Bring a picnic or snacks. There are very limited places to eat at the Golden Gate Bridge since the Bridge Cafe closed around years back. Instead, pack a picnic lunch and enjoy it with a view! There are picnic areas just below the Battery East parking lot if you want to bring something to eat with a view of the Golden Gate!
There are also more tables around Crissy Field. Choose your visit wisely! I suggest not planning everything in stone on a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge. It is very frequently fogged out and you will not be able to see anything. Not exactly the way you want to experience this bucket list item! Some people misleadingly believe the Golden Gate Bridge is inside of a national park, and therefore they have to pay a national park fee or show a national park pass. Allison Green is a travel blogger, writer, and podcaster who grew up in the Bay Area of California.
She has traveled to 60 countries before the age of 30 while running several digital travel businesses. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
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After walking around the shops and stopping at Boudin for a clam chowder bowl, you can bike along the bay for 23 minutes before you hit the bridge. Roundtrip it totals out to be around 12 miles. Interested in more fun tours and activities in San Francisco? Then Check these tours out. Regardless of which way you decided to see the Golden Gate Bridge, it really is a bucket list experience.
Despite how many times I have crossed its path, I never cease to be amazed by its powerful beauty. Great to enjoy something that's so close to home. Apparently my hand was too far over to the right side and both times I got yelled at by cyclists, so I know how busy it can get! I wouldn't want to bike it! Bicyclists can be such jerkfaces.
I had a few run-ins with them while I was in DC this summer. It's completely different than the bikers here. Where I live our public transportation system sucks so everyone drives. People that are riding their bikes are doing it leisurely rather than a means for getting from Point A to Point B. The bicyclists in DC were always in such a rush, where as here in a beach community they are all pedaling slow, most of them with a beer in hand a music playing from a basket attached to their handle bars.
Nice idea! Your bucket list is awesome, by the way! I'm pretty much doing the same thing as you, and have been living the 'bucketlistologist' lifestyle for the past 5 months… full time! For more information, go to our Public Transit page. Visiting the world famous Golden Gate Bridge is a unique experience for everyone. Whether you hike, walk, bike, shop, take a guided tour, or just sit back and take it all in, there is something for everyone. The Bridge's Welcome Center offers merchandise and historical information.
Bikes ride on either side, according to the daily schedule. More on how to pay the toll below. This is a great way to experience the bridge. Not only can you see the towers up close, there are super views of the city, Alcatraz and the bay.
And it's free! Pedestrians are only allowed on the east sidewalk bay side of the bridge, but it has the best bay and city views. Walkers share the east sidewalk with bicycles on weekdays until pm.
Weekends and holidays, it's pedestrian only. Open to pedestrians:. How long does it take to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge? The bridge is 1. If you do the Hop On Hop Off bus tour , you can walk one way and catch the bus at the other end Vista Point to avoid the return walk.
When is the best time to walk across? Pros and cons Mornings: less crowded, but you are looking east, into the sun not the best from a photographer's viewpoint. And on weekdays, you'll be sharing the sidewalk with bicycles until pm.
Late afternoon: more people are out there, but light is gorgeous when it's not foggy and the colors are glowing. Plus, no bicycles are allowed on the east sidewalk after pm. Best time in my opinion : weekdays after pm. Beautiful light and all the bicycles are on the west side of the bridge. Second best time? Weekends in the afternoon; the cyclists are on the west side all day, but there are more walkers on the bridge, too. Tip for walking the bridge: dress warmly, in layers!
San Francisco is not a very warm place, especially in summer. Even when the sun is shining, it can be rather cool. And it's colder on the bridge because cool winds are usually blowing in through the gap from the chilly ocean. The bridge is very windy. Also, the fog comes and goes suddenly and unpredictably; the fog will drop the temperature abruptly. More on San Francisco weather. This is one of the most popular ways of experiencing the Golden Gate Bridge.
You can ride a bike over and back, or take the popular bike ride over the bridge and down into the seaside town of Sausalito, returning to the city by ferry. Almost everyone going on to Sausalito far below opts to ride the ferry back to San Francisco; that avoids the tough ride back uphill and puts you on a ferry ride with great views of the city and Alcatraz rated 2 best ferry trip in the world by the Society of American Travel Writers. I've put together some helpful information on both renting bikes and taking bike tours over the bridge.
See what the trip is like, what to do in Sausalito, tips on taking the ferry, and how to get some good deals on both bike rentals and tours, at biking the Golden Gate Bridge. You can ride your own bike over, or rent a bike and follow the map provided.
It's a pretty easy route to follow, though there are some hills to climb see my photos, maps and description of the bike route. If you don't want to do the ride down to Sausalito, you can just turn around and ride back across the bridge. There are a number of bike tours available where a guide takes you on a ride to the bridge, usually from Fisherman's Wharf, across it, and then down into the town of Sausalito, where you have time to explore before you take the ferry back to the city.
See my suggestions for taking the tours. In addition to the above-mentioned bike tours, there are some good walking tours of the bridge, and bus tours that cross the bridge. San Francisco City Guides: this is a free tour given twice a week, year round, by a non-profit organization that does lots of SF tours.
Their guides are all volunteers, but very professional and knowledgable. I've been on several of their tours and really enjoyed them.
No reservations, just show up at the appointed time and place. See Golden Gate Bridge tour. Walk across the bridge and up into the Marin Headlands: this is guided, walking tour that takes you across the bridge, then high up a hill to see what may be one of the best views of the bridge.
Then head down to explore Sausalito, and take the ferry back to the city. Hotel pickup. See Bridge and Headlands tour for more info and booking. They stop at both ends of the bridge: the Welcome Center parking lot and the Vista Point parking lot. You can admire some of the best bridge views at both ends of the bridge, plus you can walk across the bridge from one end and pick up the bus at the other end if you want. City Sightseeing includes the Sausalito loop in all their 2-day and premium 1-day bus passes, so you have the option of crossing the bridge and exploring the town of Sausalito, along with using the routes around San Francisco.
See Hop On Hop Off tours for more info and booking. Fire Engine Tour. This is a different, but very popular tour. Ride a real fire engine over the bridge and down into Fort Baker and Sausalito, then back to the city. Leaves from Fisherman's Wharf, stops at Fort Point.
See fire engine tour for more info and booking. The bridge is open for cars 24 hours a day. After you cross the bridge, there are a number of parking options. But first, what about the toll? It used to be free for motorcycles and carpools of 3 or more in a car during rush hour, but that ended in Carpools and motorcycles get a discount if they use FasTrack.
Unlike the Bay Bridge, there are no humans in the toll booths, and you don't need to have cash to get through the toll plaza anymore. It's all electronic now. The sensor reads your FasTrack tag or photographs your license plate when you drive through the toll booth; you slow down but don't stop. There are various options for paying:.
To set up an account, or make payments, see bridge tolls. What about rental cars? Best plan is to discuss the rental company's policy when you rent the car. If you opt to having them pay it, you're covered. If you opt out, it's up to you to pay the toll within 48 hours of crossing the bridge.
See more info on rental car tolls. Parking lots: there are two parking areas at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge.
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