Scenic ride through busy streets of San Francisco and Sausalito. Great views of Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco Bay from various angles.

Route: MapMyRide — Strava. A good meeting point to start the ride is Starbucks across the SF Ferry Building. The ride may be broken down into four sections:

• (5.2 miles) To Warming Hut Cafe, 983 Marine Drive, San Francisco, CA 94129, a wonderful cafe at the west end of Crissy Field. The ride from SF Ferry Terminal to the cafe is mostly along bike lanes near busy streets in San Francisco. There are bike-only trails, shared with joggers and walkers, in the Crissy Field area.
• (8.3 miles) To West Side Parking Lot at the north end of Golden Gate Bridge. Note that bikes are allowed on weekends only on the west side of Golden Gate Bridge. The parking lot at the northern end of Golden Gate Bridge is also on the west side. Most people who travel by car visit the "Vista Point" (water and restrooms), which is a parking lot on the east side of Golden Gate Bridge. The two parking lots are connected by a walkway going below the bridge. Bikes can be walked along this walkway.
• (9.6 miles) To Satterlee Breakwater, Sausalito, CA 94965. Great views of the Horseshoe Bay, Golden Gate Bridge and the hills of Sausalito from this spot.
• (12.0 miles) To Sausalito Ferry Terminal, where a ferry may be boarded to return to SF Ferry Building.

Traffic: Very busy streets in San Francisco. Moderately busy streets in Sausalito.

Climbing: Almost flat ride throughout. Short, steep climbs at two or three locations. Bicycles may be walked here.

Bike Trails: Only in Crissy Field area and along Golden Gate Bridge. The rest of the ride is along bike lanes in San Francisco and Sausalito.

Views: Great views of San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate Bridge from various angles. This ride goes via several interesting locations like Crissy Field, Warming Hut Cafe and Satterlee Breakwater.

Water stops and restrooms: Restrooms and food for customers at (a) Starbucks near SF Ferry Building (starting point), (b) Crissy Field area (see description), (c) Warming Hut Cafe near Crissy Field, (d) Near northern and southern end points of Golden Gate Bridge (see description), (e) near Sausalito Ferry Terminal (see map).

Good time to visit? Any time of the year.

Bike rentals: Ferry Building Bike Rentals ($25 per day in April 2015, see Yelp reviews). There are several other bike shops along The Embarcadero. These shops typically open at 9am.

Public transport: Embarcadero BART Station is nearby. The earliest train arrived at 8:48am in April 2015.

Route Variations: Longer routes starting at SF Ferry Building:

• SF Ferry Building — Golden Gate Bridge — Tiburon Ferry Terminal (25 miles, 1300 ft).
• SF Ferry Building — Golden Gate Bridge — Larkspur Ferry Terminal (33 miles, 1800 ft).

Location: SF Ferry Building near the intersection of The Embarcadero & Washington St, San Francisco, CA . No street address. Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions: A good meeting point to start the ride is Starbucks across the SF Ferry Building.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: Paid parking at various parking lots near SF Ferry Terminal. For a weekend ride, the cheapest option in April 2015 was $10 for the whold day at 350 Pacific Ave, San Francisco, CA 94111. (last visited: April 2015)

Capacity: Hundreds of cars may be parked at various parking garages near SF Ferry Building.

Latitude: 37.797085     Longitude: -122.395686