Fort Funston Beach

Tuesday April 14 2026, SU&W Precita Cafe

Steps up from the beach

The first time I found Fort Funston was completely by accident. I just moved to the city, living in Park Merced, and spending weekends learning my surroundings. One Saturday afternoon I decided to follow the path around Lake Merced to see where it would lead me. Previously I circled the lake, all six miles of it, between busy street traffic on one side and chainlink fence for the golf course on the other, it was the most unpleasant walk.

This time instead of following the path around the lake, I crossed the street at the intersection of John Muir and Highway 35, so I could go up the steep steps towards the buff. I followed the steps, and the path, which wasn’t crowded even on a weekend. The view opened up on top and there were a lot more people, most of them with dogs, some with lots of dogs! I had no idea how they got there since there weren’t a lot of cars on the street level. I continued to walk towards the bluff, figured the trail would circle around somewhere. Then there was a cliff, and the view really opened up, and I smelled OCEAN! I couldn’t believe my eyes because the blueish gray blended the sky and ocean together, but when I looked down, yes, the Pacific waves were right below the cliff.

I could quite literally walk to the beach from where I lived.

On the next visit I found the steps leading down to the beach. When most people talk about going to Fort Funston it’s the upper part where the trails are. The car entrance from Highway 35 leads to two big parking lots and there are plenty of trails to walk dogs and enjoy the ocean view. The hang glider launch point is very close to the parking lot and there is a big platform for bystanders to watch the action.

For the determined souls, there is a long set of steps starting near the hang gliders, going all the way down to the beach. The steps are minimally built and maintained, just long wood logs buried in deep sand, with ropes on the side for balance. This is not a trail for people with mobility issues, or the faint of heart, or those want to keep their shoes and feet clean. I kept a pair of “beach shoes” in the car for this purpose when I went to Fort Funston every week.

But once you get down those steps, you get to enjoy the lovely uncrowded beach that goes on for miles and miles. It’s just you and the waves and an occasional wet dog looking for his ball. When the tide is low you can walk all the way to Ocean Beach. Keep in mind you’d have to walk up that same path, trudge the steps in deep sand to get back to the car. By then you might be tired and possibly wet, and the steps look and feel a lot more daunting than going down.