Fort Funston Beach(Golden Gate National Recreation Area)

Located in the city of San Francisco, Fort Funston Beach is a long and wide beach situated below tall bluffs in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Fort Funston Beach is the southernmost beach on the Pacific Coast side of the city and is a well-known hang-gliding destination where hang-gliders take off from a platform on the tall bluffs above the beach.

Fort Funston Beach welcomes dogs on leash and offers many amenities including restrooms, sand dollars, fossils, a World War II military platform named Battery Davis, a wooden viewing platform, and a concrete structure of an artsy golden dog man covered in graffiti. 

There are many fun activities here including hang gliding, biking, hiking, horseback riding, beachcombing, and beach walking.

Getting to Fort Funston Beach is easy – the beach’s free parking lot is located on the southbound lanes of Skyline Boulevard south of John Muir Drive. After parking, you will need to hike south along a bluff adjacent to the lot and take a sand ladder down to the beach.

If you are looking for nearby attractions, there are many within a 30-minute drive of Fort Funston Beach. Floating Taj Mahal or The Taj Mahal Houseboat was built by Bill Harlan and features marble floors, a wine cellar, a top-level solarium for meditation, and a sauna. The Marin Headlands Art Institute is an arts organization that hosts an internationally recognized artist-in-residence program and offers tours and exhibitions. Named after naturalist John Muir, Muir Woods National Monument is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is home to 240 acres of redwood forests. Another great attraction near Fort Funston Beach is Mooncow Bay, a historical landmark that is a fantastic place to click Instagram-worthy pictures and picnic or camp.

If you get hungry, you can drive 10 minutes to many restaurants near Fort Funston Beach. The Italian restaurant Original Joe’s Westlake serves authentic and traditional Italian items including pizza, pasta, lasagna, Fiorentina steak, ossobuco, risotto, and truffles. If you like Filipino cuisine, Fil-Am Cuisine offers adobo, kare-kare, lechon, sinigang, crispy pata, and bulalo. Another great restaurant near Fort Funston Beach is the vegetarian-friendly Boulevard Café that features cheddar grits, mac-n-cheese, meatloaf, and special vegan items.

If you are looking for a hotel near Fort Funston Beach, there are many within a 17-minute drive. Hotel VIA is a 4-Star hotel that has many amenities including a 3,000 square foot rooftop bar, lounge, restaurant, and gym. If you are looking for affordable hotels near Fort Funston Beach, the 3-Star Hampton Inn San Francisco-Daly City was awarded the Travellers’ Choice Award by Tripadvisor, and the 2-Star The SeaScape Inn offers beautiful oceanfront rooms.