Late last week, I took off Friday morning for some exploration in San Francisco and, across the Golden Gate, in the Marin Headlands. See my full report here.
Today, while browsing around, I came across a great recent article by the Chronicle’s Outdoors writer Tom Stienstra that he published the Sunday before my visit. I hadn’t noticed it in the paper – but it’s a very useful reference to exploring the Marin Headlands.
You get the best view anywhere of the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond across San Francisco, and moments later, a lookout across the Pacific Ocean where it seems you can see nearly to Hawaii.
Indeed! Hawk Hill is the highest point in the Headlands and looks DOWN on both the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the Point Bonita lighthouse. A spectacular place from which to view San Francisco.
Another great spot, expecially after dark, is Treasure Island. If you’re heading to Oakland across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and can spare 5-10 minutes, take the left exit off to Treasure Island and head down the hill to the area just before the old Navy base gatehouse.
You’ll have a stunning view back across the water of San Francisco’s downtown skyline. It’s one of those overlooked but beautifully scenic stops that most of us just pass by in our rush to get across the bay! Here’s a daytime view from Treasure Island taken with my old Canon EOS 30D DSLR on May 5, 2007 using a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens (a great all-around lens, by the way!).
I attended a private event last night at the newly redone California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. The facility is truly amazing – compared to the stodgy (but still fun!) old building.
. (Whew, that’s a mouthful!) Most of my shooting to date has been either using Tamron zooms (