After our neighbors to the south in L.A. pitted two of their premier bike paths against each other in a battle, I decided to square off three of our best paths here in San Francisco in a kind of three way cage match battle royale. The California Bicycle Route 2, along the Marina and Crissy Field, Golden Gate Park, and the Great Highway Path were my candidates for a car-free ride in the city.
Here's how they fared:
The Contenders:
California Bicycle Route 2 is a popular path that goes from Embarcadero to Golden Gate Bridge. For most of the route it's flat and close to the waterfront. This path is popular with tourists in it for the impressive vistas.
Golden Gate Park is the most centrally located car-free bike path destination here, especially if you include Panhandle path as part of the package. The paths are a mix of gravel, dirt, and asphalt, and they wind through idyllic forests.
The Great Highway Path is flat and straight and follows the eponymous road up and down ocean beach. This is a simple ride with ocean vibes in a less crowded part of town.
The Cycling Experience:
The Route 2 path picks up at the Maritime Museum and passes the Aquatic Park, Municipal Pier, Fort Mason, the Marina Green, Crissy Field, and heads into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It ends at Fort Point right under the bridge. It's a pleasant, but at times confusing ride, that is constantly packed with tourists, dogs, kids, runners, and everyone is taking selfies constantly. Don't plan on a hammerfest -- this is most definitely a pleasure cruise. Stop and take some pictures of the bridge. Why not? Everybody else is doing it.
Golden Gate Park is a little more secluded, depending on what path you take. There's plenty to see, and while you might be dodging homeless encampments in some of the more remote parts of the park, it's generally idyllic, wooded, and quiet. It also offers a variety of surfaces including dirt singletrack. Note that the roads are car-free on Sundays, but there's no real reason to wait for Sundays with such an extensive selection of paths.
The Great Highway path starts where Golden Gate Park meets Ocean Beach. It's all about the beach vibes. This relaxing path can get blasted by cold Pacific wind and fog sometimes, but when the sun is out, it's a pleasant, straight forward ride between the dunes and the Outer Sunset. It's usually far from crowded -- it's pretty far from the Segway tours of the Marina and Fisherman's Wharf. On the other hand, it is straight and kind of boring.
Winner: Golden Gate Park offers the most options and interesting paths that aren't crowded most of the time.
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