Ocean Beach 2016-04-11

Part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), Ocean Beach in San Francisco offers more than 3.5 miles of uninterrupted and wide open beach, plenty of opportunities to wet your feet in the chill Pacific Ocean and impressive sunsets if you are there at the right time in favorable weather conditions. Flanked by Cliff House in the north and the Zoo in the south, the coastline runs parallel to the Great Highway. 

Free parking is available along Great Hwy in the north and at the Sloat Blvd lot in the south. We had parked at the Sloat Blvd parking lot and walked north. The beach sand was black, just like Fort Funston that we had hiked last year. Apollo had to stay on leash almost entirely due to posted restrictions although I saw several dog owners flout the rule. 

Seal Rocks

It was low tide when walked the beach and the water had receded considerably. The surf report I checked mentioned that the tide level was -0.62 ft. To put this in perspective, it was at 6.15 ft. seven hours earlier. This meant we could walk in portions that was not sandy. The wet ground was firm that made walking far more easy, compared to walking in beach sands. 

The beach was not very crowded. Still, there were plenty of folks taking advantage of the low tide and firm beach to jog. There was a man who pitched a rod to hold his bag and made his way into the sea with an intent on catching something. A popular spot with surfers, there were few who braved the chill ocean waters and made their way into the ocean with their surfboard. 

I also got to see different kinds of shorebirds. At the south side, there were whimbrels and sandpipers wading in the beach. All along, there were sea gulls. And at the north side, I caught a flock of willets amidst the waves. I had noticed ravens by the coast in my previous hikes and today was no exception. A dead dungeness crab attracted Apollo's keen nose but a whiff of it was all I allowed him.

Cliff House

Little more than three miles into the walk, we reached the north end of the beach. The low tide offered a chance for me to see Cliff House from a unique angle. And we were able to go reasonably close to Seal Rocks that you can also observe from the other side of Cliff House at Lands End.

We turned around here and opted to walk away from the beach on the return. For those not interested in getting their feet wet, there are couple of options. From Balboa St intersection to Fulton St and beyond to Lincoln Way, there is a cement boardwalk along Great Hwy. 

Fulton St & Great Hwy marks the northwest corner of the Golden Gate park. There is a Dutch Windmill located here amidst a small green park with beautiful flowers. Apollo and I did a quick side trip to check out the windmill and the park. 

South of Lincoln Way, there more options to walk. Lower Great Hwy Park belonging to the city of San Francisco is on the east side of Great Hwy, running all the way from Lincoln Way to Sloat Blvd. A multi-use, paved, blacktop trail runs the two mile stretch. We walked in this stretch on and off, crossing over to the west side of Great Hwy couple of times.

On the west side, from Lincoln Way until Noriega St, there is a sand trail that runs through the sand dunes bordering the beach. South of Noriega St, there is a tiled boardwalk for a while following which the sand trail shows up again that goes until Sloat Blvd.

We had clocked 6.5 miles by the time we reached the Sloat Blvd parking lot. The gps tracker may indicate we walked on water, but I guess that is due to the fact that it was very low tide and we walked well into the ocean side on the way forward. Ocean beach is situated south of Lands End and north of Fort Funston, both locations that we have hiked in the past. 

More pictures from our hike.
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