SUNDAY DRIVE
The extra mile: Kirby Cove is the most famous site in the Bay Area that many have never seen. To get there requires the extra mile, actually a 1.2-mile walk one way to water’s edge. You arrive at a pretty beach with a water view, looking across the entrance to San Francisco Bay sweeping over to the Golden Gate Bridge.
Location: Kirby Cove and beach are nestled at water’s edge at the Marin Headlands, just west of the northern foot of the Golden Gate Bridge. Visitors get access from the parking area for Battery Spencer, from where you hike down on Kirby Cove Road.
Why now: Some of the prettiest days of the year, clear and warm, for the San Francisco and Marin coastline are in October and early November.
At Battery Spencer: On first arrival, don’t panic if all the parking spots are full. It usually doesn’t take long for a spot to open up. Many visitors are tourists from Europe who will park their rental cars, walk out to the viewpoint for the photo of the Golden Gate Bridge with San Francisco as a backdrop, and then return and leave.
Hike: From Battery Spencer off Conzelman Road, look for the gated road just west of the parking area. This is Kirby Cove Road and leads 1.2 miles with a 475foot descent to Kirby Cove. The hike starts by traversing open headlands westward with pretty water views. It then slopes down into woodlands and you emerge on a valley floor. 2.4-mile round trip.
Explore: The road (and trail from the primary campsites) will feed you to an old concrete bunker called Battery Kirby. That fronts a pretty beach, about 900 feet long, and bay waterfront. You can peer across the water and watch passing ships and boats, and then gaze up at the Golden Gate Bridge. It’s spectacular and the site of many commercials; one for the Marines might be the most recognized.
Camp: The inland valley is sheltered from wind by forest and ridges and is the primary area for campsites. Camp 1 has a water view and panorama of the Golden Gate Bridge, with a few 10foot flat spots on the bluff top for a bivy. Camping details: tent only, backpack-style; bring your own water, pack out all your trash, no pets. $25 per night (going up next year), reserve at www.recreation.gov, (877) 4446777. Open through Nov. 30 (reopens April 1). Limited to three nights per year; violators who use multiple websites to get reservations and exceed this limit will be banned.
Military past: Battery Spencer and Battery Kirby were part of a military outpost. From 1890 to 1910, a coastal gun battery operated there as part of the defense of the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
Cost: Parking, access are free. Map/brochure: PDF at website. Contacts: Marin Headlands Visitor Center, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, (415) 331-1540; www.nps.gov/goga/ marin-headlands.htm.