section hiking the Bay Area Ridge Trail
Over the years, while hiking, I’ve passed many signs letting me know I was following the route of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of long distance trails like this one, but the thought of attempting circumnavigation through section hiking only recently occurred to me. I suppose I was…Read more
Distance: 3.8 miles (7.2 round trip) Elevation Gain/Loss (1-way): 154/1,296 It was a cool January morning when I hit this section. The limited parking compelled me to leave earlier than I would have liked, but the drive up Montevina prevented me from arriving too early. Fortunately, it likely prevented others as well, as I found…Read more
A Short Section with a Great View Distance: 3.3 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 420/550 The Windy Hill section fills in part of a gap in the trail between El Corte and Russian Ridge and is disconnected from both. What it lacks in distance it more than makes up for with views. There is limited parking at…Read more
A Noisy Sidewalk Distance 1.9 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 190/190 What can I say about the Golden Gate Bridge that hasn’t been said? It’s just under 2 miles each way. The elevation goes up toward the center then down. It’s a very noisy walk alongside a highway with a nice view. The bridge is much nicer…Read more
The Presidio Distance: 2.7 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 105/225 This short section through the Presidio is best when combined with other routes. We combined it with the Golden Gate Bridge crossing, and back again. Consider adding the Batteries to Bluffs Trail if you’re looking for more milage. The section begins at the Presidio Gate at the…Read more
The forests of the city Distance: 6.6 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 920/875 This section has a good mix of urban and forest hiking and for a short time you get so immersed in the forest you can forget you are still in the city. From Stern Grove heading north, the beginning is very typical walk through…Read more
Final section of a 3 day hike Distance: 3.5 miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 190/1160 We combined this section with 3 others to create a 3 day backpacking trip beginning in Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves. You can start there for the full story. These were the final few miles of a hike that…Read more
3 Days Backpacking the Ridge Trail, End of Day 2 and Beginning of Day 3 Distance: 5.8 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 850/560 This is the 3rd section out of 4 traversed in a 3 day hike along the ridge trail which started at Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves. We had hiked nearly a…Read more
First part of day 2, on a 3 day hike. Distance: 8.1 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss 1280/665 We completed this section as part of a 3 day hike beginning in Russian Ridge. You can find details on that section here: Skyline Ridge and Russian Ridge Open Space Preserves. Elevation Gain/Loss above reflects the southbound direction of…Read more
3 Days and 2 Nights Distance: 5.1 Miles Elevation Gain/Loss: 810 feet/780 feet Trail Map Russian Ridge is the northern end of several uninterrupted segments of the Ridge Trail which are in close proximity to a couple of the rare backpacking camps in the area. So I thought I would try to string them together into…Read more