What we’re about
See legal disclaimer at bottom of text. EVERYONE MAY NOW JOIN THE GROUP EXCEPT THOSE FEW WHO WERE BANNED. Walking or hiking. Meet other local people who are interested in walking or hiking for fitness and learning about San Francisco's history, including its movie history.
This walking group is unique. It is primarily a health group with a dash of history talk for flavor. It is for people in average physical shape who need restroom stops and not for athletes or people with serious medical conditions.
We keep our group together. We go on many different urban walks, in the best areas, that vary greatly in amounts of climbing and history facts. We walk at a leisurely pace and enjoy the scenery.
Our walks are usually 5 to 7 miles and might be called urban hiking. Our routes are well planned with good restroom stops properly spaced. Though we mainly walk in SF we also walk in Oakland, Piedmont, Sausalito, Berkeley & Alameda.
We always take roll. Attendance has ranged from 1 to 112 on July 5th, 2015. Kids and cameras very welcome. Dogs and other pets are not welcome. Also, smoking is not allowed on the walks as this is a health group. Occasionally we visit science and nature places. 99 out of every 100 doctors say, "JOIN THIS GROUP!"
Our "group photo" was taken May 26th, 2018 at our "Berkeley Rose Garden & Cragmont Rock Park Walk."
Click on "Photos" near the top of the screen to see over 21,000 photos of our walks thanks to scores of our members.
See how healthy your favorite SF restaurants are by clicking on link below:
https://101g-xnet.sfdph.org:8443/ords/eeopn...
Here is a great web site about old movies filmed on location in SF: http://reelsf.com/
Some legal disclaimers: By joining us for any event you hereby RELEASE and DISCHARGE it's organizers, hosts and participants from any and all liability, claims, demands or causes of action that you now have, or may have in the future, for injuries, damages, death and/or economic loss of any kind or nature, arising in whole or in part out of the activities, advice or information contained herein. You further agree that if you or someone under your supervision uses the information on this website you assume all risks of injury, damage, and economic loss, without limitation, and release providers from all liability therefore. It is advisable to consult a doctor before you begin any strenuous physical activity. The organizer is not trained for emergency medical procedures and no doctors, nurses or ambulances are provided on the walks.
Upcoming events (2)
See all- A History Walk in Pacific Heights & Presidio HeightsSteep Brew Coffee, Whole Foods Market, San Francisco, CA
After leading several free sample walks, I am charging $5 cash for this walk. Kids, under 18, are always free and I will continue to lead some free walks, about half of the walks. I collect the $ at the middle of walks.
Our starting point is on the sidewalk at 1765 California Street outside of the Whole Foods Market between Van Ness and Franklin Street. Try to be there at 11:00 AM or earlier. We will start walking at 11:10 AM. We will end back here about 4:30 PM.
I will have clip boards for everyone to sign (print) themselves in. Bring a sack lunch and water. We will have adequate restrooms.
I advise to not drive to SF because driving and parking in SF is horrible. However, if you have to drive you should not park in the Whole Foods Parking lot as you might get towed. You can likely find free street parking in Pacific Heights if you are prepared to search a long time over a large area.
Below is the link to a Trip Planner that gives details on using Bay Area public transportation:
Get directions & show routes - Computer - Google Maps HelpThe first thing we do is walk to nearby "Lafayette Square Park" where we will enjoy the park's views, use its restrooms and go to the top of the little hill. The first giant mansion we will see is the great historic Spreckels Mansion where now an incredibly successful woman novelist lives.
Then we will walk to Jackson and then West on Jackson to Scott and then take a group photo in Alta Plaza. Then we will walk West on Washington. On previous walks we turned left on Spruce to eat at the many restaurants on California Street.
This time we stay on Washington for one more block West to see Le Petit Trianon which is the greatest mansion in SF. However, no billionaire wanted to buy it because they want their mansions to be of their design only, and they can't change a mansion made of marble and exquisite stain glass.
Below is a link to a video showing the mansion's interior:
Bing VideosThen we walk inside the Presidio to eat our sack lunches in a nice park with public restrooms. There I will collect the $5.
Then we walk East to Billionaires' Row and see many impressive things such as a 9' tall robot with a large male sex organ.
A big old Hollywood color movie called "Portrait in Black" was filmed on Billionaires' Row in 1959. Many of the big stars of that time appear such as Anthony Quinn, Lana Turner, Sandra Dee, Lloyd Noland, Ray Walston, Richard Basehart, John Saxon and Anna May Wong. Below is a link to more details:
Portrait in Black (1960) - IMDbThere are many wonderful things we will see such as an old 1893 fire house turned into a residence with a firetruck in the living room:
For Our Love Of Old Engine House #23 (3022 Washington) – SocketSite™I have been inside many of SF's biggest mansions since 2007 through attending many "Decorator Showcase" events, which are yearly fund raisers for University High School. I am only going to lead this walk one or two times a year for multiple reasons. One is that I don't want to attract people who only like mansions. I like mansions, but I like the many things we encounter in different walks.
Archive of Past Houses — San Francisco Decorator ShowcaseThis walking group is for humans only. No dogs or other animals allowed.
Some legal disclaimers: By joining us for any event you hereby RELEASE and DISCHARGE it's organizers, hosts and participants from any and all liability, claims, demands or causes of action that you now have, or may have in the future, for injuries, damages, death and/or economic loss of any kind or nature, arising in whole or in part out of the activities, advice or information contained herein. You further agree that if you or someone under your supervision uses the information on this website you assume all risks of injury, damage, and economic loss, without limitation, and release providers from all liability therefore. It is advisable to consult a doctor before you begin any strenuous physical activity. The organizer is not trained for emergency medical procedures and no doctors, nurses or ambulances are provided on the walks.
- A Walk Around the 2 Mosaic Stairways (North of West Portal)West Portal Branch Library, San Francisco, CA
Now open for RSVPs. After leading several free walks I am charging $5 cash per adult on this walk. Kids, meaning under 18, are always free. I collect the $ at the middle of the walk.
Attendance limit is 70. One guest per attendee allowed if put on the RSVP. This walk is popular and inspirational too.
The route is incredibly beautiful and to prove it I attached a link to the photos taken the last time we did this walk, June 1st, 2014. 74 photos from 6 contributors. See all at link below:
https://www.meetup.com/walking-in-sf/photos/34616791/ATTENTION! This walk is hard because of so many stairs and also the vast majority of these stairs do not have handrails. This makes it somewhat dangerous if one is not careful or has balance problems.
We meet at 11:15 AM in front of the West Portal Branch Library close to the West Portal Muni Station. One can take the K, L, or M lines to the station. Bring a sack lunch and water. At 11:30 AM we will start walking. Estimated return time is 4:15 PM.
Then we will walk through the Forest Hill neighborhoods over many stairways including the giant Pacheco Grand Staircase, where we plan to take our group photo.
Then we will go to our normal restroom stop at the J. P. Murphy Recreation Center. Those who arrive late should look for us at those 2 places.
We will eat our sack lunches at the recreation center. I changed this walk over the years. Now it is more concentrated in Forest Hill and has more stairways.
Then we walk to the 2 Mosaic Stairways which are the only 2 big ones in San Francisco and both were decorated by hundreds of neighbors. A relatively ordinary neighborhood got together and did something world spectacular!
Perhaps other communities can by working together do something so spectacular!
Then we walk up to the top of Grand View Park, elevation 666', to see incredible views. Then we walk South taking a different route back through Forest Hill to our starting point. Estimated end time 4:15 PM.
I advise taking public transportation & not driving to SF. For how to get around the Bay Area on public transportation see below.
Get directions & show routes - Computer - Google Maps Help
If you need to drive, there is plenty of available free street parking in the nearby St. Francis Wood neighborhood.
This walking group is for humans only. No dogs or other animals allowed.
Some legal disclaimers: By joining us for any event you hereby RELEASE and DISCHARGE it's organizers, hosts and participants from any and all liability, claims, demands or causes of action that you now have, or may have in the future, for injuries, damages, death and/or economic loss of any kind or nature, arising in whole or in part out of the activities, advice or information contained herein. You further agree that if you or someone under your supervision uses the information on this website you assume all risks of injury, damage, and economic loss, without limitation, and release providers from all liability therefore. It is advisable to consult a doctor before you begin any strenuous physical activity. The organizer is not trained for emergency medical procedures and no doctors, nurses or ambulances are provided on the walks.
