Description

During our road trip, while on our visit to San Francisco, we visited the Golden Gate National Recreation Area five separate times. The first time we visited the Golden Gate Recreation Area was when we first arrived in San Francisco, which was on day 12 of our 31 day road trip. As we approached the Golden Gate Bridge from the north on Highway 101, we exited Highway 101 on the last exit before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. After exiting Highway 101, we took Sausalito Lateral Road south into Conzelman Road and drove the road up the hill, into the Marin Headlands. Here we were treated to the most spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay. We were amazed at the scenic views of the bridge from this area. The Marin Head lands are located on the North side of the bridge.

We stayed and took many photographs from the turnarounds and vista points along the road in this part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This part of the park is probably the best part of the park to take photos and view the bay. We continued on Conzelman Road, which is a one-way drive, through the Marin Headlands, where we made a stop at Hawk Hill. From Beach or Hawk Hill, we viewed the hundreds of species of birds that inhabit this area. We then continued on Conzelman Road past Bonita Cove to the ½ mile trail that led to the Point Bonita Lighthouse on Point Bonita, where we took a short hike to visit the lighthouse. Point Bonita Lighthouse is one of America’s historical lighthouses. The Point Bonita Lighthouse is still active.

We then continued our drive to the Bird Island Overlook near Bird Island. After our stop at the Bird Island Overlook, we started our return trip to Highway 101 on Bunker Road, making stops to the historic military structures, the Nike Missile Site, the Marin Headlands Hostel, Fort Barry, and the Marin Headlands Visitor Center. We then continued on Bunker Road to the other side of Highway 101, to the east side of the Golden Gate Bridge, where we visited Fort Baker, Yellow Bluff, Point Cavalio, and Vista Point, in the area of Horseshoe Bay. The buildings in this area date back to the Civil War years.

This area was also an excellent spot to view the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Skyline. Also in this area are numerous fishing piers, boat launches, and a picnic area. The Bay Area Discovery Museum is also located here, though time was short and we did not make this stop as one of our visits. After our visits in this part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, we headed back on Highway 101, where we finally crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, into San Francisco. This drive through this part of the park gave us some of the most breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay.