Fort Funston

What you need to know

What’s There

A former army coastal defense post on sandstone bluffs above the southern end of Ocean Beach. Paved loop trails run along the bluff top past a hang glider launch and viewing deck, and a steep sand trail drops down to the beach.

This is the one place in Golden Gate National Recreation Area where dogs may be off leash, which is why half the cars in the lot have a dog in them.

The Story

The federal government acquired the site in 1900 as the Lake Merced Military Reservation and later named it for Major General Frederick Funston. Battery Davis, built between 1936 and 1939, mounted two 16 inch naval guns weighing 143 tons each and was the prototype for American batteries casemated against air attack. The fort was inactivated in 1963 and passed to the National Park Service.

Bank swallows have nested in these bluffs since the early 1900s. The species has been listed as threatened in California since 1989, and Fort Funston is thought to be one of only two coastal nesting colonies left in the state, which is why sections of the bluff face are fenced during the breeding season.

Visiting

Neighborhood: Lake Merced, far southwest San Francisco

Cost: Free, including parking

Hours: Open daily. Parking lots generally run sunrise to sunset.

Best time to go: Afternoon, when the wind is up and the hang gliders are flying.

What to know: The paved bluff loop is about nine tenths of a mile round trip and is wheelchair accessible, including the glider viewing deck. The trail down to the beach is not. The cliffs erode actively, so stay back from unfenced edges.

Getting There

Transit: Awkward. The 18-46th Avenue runs along Skyline Boulevard nearby, but most people drive.

Parking: Free lot off Skyline Boulevard at John Muir Drive.

Combining: Lake Merced is directly across Skyline. Ocean Beach runs north from the base of the bluffs.