a friend of mine and I decided to walk across this historic bridge for a little exercise and fresh air. We certainly got both, walking two miles each way, with heavy winds. Luckily, the sun was still shining to offset the blasts of air that twice blew my cap off (no, I wasn't angry). Anyway, plenty of tourists as well as locals who want to exercise may be found at this monument. The view of the cityscape and the ocean from the bridge (and from either end) is amazing, especially on a sunny day. Although I generally don't like fog (I believe I mentioned this earlier), it was especially picturesque to see it moving from the Pacific towards the downtown area of SF.

I cannot really recall when I first became aware of San Francisco or the desire to visit this beautiful city, but I guess I must have seen pictures of the international orange Golden Gate Bridge sometime when I was small. Movies such as The Birds and Dirty Harry I only saw in my mid-twenties, while living in Japan (it is possible to see these movies at least three times per year, being broadcasted at all hours on Japan’s various networks). Finally seeing the bridge really made my day, and after many trips, I still enjoy both seeing and crossing the bridge as much as I did the first time.

Fact File:

Opened:
1937

Construction Cost:
$35 million ($1.2 billion in today’s money!)

Length:
1.7 miles

Suspension span:
4,200 feet

Towers:
746 feet

Toll:
$5 per car, southbound only

The Golden Gate Bridge connects San Francisco and Marin Head County to the north. It can be seen from many vantage points inside the city, but I prefer the views close up from the Marin Heads, looking back towards the city. Here a road with the most amazing views of the bridge, city, and Pacific Ocean hugs the hillside. Several vista points are available. I prefer the stops closest to the bridge, where it seems almost within touching distance. Driving further along the road, the panorama becomes wider, with the bridge increasingly playing a smaller part in the larger overall picture (the photos below were taken from the third and second viewing points. The first was slightly crowded, and we were in a hurry elsewhere).

To get to this road, turn right at the end of the Golden Gate Bridge when driving from San Francisco. Ignore the crowded vista point immediately next to the road and turn left at the first opportunity. Cross underneath the highway and then turn left again and veer to the right (or return straight back onto the bridge!). From here, enjoy the curvy road and several viewing points. If in a hurry, turn back before the road becomes one-way only. The one-way section starts with a dramatic, very steeply sloped road that gives the impression that you are going to plunge into the Pacific Ocean – a feeling enhanced when you are not yet accustomed to the rather soft feel of the rental car’s brake pedal. However, after this dramatic moment, the views are not particularly good, and the return to the main road is via uninspiring but dead-slow back roads through this nature conservation area. However, if planning to get out of the car and walk, do continue and enjoy the views on the walk to Point Bonita Lighthouse