Crissy field next beach

Perhaps one of the least publicized and yet one of the cleanest beaches in all of SF – Crissy Field is a pleasant place to walk off a lunch. There are kite surfers, foil surfers and other surf board aficionados of all sorts taking advantage of the winds coming through the golden gate into the bay.

It is a perfect place to watch the pilots and captains demonstrate their mad skills during the Fleet week. The beach is easily accessible, however due to little publicizing it doesn’t receive as much traffic as many other beaches around San Francisco peninsula.

There is a large all-year around green Crissy filed with some of the best views of the Golden Gate bridge that you simply can’t find anywhere else in the city.

Golden Gate Bridge View from Crissy field

Crissy Field Center

Stop by the CF Center to explore opportunities to go camping right at the Presidio.

The Camping at the Presidio (CAP) Program provides youth with meaningful overnight camping experiences. Designed for community organizations and schools, CAP provides an affordable way for kids and groups to visit their national parks. Since 2007, CAP has met the need for thousands of Bay Area youth who lack access to camping in their national parks.

West Bluff Picnic Area

Immediately adjacent to Crissy filed is a perfect place to have a weekend brunch with your family and friends right where little to no tourists can be found. Yes that place exists right at the very top of the SF peninsula! Perfect place to hang out with kids.

Warming Hut Bookstore & Cafe is an inexpensive place to grab a coffee and a few sandwiches if you were in a rush that day. Perfectly described “Warming hut” since most of the year, even during the summer Crissy field and West Bluff Picnic area can be a bit chilly in comparison with the rest of the region, since the cold Pacific ocean winds flow in through the Golden Gate channel creating that cold turbid effect.

Tip: Dress warmly for ever-cold bay breeze. ALL YEAR AROUND

Check out Fort Point National Historic Site in case you’ve made it that far up the path already. It’s a small Fort museum housing some barracks and artillery equipment including cannons. Perhaps it could be fun for older kids, our little piglet slept through the tour though.

The Wave Organ

Only 15 minutes away walking you will find the Wave Organ that makes all sort of weird noises. Honestly we were not overly impressed by the structure, perhaps due to low tide. The organ requires the waves to hit the pipes just right for it to make an intended sound, so you might want to do a bit more searching to find the best time to visit this landmark.

Perfect place to gaze at the infamous Alcatraz island.

Parking for the Crissy field

Hamilton St Parking – conveniently located right next to the West Bluff Picnic Area.
Vallejo St Parking – conveniently located right next to the Sports Basement (sweet shop for outdoor activities)