Walks with hills and stairs to get you in shape and ready for Peak2Peak

Peak2Peak is Walk SF’s epic, annual hike of 10 San Francisco peaks (tickets on sale now!).

Peak2Peak is always amazing, with a brand-new route each year.

When I recently told a friend she should do Peak2Peak this year, her response was, “Whoa – I’m not ready for that!”

My friend got me thinking. What are some great walks to get in shape for Peak2Peak?

I reached out to a couple members of WalkLab, the brain trust of volunteers who develop Walk SF’s walks, to crowdsource some ideas for hill-filled walks to train for Peak2Peak. Here’s what they shared.

Ideas for San Francisco hikes with hills or stairs to get you in shape

• Explore Sections 2 and 3 of the Crosstown Trail, which climb up and over the “spine” in the middle of the city. Section 2 (3 miles) goes from Glen Park to Forest Hill, and includes trails through Glen Canyon and the Laguna Honda open space. Section 3 (2 miles) goes from Forest Hill to the Inner Sunset, visiting several stairways. Check out the Crosstown Trail map.
• Warm up on a Slow Street and then hit the hills. From Page Street, you can reach Buena Vista Park, Corona Heights, and little-known Mt. Olympus, at the end of Upper Terrace. From Sanchez Street, you can head for Billy Goat Hill, at 30th & Laidley, or Kite Hill, at 19th & Yukon. From Shotwell Street, you’re not too far from Bernal Hill.
• Discover Bayview Park Hill, off 3rd Street. A one-mile trail to the summit and back starts at a trailhead at the end of Key Ave. While you’re in the area, visit the new Bayview Letters at 3rd Street & Meade.
• Pick a staircase (or two or three) to tackle. Some of my favorites are featured in this article on 12 epic stairway climbs. Or pick a staircase near where you live and just do it again and again! You can get inspired by reading about Alexandra Kenin, who’s set a goal of hiking all of the 800+ staircases in the city. Alexandra’s building a map of all the stairways.
• Walk the 3-mile Philosopher’s Way through McLaren Park. Granite signposts take you to 14 “musing stations” that prompt reflection on the area’s natural and social history. Here’s all the details.
• Do the Coastal Trail from the Warming Hut at Crissy Field to Baker Beach. This ~2 mile hike has lots of stairs. Here’s a good map with the scoop on this trail.
• Go to Golden Gate Heights for a lot of stairs in a little amount of time. This 3.1-mile loop includes 12 stairways and 990 feet of elevation change.

Happy trails, and don’t forget to tag your photos with @walksf and #IWalkSF!

Many thanks to Karen Rhodes and Nancy Botkin for their contributions to this blog. Banner image by Sam Kwan.