Twin Peaks San Francisco

Hikes & What To See

Television for all of San Francisco!

Any way you decide to go will prove to be picturesque. If you come up on the south west side, the tree lined road and the view over the Mission make it a wonderful ride. If you decide to come up from 17th, you’ll drive through a beautiful neighborhood, where the streets are decorated with colorful and eclectic houses. When you get through the residential portion, the road will start to wind again, and the view is spectacular.

Unfortunately, public transportation will get you close, but aside from tour buses, there is no public transportation up to the peak. If you can, I recommend renting a car for at least a day, that way, you can use it to see all the outlying areas in the city, including Twin Peaks. If you do decide to rent a car also note that Twin Peaks is a stop on the 49 Mile Scenic Drive, and for those of you taking a tour, Twin Peaks is almost always included.

As I said before, the main reason to go to the top of Twin Peaks is, of course, the view. At the summit parking lot, there is a sidewalk that curves around a portion of the hill, where most people stop to lean against the railing and admire the city. This area also provides telescopic viewers, that for 50 cents, will get you a close-up look at various San Francisco landmarks.

From there, I would recommend hiking the trails over the North and South peaks, as you’ll get the best view that way. From the parking lot, you will walk around the transmission towers to the peaks where the trail is pretty clearly marked. If you travel across to the south peak you will get a 360º view of the city and it’s surrounding areas. There is the Mission district and Mount Davidson to the South, then going clockwise, you’ll look over the Sunset district and the Pacific Ocean, then over Haight Ashbury to the Presidio and the mouth of the bay with the always spectacular Golden Gate Bridge. Keep scanning over the city to Telegraph Hill, on to downtown to check out the Transamerica Building and the SOMA area. The hike across both peaks is only a little over half a mile, and though there are some slightly steep ascents and descents, virtually anyone could handle the hike. There are no signs denoting restrictions, so you don’t necessarily have to follow any paths or guidelines, though I would just say to be careful of damaging the vegetation if you choose to take your own route.

By: Colleen Kelly - Copyright SFTRAVEL LLC

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Full size Twin Peaks photo gallery of San Francisco views.