Hike Up Sneath Lane Trail, Summit The Portola Discovery Site, And Explore A Derelict Nike Missile Base
On a clear day, hike up to Sweeney Ridge and discover San Francisco Bay the same way the first Spanish Explorers did.
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying once social distancing isn’t the norm any longer.
Social Isolation — Day 7
Today we made homemade 🍕 pizza, one of my favorite things to cook. My youngest helped me cut up toppings, and we had fun putting it together. And now we are watching one of the Charlie’s Angels movies on Netflix. Not a bad evening.
I had to drive over and pick up my kids this morning. Traffic is still like the 1980s light, but people are driving crazy. I don’t get it. Several times today, I saw people impatiently driving. I’d chalk it up to the stress of our current situation, but disappointing nonetheless.
I also got out to walk a few laps around my neighborhood park, and there were several groups of adolescent men playing basketball and soccer. I understand wanting to get our with friends, especially while we still can, but these actions will lead to stricter rules about being out. Sigh
From the restrictions I’ve seen in France and Italy, it’s only a matter of time until things get stricter.
Destination San Bruno — Sweeney Ridge
Hike Sneath Lane Trail
Portola Discovery Site
SF-51 Former Nike Missile Control Site
For more detail on this adventure, I have a previous project with some other details you might enjoy, kiddiewalks.com.
I’ve done this hike (and ride) many times on my own, but only once with my kids. It was challenging for them, but the payoff was worthwhile. I often have to wait for the right day to do this. It’s interesting being up here in the fog (it can get thick), but the real payoff comes on one of those few clear warm days in the spring or early fall. It is a good climb, but you can do it.
Hike Sneath Lane Trail
Sneath Lane intersects most major thoroughfares in San Bruno, west of the airport. Basically, follow Sneath Lane west past 280, past Skyline, and keep going until the road ends. Park your car here and there is a paved trail here that heads up to the ridge.
It’s a significant hike up to the top, but take your time and take advantage of some benches along the way. The last time I was up here, my Fitbit registered a 60 floor climb for the 3 mile hike to the top. The trail is mostly paved, with a few dirt sections as you wander off to the Portola discovers site. Be aware of cyclers on the trail, they can come upon you suddenly on their way downhill. There is one pit toilet as you near the top, and no water available along the way.
On a clear day, the view is fantastic!
Once you get to the top of the climb, the dirt road headed south (left as you face the ocean) is the Portola discovery site. North (right) would be the road to the former SF-51 Nike Missile control site.
Portola Discovery Site
View from Portola discovery marker by Cody Tolmasoff
Spanish explorers sailed up and down the California coast for a very long time, never noticing the entrance to San Francisco Bay. Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno, however, make a note of the grand Monterey bay on one expedition in 1602, and eventually (in 1769) the Spanish king ordered Governor Portola to set up a mission there. Portola organized two ill-equipped expeditions to set up a mission at Monterey, one by land and the other by sea.
The sailors all got sick along the way and had to turn around, with a supply ship being lost at sea. The land expedition made it to present-day Monterey, but their view from land didn’t give the impression the bay Vizcaíno saw from his ship. So they continued north, basically becoming very lost on the way to Monterey.
After hiking along the coast to present-day Pacifica, they eventually headed up to the top of the ridge here to get a better look at their surroundings. Arriving at the top, the clouds cleared, and the explorers saw San Francisco Bay for the first time. At the time only friar Crespí seemed to grasp the importance of this describing in his diary: “a very large and fine harbor, such that not only all the navy of our Most Catholic Majesty but those of all Europe could take shelter in it.” Portola sent out some of his soldiers to do some brief explorations on horseback, but because of lack of food he turned his entire expedition around and headed back to San Diego.
It wasn’t until August 5th, 1775 when the Spanish ship San Carlos first sailed into San Francisco Bay. The marker here is the best estimate of the spot Portola and his expedition discovered the bay. On a clear day, you can imagine yourself as one of the first European explorers discovering this amazing spot for the first time.
SF-51 Former Nike Missile Control Site
SF-51 Control Site by Cody Tolmasoff
There isn’t much left here, but you do get the best view from here, so it’s worth the effort to finish your hike here. There are trails that connect down to Pacifica linking here as well. Be careful climbing around the ruins, some can be unstable.
The actual launch site is a little further north at Milagra Ridge.
Heading back down by Cody Tolmasoff
Cody Tolmasoff is an author and publisher for Adventuring.in. He is a recovering programmer and a San Francisco native, raising two daughters, and regularly finding new adventures around the SF Bay Area. This article is an excerpt from an upcoming book, 52 San Francisco Bay Area Weekend Adventures, Day Trips With Your Kids!
Find him on Twitter @codyo, and read his most recent title Adventures in Getting Out on Amazon, filled with advice on successfully getting your family out for day trip adventures.
Originally published on Medium on 20 March 2020