Nice walk along a long nine-mile sandy beach extending from Mussel Rock in the south to Cliff House in the north.

Location: Mussel Rock Park — Fort Funston — San Francisco

Location: Cul-de-sac on Westline Drive, Daly City, CA 94015 . No street address. Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Directions: From CA-1 South, take exit 507 for Palmetto Ave toward Manor Ave, keep right at the fork and follow signs for Monterey Road / Palmetto Ave, turn right on Palmetto Ave and drive for 0.7 miles. Turn left onto Westline Drive and drive for 0.4 miles. On Westline Drive, there is a fork in the road. To the right is Allied Waste Services. To the left lies the parking lot for Mussel Rock Park. Studying Google Maps would be helpful.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: None (last visited: April 2011)

Capacity: Over 30 cars may be parked here.

Latitude: 37.666090     Longitude: -122.494576

Location: Intersection of Balboa St & Great Highway, San Francisco, CA 94121 . Parking area is visible in Google Maps if you zoom in sufficiently.

Google Maps:

Parking Fees: None (last visited: February 2011)

Capacity: Dozens of cars may be parked here.

Latitude: 37.775057     Longitude: -122.511238

» Walker's Map of San Francisco by Pease Press: Excellent quality maps showing many parks and trails in the San Francisco area. Many of these parks do not have free trail maps online. Cost was $7.95 in April 2011.

Route:

• From the parking lot, start walking north. Look for a trail going down to the beach. Trails are unnamed. No signs. Study Google Map in satellite view to get an idea of trails in Mussel Rock Park.
• Walk 9 miles along a long sandy beach that ends at the Cliff House in the north. At the 4 mile mark, you may climb up a sand ladder to explore Fort Funston which has a hang gliding area. Then continue walking north along the cliffs in Fort Funston until a trail going left takes you back to the beach. Continue along the beach until the very north where you may explore a small cave that fills with water at high tide. Then walk a short distance back (0.2 miles) to the parking lot.

Plenty of wildflowers near the parking lot, before descending down the beach.