Destination: Bike to Sausalito, Ferry Back
From the San Francisco Waterfront, bike along the Presidio, over the Golden Gate Bridge, then down into Sausalito, hopping on the ferry to return.
This is part of a series of family-oriented day trip outings around the San Francisco Bay Area I look forward to enjoying with my kids once social distancing and shelter in place isn’t the norm any longer.
Photo by Dallas Kwok on Unsplash
Social Isolation — Day 50
And as we approach the end of this project (this is day 50/52), I’m still trying to decide on what to do next. I have some other writing projects that are taking a good deal of my focus, but if you have any thoughts, let me know.
Apparently, with all the day’s blurring together, I can’t seem to count past 40 correctly. The last 10 posts were all “creatively numbered,” and now fixed.
This is one thing that has hit us all in one way or another, all the day’s merging together. I’ve never had to check my phone so often to see what day it is. That is one thing I’ll be looking forward to once this is behind us.
On the one hand, it’s nice not to have such a rigid schedule. On the other, you lose all track of time, aside from within the day you are in.
Destination: Bike to Sausalito
Ride along the SF waterfront
Ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and down to Sausalito
Ferry back to San Francisco
I first rode this route over 20 years ago. The father of a friend of mine piled all of our bikes in the back of his truck, and we squeezed into the cab and drove over to the Marina Green by Crissy Field. From there, we rode along the water and made the climb up to the Golden Gate Bridge. We navigated over to the west side of the bridge where its bikes only and rode over. Crossing back under the bridge at the end, we rode down Alexander Avenue sharing the road with the cars, finally merging our way onto Bridgeway and along the Sausalito waterfront.
Our day continued after taking a break in Sausalito as we rode up to Tiburon to have lunch at Sam's restaurant before hopping on the ferry to come home, it was quite a day and one I’ve enjoyed many times since. A good part of the ride is separated from cars, but there are parts of it where you have to share the road.
The tourism industry has commercialized the route in recent years, which means a lot more people who don’t ride a bike regularly set out on this trip. Even though it’s a lot more crowded, the ride is still a wonderful experience. I had been waiting to take my kids until my youngest was a little better with riding next to traffic, but I look forward to taking them on this route soon.
Ride along the SF waterfront
Photo by Mehdi Sakout on Unsplash
You want to start your trip parking somewhere close to the loop you plan to ride. I might suggest parking near the Marina or near the water in the Presidio. From there, head toward the edge of the bay and ride west toward the Golden Gate Bridge. There is a decent elevation gain to get up to the bridge, follow the signs for bikes, and (if it’s open) ride along the western walkway of the bridge away from the pedestrian traffic. This is a bike thoroughfare, so be aware of bikes around you and try not to stop unless it’s in a proper spot. If you end up crossing the pedestrian side, you might consider walking your bike across as it can get fairly congested as you cross.
One thing to note, the bridge arches, so you will have a slight uphill ride until you cross the center point. Be careful as you pick up speed on the downhill slide, you want to stay in control.
Ride over the Golden Gate Bridge and down into Sausalito
By Kyle Hawton — Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32418048
Once you cross the bridge and pass Vista Point, look for Alexander Avenue and ride the shoulder down to Sausalito. There are some points along here where the shoulder disappears, so be ready to share the road with cars. The streets can get a little wiggly here but generally stay on the major road to Bridgeway, staying relatively close to the water.
Once you hit the causeway along the water, stop and enjoy the view. Ride along Bridgeway until you arrive at the ferry dock. Sausalito is a delightful town with some great shops and restaurants, be sure to stop and enjoy your afternoon for a bit, you’ve earned it.
Ferry Back to San Francisco
Photo by Lauren Baxter on Unsplash
Buy your ferry tickets before boarding. There are bike racks in the lower part of the boat. Then go up on deck and enjoy your cruise across the bay. Once you arrive back in San Francisco, ride west again and go find your car.
Extending the route
Want to keep going? Extend your ride to Tiburon or Larkspur to take the ferry back from there.
If you have more time and want to see more, the ride to Tiburon is a great extension to your trip, and the Ferry docks there as well. There are some great bike paths that stretch along the bay. Larkspur is also an option if you want to ride even more.
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 2 May 2020