ULTIMATE WINTER VIEWS
From the top of Angel Island, as you turn 360 degrees, the entire Bay Area seems to extend out from your boot tips.
At a pullout along Grizzly Peak Boulevard above Berkeley, if you can take in a sunset across the bay beyond the Golden Gate, it’s possible you’ll never feel the same.
If you climb Mission Peak above Fremont, it seems the entire scope of the South Bay is within your reach.
In winter, when the sun’s angle on the horizon is lower, its rays illuminate these views as in no other season. Shadows lengthen and become more interesting. The golden hour at sunrise and sunset becomes even more golden. The 10 best ridge-top views in the Bay Area not only provide sweeping views of the bay, but they can also change your perspective.
East Peak, Mount Tamalpais: You can drive up to the shoulder of the East Peak for a great view, then climb 330 feet in 10 minutes to the 2,571-foot summit. Here you tower over the bay and dozens of landmarks. Clear your mind and soak it in, or count how many famous places you can see. (415) 388-2070. www.parks .ca.gov
Hawk Hill, Marin Headlands: A 5-minute walk rises up to this lookout, where you can perch for the eye-popping lookout across the Golden Gate and beyond to San Francisco; it’s one of the best spots for photos in California. In winter, you get the added benefit of a chance to see migrating raptors; as many as 2,700 have been counted in a single day. (415) 331-1540. www. nps.gov/goga
Mount Livermore, Angel Island: The crowning moment of a 4½-mile-loop hike is the short climb to the 788-foot summit. From the top, each turn brings home another terrific view. If you camp, the sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge is stunning. To get here, take the Tiburon Ferry across Raccoon Strait to the dock at Ayala Cove. (415) 435-5390. www.parks.ca.gov. Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry, (415) 435-2131. www.angel islandferry.com
Mission Peak, Fremont: A climb of 2,000 feet over the course of 3½ miles (one way) leads to 2,517-foot Mission Peak. It towers over Fremont, south San Francisco Bay to the west, with views of wilderness to the east. This is one of the crown jewels of the East Bay Regional Park District. (888) 327-2757. www.eb parks.org
Rocky Ridge, San Ramon: This is the payoff at Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. You hike about 2¼ miles on a service road, including a climb of 880 feet in 1½ miles, to the ridge summit at 2,024 feet. The view of the South Bay is revealed all at once, an unforgettable moment when you first crest the ridge. (888) 3272757. www.ebparks.org
Grizzly Peak Boulevard, Berkeley: This curvy two-lane road is perched on a hill that looms over the UC Berkeley campus. You’ll find several large pullouts along the west side of the road on the edge of Tilden Regional Park. When timed right, this is one of the best sunset viewpoints in Northern California. (888) 327-2757. www.eb parks.org
Mount Hamilton, San Jose: The twistiest back road in the Bay Area leads to 4,209foot Mount Hamilton and the Lick Observatory. Only from here do you see the entire vast floor of the Santa Clara Valley, the South Bay and beyond to the ridgeline of the Santa Cruz Mountains and 3,486-foot Mount Umunhum. Lick Observatory, (408) 274-5061. www.ucolick.org
San Pablo Ridge, Richmond: Hike or bike uphill from Wildcat Canyon Regional Park in Richmond or make the easier 5-mile mountain bike trip out Nimitz Way at Tilden above Berkeley and continue through the gate on the dirt trail to a series of hilltops. Pick your route and enjoy: The bay, San Francisco and dozens of landmarks seem within reach. (888) 327-2757. www.ebparks.org
Vista Point/Coal Creek Preserve, Palo Alto: The lookout here on Skyline Boulevard is a surprise for newcomers: Peer across the Stanford foothills, Felt Lake and Hoover Tower to the South Bay and Dumbarton Bridge with Mount Diablo on the eastern horizon. (650) 691-1200. www.openspace.org
Franklin Ridge, Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline, Martinez: The trail leads to a bench under an oak on the ridge for a surprise vantage point over the Carquinez Strait, lower delta and many Bay Area mountaintops. (888) 327-2757. www. ebparks.org