An Urban Park on the S.F. Bay.

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Difficulty: Easy
Length: 2.5 miles / 4.0 km
Duration: 1-3 hours

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Overview: At the easily accessible Candlestick Point SRA, visitors can enjoy panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay, the East Bay Hills, San Bruno Mountain, and downtown San Francisco.

This walk highlights and tours about 2/3 of the park and can easily be done in a couple of hours. The entire trip is kid-friendly and on a combination of both paved and well graded dirt path. Along the parking areas are a number of access points.

There are several unique features to this park.
For one, it's very easy to get to. It's also an experiment in urban recovery. The park is generally on contoured landfill, mounds and vegetation seem designed to provide a wide variety of scenic vignettes, and it's an interesting fusion of grasslands, wetlands, beach, lawns, and fishing piers, with just a smattering of remnant industrial remains. The landscape makes it easy to forget you’re in a former industrial zone yet in the background there's Candlestick Park and Hunters Point Shipyard, making for an interesting contrast.

Bring along some snacks and pack something warm and wind-resistant, just in case.

The park offers a retreat from metropolitan congestion and the opportunity to relax in peaceful scenery. The location on the shoreline of the San Francisco Bay provides a variety of recreational opportunities that include windsurfing, fishing, bird watching, biking, roller-blading, walking, and picnicking. Individual and group picnic sites, as well as fishing piers and other outdoor activities not easily available in the city offer a get-away of open space.

Candlestick Point SRA was the first state park in California developed to bring state park values into the urban setting. Several stories are told of where the point got its name.

The earliest reference dates from the Spanish DeAnza expedition in 1781 noting a candlestick shaped rock pinnacle on the point. The point was also referenced in a U.S. Geodetic Survey in 1869. The rock disappeared around 1920.

The more romantic story is that the area was used to burn old and abandoned ships during the early settlers’ days. When the wooden ships were burned off the point, the last part sinking into the water resembled a candlestick.

Another story is that the point was a local hunting ground named after the candlestick bird, the
chicken-sized long-billed Curlew known for its delicious meat that was nearly hunted to extinction by the 1950s.

During World War II, Candlestick Point was expanded by 170 acres of fill into the San Francisco Bay to build a shipyard for the Pacific War effort. After the war, the landfill remained and became both a local sewer and garbage dump. Shortly after, the football stadium was built in an effort to halt the blight and move the New York Giants to San Francisco.

On the bay side of the stadium grounds, the abandoned fill sat without purpose but in 1977, the California Legislature voted to develop the land as a state park -- the first urban state recreation area.

Tips: Location
Take the Candlestick Park exit off U.S. 101 in San Francisco.

Operating Hours:
8am to 5pm daily, closing later in summer months.

Note: The main day-use parking lot and Last Port parking area are closed on Thursdays and Fridays. Event parking fees are charged on San Francisco 49'er home game days.

Seasons/Climate Recommended Clothing:
The weather can be very changeable. Candlestick Point is in a wind gap and can be subject to high afternoon winds and fog. A typical day can start warm and still. By early afternoon, winds frequently start building from the west. Layered clothing and wind protection is highly recommended.

Activities:
Candlestick Point SRA is a truly unique state park on San Francisco Bay and offers a surprising variety of activities that include:
Walking, a fitness course, smooth trail biking, rollerblading, fishing, windsurfing, picnicking, birding, a Community Garden.

An outstanding windsurfing location, primarily in the spring and summer.

Fishing opportunities are found along the park's shoreline and two public piers. "Old Pier" on Jamestown Avenue is temporarily closed for rehabilitation. "Fishing Pier" at Sunrise Point is open and has shelters and restroom close by. Seasonal catches include halibut, striped bass, perch, and sturgeon.

Bird watching is best during the winter when migrant waterfowl and shorebirds are in the bay. Pelicans, egrets and hawks can be seen throughout the year.

The park's community garden offers individual garden plots to grow vegetables.

Picnic Areas:
There are a lot of ADA designed tables in the park but firm pads on which tables sit are often a bit small to permit easy movement around tables, getting to grills, or to water easily.

Available are both wind sheltered individual and group picnic areas with great bay views. Call the park to reserve one of the four group picnic sites. They have a 50 person limit per group site.

ADA compliance has been built into most picnic sites to some degree:
Jackrabbit and Mudflat Picnic Areas. Accessible tables on small pads may be usable. Accessible restrooms are nearby. Routes of travel to tables may require crossing short stretches of lawn. Paths to restrooms and parking are generally accessible.

Windharp Group Picnic Area. Accessible tables on small pads. Water spigots may require assistance. Accessible restrooms are in park but not nearby. Accessible Parking is available. Routes of travel from parking to tables are generally accessible.

Points of Interest

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Trail Entry Point and Parking

Trail entry point and parking. There are a number of entry points along the parking area. Simply follow the trails through the trees to the paved trail on the other side.

Many of the trails at Candlestick are classed for mixed use, however some do have bike restrictions.

Getting to Candlestick SRA:

Driving:
The park is easily reached from Highway 101 via the Candlestick Park exit. Head toward the stadium and follow the Hunter's Point Parkway to the Candlestick Point State Recreation Area parking lot.

Public transportation:
Via MUNI.
Take the #15-Third Street bus to Arleta and Bayshore; transfer to the #15 Rutland, exit at
Executive Park Plaza. Walk across the road to the San Francisco Bay shoreline.

Via BART (from the East Bay).
From the East Bay take BART to the Balboa Park station and transfer to the #15-Third Street MUNI bus.

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Junction

Junction and alternate entry point. This is a paved path. Trees are primarily live oak and pine on open grasslands.

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Junction

Paved pathways meet at a "T" junction. Follow the Bay Trail northeasterly along the rip rap lined shoreline through grasslands. While walking these trails keep an eye out for squirrels and rabbits. Birdwatchers can sight hawks, brown pelicans, cormorants, surf scooters, western grebes, terns, and both snowy and common egrets, along with other species.

The northern portion of Candlestick Point SRA consists primarily of open grasslands, low mounds, and scattered brush and trees. It features a small wetlands section and near constant and changing series of broad vistas that includes the Bay, the old Naval Shipyard, and the hills of southern San Francisco.

It feels like a work in progress lying fallow. At the same time, there's an underlying gem potential as future restored shoreline!

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Viewpoint

A scenic viewpoint with an expansive outlook of much of the park, Candlestick Park, Hunter's Point, and south down the Bay.

Northward and stretching inland appears to be the remains of a pair of shipbuilding slipways slowly eroding back into the landscape.

From here head westward down the concrete path toward Candlestick Park.

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Junction

Junction between east/west trail and park boundary trail. Paved.

Just north you will see gateway walls allowing access to additional parking and the ballpark. Walk towards that and continue through to the next junction. The terrain is flat and grassy with scattered shrubs which will provide ample viewing opportunities.

We're going to loop around the park's perimeter. Outside the park area the lands are primarily overflow parking for Candlestick events and light industrial businesses.

The park itself is all landfill over wetlands and bay mudflats, originally developed earlier in the 20th Century for industrial and wartime shipbuilding uses. Since the acquisition for bay waterfront restoration, the hills appear to be dirt and covered debris mounds reshaped to provide small scenic hills and relief.

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Junction

Junction. Heading into the northern portion of the park. This next broad curving segment of trail heads toward the northern shore is a walking/hiking-only trail.

We will return here later (Point 14). A paved road turns to graveled dirt track. The trail heads northerly and into a broad loop heading east along the edge of the park. It provides a hint of additional lands and Yosemite Canal to the north.

The broad parking areas to the edge of the small businesses on the far side are part of this state recreation area. The intent will be to restore the canal and parking area to additional protected grasslands and wetlands areas in support of local and migratory bird populations.

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Junction

Junction. Heading north is a short trail that ends in the northern parking area and area set aside for park expansion to Yosemite Canal and South Basin.

Take the southeasterly fork that heads toward the wetlands area.

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Junction- Wetlands Area

This dirt and gravel junction allows for access to a wetlands area surrounded by the Bay and grass/low hills.

Take the fork heading northerly toward Hunter's Point. A nice little segment, especially in the early spring when the wild flowers start blooming!

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Junction-South Basin

Junction. A dirt and gravel roads near the East Basin shoreline.

The road heading northwest parallels the basin shoreline which is primarily rip rap. This basin has been set aside for future restoration work. The path leads into the parking area.

The two paths heading southeast along the shore effectively end at the same extreme northeast corner of the park, twenty-to-thirty feet apart. Essentially a high and low road, each offering a great view of the former Naval Shipyard.

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Junction

Here's the connector path back up to the main trail. Take the footpath up to the main trail.

From this northern corner of the park follow the shoreline path (referred to as “Bay Trail” on the park map). The shoreline is reinforced with rip rap for protection from rough winter bay weather.

The Bay can get fairly rough in the afternoons a few hundred yards offshore in this region and down to Oyster Point, due to wind-generated chop.

In the very early morning hours it's not uncommon to see hundreds, if not thousands, of birds floating on the mirror-smooth bay waters between here and Oyster point to the south.

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Junction

A well established shortcut trail down to a concrete pier/vista point.

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Vista Point

This is the concrete pier at the northeastern corner of the former slipways that we visited earlier. It's got a great view across the waters to the east and south. The concrete steps on the north side down on the rip rap will give the kids a break from the walk. Up shore toward Hunters Point were a few groups of people shore fishing this day.

A portion of the path connected to the vista point structure has settled at awkward angles due to settling of the shoreline below.

It's ok to tell the kids an earthquake did it - it worked on mine as a good visual of the sort of damage that can be done. Unfortunately, it only worked for a few moments. They've already learned about erosion and subsidence.

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Junction-Connector Trail

Junction. The side trail to the north will lead back to the wetlands area we passed earlier (WP 8).

The walk leading here was along a concrete path.

Continue west toward Candlestick.

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Junction

We've returned to WP 6.

The northern portion of the park has been toured - time to visit the heart of Candlestick Point! The next segment will take us back to WP 3 when we first came to the shoreline.

Head south to WP 5.

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Junction

Follow the path heading to the southeast and the Bay.

The path heading west leads to parking and the park entrance building.

The path heading south returns to the parking area this walk began at.

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Junction

Junction. This path has returned to a point just west of WP 3 and the original path we entered on. Continue east to the Bay Trail junction, it's just around the bend.

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Jackrabbit Picnic Area

The trail passes a long, low hill inland with the Bay offering views of Candlestick Point. Opening up ahead is a large meadow area well outfitted with picnic benches, a restroom building, and BBQ pits. The Jackrabbit picnic area is well outfitted for family and group picnics with one of the best views in the park.

Jackrabbit Picnic area has an easily accessible sand beach with water suitable for wading in (no lifeguards). The Bay water is pretty cold but should be ok in the shallows, which appear clean and free of rocks and weeds.

The Google Earth imagery when this was written was during high tide,. The beach actually gets wide enough for folks to have a lot of fun.

There are also at least three additional short, direct paths from the parking area, making it easy to haul in supplies.

Trails in this area are paved multi-use roads suitable for ADA accessibility, bikes, walking, and jogging.

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Plover Picnic Area

Plover is just a few minutes’ walk southeast of Jackrabbit Picnic Area at a trail junction. It too has ready access to parking which is out of sight, behind a low hill to the west.

A restroom is also nearby. The area is outfitted with BBQ's, tables, and a nice lawn for games, sports, and other activities. Its view provides a great overview of Candlestick Point and the park's shoreline to the north.

Trails in this area are well-graded dirt and gravel multi-use roads suitable for ADA accessibility, biking, walking, and jogging.

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Windharp Hill Picnic Area

Windharp is set at the neck connecting Candlestick Point to the land. The picnic area is set between a low hill and trees providing a nicely protected area to enjoy the day.

Access to parking and restrooms is but a few minutes down the trail. This picnic area also had BBQ's, ADA useable tables, and BBQ's. There is also a narrow grass patch for activities.

Views are similar to Plover's.

Trails in this area are dirt and gravel multi-use roads suitable for ADA accessibility, biking, walking, and jogging.

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Junction

This junction is at the neck attaching Candlestick Point to land and joins all the shoreline paths on the Point to the rest of the park.

Continue the graded dirt and gravel loop on the inner Bay shore facing the landward side of the park.

This "inside" path is fairly well-sheltered from wind.

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Junction- Sunrise Point

We've arrived at the junction servicing the Candlestick Point Fishing Pier and Sunrise Point.

Two trails and one road service this spot at the end of the point which is clearly a popular location. At this junction there is a substantial restroom building which also has a roofed area for weather protection. Along the southern windward shore are a number of picnic spots down along the water.

The pier itself is fairly substantial and quite active with anglers. It is outfitted with a cleaning station near the outer end.

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End of Pier

Views are extensive and include essentially the entire Bay south of Hunter's Point. If looking west along the shoreline, keep an eye open for wind and kite surfers,

Be sure to have something warm and wind-blocking to wear if you plan on spending a significant amount of time out here. A hat and sun block will really come in handy too.

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Junction

Return to WP 20.

Continue along the southern shoreline.

This path has lighting for folks leaving the park at the end of the day.

Scattered picnic benches with windbreaks along the shoreline.

At the intersection, the path broadens to a paved road, rounds a bend, and a broad field opens up on the north side. Across the field is access to Plover Picnic Area, and the far end to the west has direct access to the main parking area.

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Pelican Picnic Area

Pelican Picnic Area is very close to parking; has a restroom, additional picnic benches scattered about in a well-sheltered environment isolated by hill mounds, and plenty of trees.

The road through is paved, making this possibly the most accessible picnic spot in the park.

It's also strategically located to allow easy access to the point, the beach area, and the windsurfing areas.

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