Time again for ‘Dancing with Fog’
You might not remember years, weeks or days — but a surreal moment can get inside your head and realign your senses.
In the Bay Area and along the Northern California coast, “Dancing with Fog,” as former Chronicle photographer Fred Larson once called it, can create such moments.
Midsummer, from July through August, is the time of year in San Francisco and along the coast when, in the evening, the magic of dewpoint can be reached and, in turn, fog envelops the coast through morning.
My preference is in the evening when I can get above it, see the fog roll in across the coastal hills and then watch the sun dip into the layer and disappear. On fog-bound mornings, you can hike on trails that lead to mountaintops along the inshore coast, where you break through the top for the view.
When you emerge above the top of a fog deck, your world can be transformed into something that feels like heaven. The fog layer looks like a pearl sea that extends for miles to the western horizon. Coastal mountain summits often poke through the top and look like miniature islands. At the Golden Gate Bridge, the towers often emerge just above as well.
Near dawn and dusk, refracted sunlight filtered through the stratus can create a kaleidoscope of color for a few minutes and add to the phenomenon. You can get the chance at dreamlike views, photos and moments.
Sometimes the darkest, misty days under the fog can create the best scenes when you break through the layer. You can capture these moments on a drive or hike. By region, here are the 10 best sites for this in the Bay Area:
Battery Spencer, Marin Headlands: This is on the Marin Headlands, the first exit north of the Golden Golden Gate Bridge. Turn left, cross under Highway 101 to Conzelman, and bear left to parking along the road. A short walk leads to a bluff top for a view over the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. In the evening, the fog line can develop where the tower rises above the cloud deck. Time it perfectly and a full moon — circle July 27 on your calendar — can rise simultaneously at dusk. Spectacular! Contact: Marin Headlands Visitor Center, 415-3311540; www.nps.gov/goga.
O’Rourke’s Bench, Mount Tamalpais: Start at the parking lot for Rock Spring. To find the trailhead, exit the front of the parking lot and cross Ridgecrest Boulevard. From here, it’s 0.3 of a mile, one way, to O’Rourke’s Bench. On the flank of Mount Tam, this is a landmark stone bench and lookout perch set at 2,040 feet, above the fog layer. Contact: Mount Tamalpais State Park, 415-388-2070, www.parks.ca.gov.
East Peak, Mount Tamalpais: From the parking lot at the summit, it’s a climb of 330 feet in a quarter-mile to reach the summit lookout station. On top (2,571 feet), you get a towering view in every direction you face. It is one of the best places on Earth to watch the sun set into the fog layer and offers a chance of seeing refracted light extend for miles through the stratus. Contact: Mount Tamalpais State Park, (415) 388-2070, www.parks.ca.gov.
Hill 88, Rodeo Beach: The coastal fog deck often (but not always) tops out at 600 to 1,000 feet — that’s when Hill 88 and its 1,053-foot summit provides a spectacular view across the stratus sea. The trailhead is the Coastal Trail near Rodeo Beach. This is a 2.7-mile hike (with a climb of 1,000 feet) to reach Wolf Ridge. A spur leads to an old bunker. In ideal conditions, you’ll poke through the top of the fog layer just before reaching the summit. Contact: Marin Headlands Visitor Center, located near foot of Rodeo Lagoon, 415-331-1540, www.nps. gov/goga.
Barnabe Peak, Samuel P. Taylor State Park: 1,466-foot Barnabe Peak and an old fire lookout (there is no access to the structure), provides spectacular views west across to the Marin coast. The route to the top is a steep climb on the Barnabe Fire Road, located across from the main park entrance on the north side of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard (a 6-mile loop). The preferred route out of Devil’s Gulch on Bill’s Trail is still closed. Contact: Samuel P. Taylor State Park, 415-488-9897, www.parks.ca.gov.
Montara Mountain, San Pedro Valley: Of the halfdozen access points to Montara Mountain, the best is the Montara Mountain Trail out of San Pedro Valley. You’ll rise in a series of stages to San Pedro Ridge, into McNee Ranch, and then to the 1,898-foot summit. You can pop out above the fog layer at any time on the way up, but usually at about 1,000 to 1,200 feet. It’s a 7-mile round trip. Contact: San Pedro Valley County Park, 650-355-8289; http://parks.smcgov.org. Rancho Corral de Tierra, Moss Beach: The Spine Trail follows a west-to-east subridge that climbs and meets the north-south flank of Montara Mountain. I’ve been up here a hundred times. You usually need to climb about 1,200 feet or so to get above the fog, about 2.5 miles in. For access, park along the shoulder of Etheldore Street (near Ranch Road); then walk up Ranch Road to Ember Ridge Equestrian Center (stables). Print out the map at the GGNRA website. Contact: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, 415-561-4700, www.nps.gov/goga. Borel Hill, Russian Ridge: You can cruise Skyline over the course of 7 miles from Sky Londa to the junction with Page Mill Road/Alpine Road and then make your call as you pass a series of trailheads. The best is often Russian Ridge and the 0.7-mile hike one way to 2,572foot Borel Hill. When the fog rolls in, it’s a spectacular sight looking north, where the summit of Bald Hill rises up through the deck. The trailhead is on the west side of Skyline, across the road from Vista Point (overlooks Stanford and the South Bay). Contact: Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, 650-691-1200, www.openspace.org. Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Berkeley: The fog often rolls in through the Golden Gate and across the bay to Berkeley, then curls south along the shore to the South Bay before it fills into a solid mass. A series of pullouts along Grizzly Peak Boulevard above Berkeley and near Tilden Regional Park provide lookouts below of the bay and its landmarks. From here, the fog phenomenon can seem like a living event. Contact: Tilden Regional Park, 888-327-2757, option 3, ext. 4562; www.ebparks.org. Mount Diablo, Walnut Creek: Some fog events will stream like a wave across the entire Bay Area up and then abut the western flank of Mount Diablo. A gray day on the bay still can sparkle on Diablo’s 3,849-foot summit. A visitor center is perched on the summit, with stairs leading to a castle-like lookout deck. Contact: Mount Diablo State Park, recorded information, 925-8372525; Summit Visitor Center, 925-837-6119; www.parks.ca.gov.