The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California on January 24, 2020. Photo by Peter Stringer for Amazing America.
San Francisco is famous for many things, but among the most iconic features are the rolling and steep hills throughout the entire city. While walking up the hills can be a workout, it’s worth it for the beautiful sweeping views of the bay and beyond. There are almost unending places you could hike up within the city, but there are several quintessential viewpoints any traveler or local alike should visit. Grab your camera and your walking shoes and let’s check out some of the best San Francisco photo spots in and around the city to catch those stunning skylines!
Nestled off to the side of the North Beach and Russian Hill neighborhoods is Ina Coolbrith Park, a small park with enormous views. Architecture fanatics will find this a perfect place to spot some of the most famous structures in downtown San Francisco, such as the Transamerica Pyramid, Salesforce Tower, the Bay Bridge, and more. A favorite among photographers, Ina Coolbrith Park is one of the best places to bring your camera for photos with a jaw-dropping background.
Coit Tower in San Francisco, California. Stock photo by Ronan Furuta via Unsplash.
Coit Tower is a long-standing San Francisco landmark where visitors can pay to go up and catch the amazing 360 views of the bay and beyond. On a budget? Not a problem; you can still catch some amazing views by taking a walk up the Greenwich steps to Pioneer Park by Coit Tower. These daunting stairs are not for the faint of heart, but the effort rewards hikers with stunning views of the bay after each set of steps. Once you’ve gotten to the Coit Tower and Pioneer Park, you’ll get to see the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge, and many rows of colorful houses lining the San Francisco Hills.
If you don’t mind paying for a ticket, Coit Tower itself is a piece of San Francisco history, dedicated to volunteer fireman at the time of its inception, and the top at the Observation deck is one of the best places to get a 360 view of the surrounding bay and city.
Home to the Painted Ladies and an array of Victorian-style homes, Alamo Square sits up on a hill that gives the park a lovely vantage point of the San Francisco skyline, including City Hall. You’ll find lots of tourists and even a coffee cart here on weekends, making it a fun place to people-watch and snap photos of famous movie-star homes as well.
For this next location, you’ll want a really good pair of shoes. Starting at Baker Beach, this trailhead goes up and around the beaches below to give hikers stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge. A little steep at times, this popular trail will take you from the parking lot of Baker Beach all the way to the bridge itself. If you’re looking for a less crowded spot to capture a photo of the Golden Gate Bridge, this hike will offer you several places to stop and snap a photo or selfie. You can also take a break by climbing down the sand ladders to the beaches below. Towards the end of the trail, you’ll wind up near ruins of old gun batteries, another prevalent piece of San Francisco military history that is worth learning about during your stay in the city.
No visit to San Francisco is complete without a visit to the famous Mission Dolores Park. Most locals and visitors alike will tell you this is one of their favorite places to sit and enjoy the sunny weather while gazing at the San Francisco skyline. The Mission District itself is packed with popular food and drinks, so finding something to eat during your picnic will be no problem. Vendors frequent the park as well, selling everything from alcoholic beverages to fruit and snacks. After a long day of hiking up and down the hills, this spot is great to relax and take in a breathtaking skyline.
Located in the warmest and sunniest microclimate, you’ll want to come here to take in the sun and warm up from the foggier parts of the bay.
San Francisco, California view from Twin Peaks on January 25, 2020. Photo by Peter Stringer for Amazing America.
Most San Francisco travel guides will tell you one of the best places for 360 views of the city is Twin Peaks. While that’s true, there’s another peak just south of this packed location that boasts equally as beautiful views with a fraction of the crowds. Best accessible by foot or public transportation, Mt. Davidson is the highest peak in San Francisco, nestled in a quiet neighborhood.
You’ll rarely see many tourists or crowds and the walk itself is brief and easy, making this lesser-known spot an introvert’s dream compared to the busy Twin Peaks.
Mt. Davidson is also home to Mt. Davidson Cross, one of the largest and oldest landmarks in the city that stands in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
If you’re a dedicated fan of Twin Peaks, be sure to leave nothing in your car (This area is unfortunately notorious for smash-and-grab car break-ins) and be prepared to parallel park along a very long stretch of road since the parking lot tends to get packed pretty quickly.
On the northwest end of Ocean Beach is a walk up to Sutro Heights where you can take in breathtaking views of the ocean and the Sunset District neighborhood. Since this faces west, I recommend coming in the evening when the sun starts to set over the ocean horizon. This walk will also lead you to the abandoned Sutro Baths and Land’s End, two iconic landmarks in San Francisco that are unbelievably beautiful at sunset.
Filled with flowers and lush foliage, you’ll also get to learn a little of San Francisco history from the ruins of a former millionaire’s vision of his estate and gardens that formerly existed in this historic park.
Hidden in the Glen Park/Diamonds Heights neighborhoods, Billy Goat Hill is a small and steep hill that boasts superb panoramic views of downtown and the southern neighborhoods. This park is small and is only a quick walk, but is worth coming for the photos alone. The spot sometimes has a rope swing that many seek out for exciting photo opportunities.
Bernal Heights Park in San Francisco, California on January 25, 2020. Photo by Peter Stringer for Amazing America.
If you’ve ever looked up photos of San Francisco’s skyline, there’s a pretty big chance you might have stumbled across some pictures taken from Bernal Heights Park. This park is far from the tourist-filled spaces but boasts one of the most vast and comprehensive panoramas of the entire city. You’ve likely seen photos of people swinging on the swing over the city skyline from here as well. This park is a personal favorite for a lot of locals; since it’s so far out of the way, you’ll likely avoid crowds and busy streets.
The bonus point is that this spot has parking lots, a rarity for a lot of these places throughout the city, so if you’re traveling by car, you’ll find better luck here than in other places.
Alcatraz Island off the coast of San Francisco. Stock photo by Markus Laugh via Unsplash.
You know Alcatraz from its famous movies and dark history, but did you also know that visiting Alcatraz Island can give you some amazing views of the city? If you’re going to the island on a tour, you’ll easily see how the view out into the bay is gorgeous itself. On that end, several tours leave from Fisherman’s Wharf out onto the bay itself that allow participants to see the iconic city skyline from the water that are worth checking out. There are even several tours that specialize in sunset trips that go under the bridges during the most beautiful time of the day.
Angel Island State Park is a small island barely a mile long in the middle of the San Francisco Bay. Take a ferry from the Embarcadero and you’ll arrive at this gorgeous state park surrounded by water. Several hikes in this area can keep you busy, but for the best views, take the hike up Mt. Livermore to the summit for amazing panoramic bay views from the middle of the water. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge from here, along with the San Francisco skyline and surrounding bay cities. There are several beaches and coves along the way that you can stop and hang out in, along with the Angel Island Immigration Museum to learn the history of the island itself.
This is an obligatory shoutout to Battery Spencer, probably the most popular place to view the Golden Gate Bridge in the entire bay area. This spot is popular for a reason: Gorgeous views of the bridge, especially at sunrise. Anytime there’s low fog creeping over the bridge, photographers flock to this area to capture the bridge peaking out. Be warned of busy crowds and hard-to-find parking, this spot will be packed with tourists and photographers. If you’re looking for a better-kept secret, consider our next location instead.
If you’ve got a car and want a drive with a view, cross the Golden Gate Bridge and follow the road west towards the Marin Headlands. This area contains countless places to pull off and gaze out towards the bridge and skyline, along with several beaches and hikes along the way. Hawk Hill is touted by locals as one of the best places in the entire bay to view the Golden Gate Bridge, so make sure to stop here on your drive. If you’re feeling active, add another stop at Black Sands Beach and brave the steep steps down to the dark and sandy shoreline.
The drive itself is lush and green after the rainy season, with wildflowers lining the hills along the drive. Quite foggy in the mornings, make sure to check out the weather before leaving to make sure you’ll be able to see out during your drive. While the viewpoints are iconic in the bay, so is the fog, so plan accordingly!
A breathtaking peak in the North Bay, Trojan Point lies quite literally above the fog line in Mt. Tamalpais State Park. A unique and beautiful vista, this is an easily accessible place to stop on your way back from the Muir Woods or Marin Headlands. There is a small parking lot and is only a very short walk from your car to the amazing panoramic viewpoint where you could watch the fog rolling in from above.
Point Reyes Lighthouse in Inverness, California. Stock photo by Eleonora Patricola via Unsplash.
Now that we’ve traveled outside the city, a final place to stop and catch some amazing views of the ocean is the Point Reyes Lighthouse and surrounding hikes. Nature lovers will love this lush hike with sweeping ocean views and wildflowers during the spring and summer months. Chimney Rock at the end is a perfect viewpoint of the rocky cliffs above the ocean.
From here you’ll also be able to stop at the shoreline to walk along the beach or stop at Alamere Falls, a waterfall that goes straight into the ocean!
You might not need to take separate trips to each of these spots below, but keep an eye out in case you stumble across them while you’re out and about.
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