I will be in San Francisco over Memorial Day weekend, attending a conference. I’ve been trying to find a kayak trip or hike with a company, but none of them fit my schedule (I’m stuck in meetings until 5 pm each day.)
If anyone has any suggestions, I’d appreciate it. I booked the trip before realizing what the dates were. The idea of being inside, in a big city, for four days drives me crazy. I have to find some nature.
Thanks,
Whistlepig
Well if you have time to get down towards Half Moon Bay there’s a great hike across from Montara Beach - climbs up Montara mountain and has great views, assuming it’s a clear day. I used to run there all the time. The preserve is called McNee Ranch, here’s a site with some info on it:
It isn’t too far of a drive (depends somewhat on what part of the city you’ll be in), so there should be plenty of daylight to get there and get some decent time outside in the evening.
There is also a few parks that are probably a lot closer (Golden Gate Park, Marin Headlands) but I’m not as familiar with those areas.
There is a stupendous hike on some old fire roads through the Bezerkeley hills. With two cars it becomes ridiculously easy. The Jordan Trail (i.e., fire road) starts behind the Space Sciences Building at the top of Centennial Drive (above the Lawrence Hall of Science) and wends its way through the completely undeveloped Strawberry Canyon area. Overlooks of the Cal campus, bay area and East Bay hills are available.
By connecting with the lower fire road on Panoramic Hill, you finish the hike in a second parking lot located just above the Cal swimming facility in Strawberry Canyon. This is less than one mile from Edwards Stadium on the Cal campus.
A five minute drive up the hill brings you back to the first car. The entire hike is downhill and takes two hours maximum. Bring a camera.
I’d be happy to give you an architectural tour of Berkeley if you wish. Let me know.
Thanks for the suggestions. Fortunately/Unfortunately, I will not have a car and will be dependent on public transport.
Zenster, I may take you up on your Berkely architecture tour. If I do, I will provide plenty of notice and buy you a very, very nice supper.
Confession: I am about as comfortable getting around in a big city as your average city person would be if you dropped them off in the middle of the wilderness with a Swiss Army knife, an 8x10 tarp and a book of matches.
I can do it, but there’s going to be few mistakes. And I’m less afraid of grizzlies than some of the problems I can encounter in a big city.
Whistlepig
I second that one. The view from Grizzly Peak is the best view in the Bay Area – including all the vista points around San Francisco and the Marin Headlands and the Pacific Coast Highway. The cool thing is that access is right there around the UC Berkeley campus (accessible via BART and a bike, if need be).
I didn’t even know that road was there until someone recommended I switch my commute to take that route instead of the highway. I was late to work that day, because I had to stop at all the turn-offs and just stare – you can see the entire bay.
Now, kayaking, or actually hiking along that trail, I can’t help you with. I try to avoid physical activity wherever possible.
Let me get this straight.
You’re going to be in a US city.
Over a holiday weekend.
Without a car.
Busy until 5pm.
And you want to get out into nature, and back the same evening, using public transportation?
Fortunately, the city involved is San Francisco. I wouldn’t want to try this in too many other US cities.
On Sundays, Muni Bus #76, operated by the SF Municipal Railway, runs from downtown SF over the Golden Gate Bridge to the Marin Headlands. The last bus leaves SF at 5:30pm, goes over to Marin, and gets back to SF at 7:17pm. I know you say you’re working until 5pm (even on Sunday?), but if you could catch the previous bus (leaving downtown SF at 4:30) you’d have about an hour’s walk-around time in the Marin Headlands, which is about as close as you can get to a wilderness area within a city-bus ride of a major metropolitan area. Time to walk on Rodeo Beach (on the Pacific Ocean), or look at the Cold-War-era Nike missile batteries. If you can get out of meetings earlier, that’s even even better since you can take an earlier bus and will have time to visit the Marine Mammal Center or the Point Bonita lighthouse.
Get yourself a Muni map (available for about $2 at downtown SF drugstores, Visitor Information centers, or the Rand McNally map store on Market St). You can take the Muni Metro N-Judah or L-Taraval (light rail trains) out to Ocean Beach, or the 1-California bus to 25th Ave (within walking distance of China Beach or Baker Beach), all without leaving SF city limits, and all a straight shot (30-45 mins) from downtown. Not quite as wild as the Marin Headlands, but with a lot greater flexibility in terms of train and bus times (i.e. you can watch the sun set over the Pacific without looking at your watch to wonder if you’ll have any problems getting back to your hotel).
Another nice option, if you like walking, is to walk SF northern’s shore from the Ferry Building (downtown) via Fisherman’s Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge, and walking or taking a bus back. If you’re feeling bold, continue the walk across the Golden Gate bridge – a very memorable walk, highly recommended – to Sausalito, taking either the
Golden Gate Ferry or Golden Gate bus #20 back to downtown SF.
Of course, if you hook up with Bay Area Dopers with cars you won’t be limited to public transportation, but the above are a few suggestions for when you are on your own.
BTW, is this your first time to SF?
Wishing you a wonderful trip,
Antonius Block
(who gets around the Bay Area predominantly using public transportation, will answer any related questions, and regrets not being able to offer chauffeur service to a visiting Doper from Big Sky country.)
P.S. Remember to dress in layers. Although this is California, it can get quite chilly in SF, especially at the beach, even around Memorial Day!
Well sure, it sounds dumb when you put it that way! 
I forget what cities are like and I lose my perspective of place.
For me to get out into nature, it requires the following:
Walk past neighbor’s house.
Turn right.
It’s then 30 miles of forest to the next paved road. And I live in town, about 6 blocks from the state capitol. Of course, going to a Viet restaurant or buying the New York Times is about a two hour drive for me.
Thanks for all the suggestions and the offer. I have to check the conference schedule today and ingest a bit more caffiene. And walk the dog, since there were still deer outside at 6 am.