Walking SF. Great routes or streets to see the real city. (San Francisco: hotel, houses)

[matzoman]

Can any long time San Franciscans chime in what are some of the most interesting treks around the city. I am thinking of visiting soon and like to always see city's on foot.

[mayorhaggar]

Stockton Street north of the tunnel to see the real Chinatown rather than the tacky souvenir shops on Grant.

Walking along the beach along SF's west coast is nice, and if you aren't from the area it's interesting to see a quiet urban beach as well as the Sunset District's foggy weather. On a rare sunny day it's nice. Then you can walk north past GG Park to get on the trail along the edge of Land's End for one of the best urban hiking trails in the world and some great views of the GG Bridge.

Irving west of around 7th Ave to see a busy but less yuppified part of the city, the Inner Sunset. Further west it has a lot of Asian grocery stores.

Walk down West Portal Ave from the Metro station to see a very old school part of SF. If the Polish (or was it Russian?) restaurant is still down where the shopping strip starts petering out, you could get some borscht.

Good hills: Bernal Heights Park is pretty easy to get to on foot and has great views of the city. Twin Peaks is harder to get to the top on foot but you can take a bus close to the top then schlep the rest of the way.

[ccm123]

I always like walking/running on the Embarcadero. Nice weather and views. Lots of tourists, though.

[pch1013]

A walk down the entire length of 17th Street would provide a fascinating cross-section of The City. You'll start on the edge of the semi-industrial Dogpatch area, traipse up and down Potrero Hill, and cross a gritty corner of the Mission; then you'll almost immediately transition to hipster-land, then to gay-land, then up a big hill with a stupendous view of the city, then down another big hill through a quiet little residential pocket with pretty houses, and finally -- after a right turn onto Stanyan -- into the maelstrom of the upper Haight.

You could detour just a bit and take in such sights as Tank Hill and the Randall Museum; the little shops along Valencia; the GLBT History Museum; and much more. If the entire 3 miles is too much, start at Potrero or Harrison or Mission (right near the 16th Street BART station).

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by matzoman

Can any long time San Franciscans chime in what are some of the most interesting treks around the city. I am thinking of visiting soon and like to always see city's on foot.

Start in Union Square, let's say Powell & Market...

Walk up Powell until you get to Bush.

Make a right at Bush.

Make a left at Grant.

You are now in Chinatown.

Continue along Grant and then cross the street to go onto Columbus.

You are now in North Beach (Little Italy).

Make a right at Greenwich (Washington Square Park will be on your left).

Keep walking until you get to the dead end and walk up the staircase.

This staircase is still considered Greenwich and you will take it all the way to Coit Tower.

The staircase will cross the Coit Tower parking lot and you will now be going downhill.

Keep taking the staircase until you reach its end on Montgomery (there will be no street sign, but the staircase comes to an end, so you won't get lost).

The road is split in two, take the lane that is lower than the other and make a left at Filbert.

You are now walking down another set of staircases known as Filbert Steps.

The staircase will come to an end at Sansome.

Make a left at Sansome and you will end up at The Embarcadero.

Make a left at the Embarcadero and walk along the waterside.

You will come across Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf and then Ghirardelli Square.

Stay along the water and you can follow the jogging/bike path until you get to Fort Mason / Fort Mason Great Meadow.

Follow the trail through the park to Marina.

You are now in the Marina District, which is an affluent neighborhood with amazing views.

Once you begin to get tired you can make a left at pretty much any road from Marina Blvd and have some food or drink at one of the many restaurants or bars along Chestnut or Union.

When you are all done, you can take public transportation or grab a taxi back to your hotel.

If you view this in google maps, you will find it is very easy to follow.

[sav858]

From the Powell St BART station walk down either Turk, Eddy, or Ellis westward towards the Civic Center for the "real" SF lol.

[pch1013]

Or just walk down Taraval from West Portal to the ocean. This is the REAL "real" SF, which is actually quite boring.

[California Vagabond]

You'll likely appreciate Stairway Walks in San Francisco, by Adah Bakalinsky.

Stairway Walks in San Francisco: Adah Bakalinsky: 9780899976372: Amazon.com: Books

[clongirl]

There's really so many interesting neighborhoods to discover...I like Sacramento St and the Laurel Heights area. Also, Clement St area/and up California St to Mountain Lake Park and Japantown/Fillmore Street is fun. I always stop into the Japantown mall and love browsing the Kinokuniya Book Store and Nijiya supermarket for really unique stuff. I also have fond memories of walking the steps at Green St/Lyon St (I think there are others along this stretch of road also)...wonderful views and a lot of exercise.

[matzoman]

These are great tips everyone, Thank you. I am really looking forward to visiting. I made a promise to myself to curb my NYC biases and experience your great town with a clear point of view. Over the years many people I have known have moved out there and I hear many positive things.