Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve
Mount Sutro Open Space Reserve is a park/forest in the center of San Francisco.
Since it’s right between Twin Peaks and Golden Gate Park, visitors to San Francisco often ignore it. Even a local friend recently asked me about this new-to-her park, which was a good reminder to revisit it this week. :-)
Keep this map handy for reference
The main thing you’ll notice about the reserve is its dense forest area, most prominent on the eastern side.
It’s a lush area of eucalyptus trees that can grow up to 200 feet tall, and lots of underbrush (I saw ferns, blackberries, and all kinds of ivy) rolling over the hills. All this greenery captures the fog and leads to a pretty constant dampness right in the middle of the city.
Mount Sutro has over 5½ miles of trails, most of them for intermediate to advanced hikers. Most popular is the 1.1 mile intermediate level Historic Trail, which steers close to the outer perimeter of the reserve, neatly avoiding the steepest climbs/descents. It still had plenty of incline though, so come prepared!
I started the Historic Trail from the entrance on Stanyan street (right off 17th street). Don’t let the pic scare you off, it’s only a few steps until you’re done with stairs and right in the middle of the forest. Mind your step though, as things can be slippery due to the humidity.
When I was there, there were “dollhouse” structures on a few tree trunks.
Instead of “simply” following the Historic Trail, I switched over to the North Ridge Trail to make it to the summit of Mount Sutro (at 909 feet), where you can find a Nike missile control site (decommissioned, of course).
Don’t forget to stop and admire the views of the city, and catch your breath on the way up
From the top, I made my way back down via the West Ridge Trail to the Historic Trail, which I followed to the Quarry Road, and then past the nursery to the Clarendon Trailhead. This was around 2 miles and took about an hour, during most of which I was soaked from both sweat and the fog. 🌁😅
Since I forgot to take a picture from Clarendon, here’s the view from 17th and Clayton.
What’s your favorite part of mount Sutro open space reserve? Let me know at any of the links at the top 👆
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