sfstreets route v1

May 16, 2024

v1.0, 2024

sfstreets-map

🚧 This document is archived as of August 25, 2024. Some information may be outdated!

Introduction

The San Francisco Streets Project aims to answer one question: Is it possible to walk through every major neighborhood in San Francisco in one day?

SF is a very unique city, given its shape as a 7-mile-by-7-mile square surrounded on three sides by water. It may well be the only large city in the United States in which this is possible.

This draft is a first attempt at a solution. The route starts off at the Bayshore Caltrain Station at 9am and ends it off walking along Ocean Beach at sunset, before we loop back to the BART line.

Anyone is welcome to join for any segment of the journey!

The inaugural SFS tour will take place in early July.

If you’re interested in being involved, contact me and include your phone number so I can add you to a WhatsApp group with live location sharing. You can meet us at any point in the day :)

A birds-eye view

11-12 hours total: Target arrival at Bayshore ~9am, arrival to Ocean Beach ~8:30pm (sunset time in early june)

6 main walking segments

5 transit segments

1 rideshare segment

Neighborhood list

This route traverses the following neighborhoods in order:

Part 1

  1. Bayshore
  2. Sunnydale
  3. Visitacion Valley
  4. Excelsior
  5. Portola
  6. Bayview
  7. Hunters Point

Part 2

  1. Dogpatch
  2. Mission Bay
  3. Potrero Hill
  4. Mission District

Part 3

  1. Glen Park
  2. Twin Peaks
  3. Noe Valley
  4. Eureka Valley
  5. The Castro
  6. Duboce Triangle
  7. The Haight
  8. Hayes Valley
  9. Fillmore District
  10. Civic Center
  11. Nob Hill
  12. Tenderloin
  13. Union Square

Part 4

  1. SoMa
  2. Financial District
  3. The Embarcadero
  4. Chinatown
  5. North Beach
  6. Russian Hill

Part 5

  1. Fort Mason
  2. Marina District
  3. Pacific Heights
  4. Japantown
  5. Richmond District

Part 6

  1. Outer Richmond
  2. Sutro Heights
  3. Golden Gate Park
  4. Outer Sunset
  5. West Portal
  6. Balboa Park

Route Details

Part 1: Sunnydale/Visitacion Valley/Excelsior/Portola

1.25 hour walk, 3 miles.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 1.5: Bayview/Hunters Point

15-minute T ride from Gilman/Paul to 20th Street.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 2: Dogpatch/Mission Bay/Potrero Hill/Mission

1 hour walk, 1 hour break, 2.25 miles.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 2.5: BART from 16th/Mission to Glen Park

A brief 5-minute southbound hop on BART.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 3: Glen Park / Noe Valley / Twin Peaks / Castro / The Haight / Fillmore / Hayes Valley / Civic Center / Tenderloin / Nob Hill

2 hours, 5 miles of walking. This is the longest stretch!

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 3.5: Van Ness to Embarcardero via 38R

20 minute bus ride through the Tenderloin, Nob Hill, and Union Square along Geary and Market Streets.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 4: SoMa/FiDi/Embarcadero/Chinatown/North Beach/Fort Mason

1 hour, 2.3 miles of walking.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 5: Fort Mason to Japantown via Fillmore / Pacific Heights

1 hour leisurely walk over 2 miles, with a 1 hour dinner break at the end.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 5.5: Japantown/Richmond to Lands End via Geary/38R

30 minute bus ride (the 38R makes a reappearance!)

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 6: Richmond to Sunset via GGP/Great Hwy

45 minutes, 1.5 miles. A super chill final stroll down the beach.

map ↗ sfstreets-map

Part 6.5: catch a waymo to west portal

A nice 20 minute drive through the Sunset during sunset. sfstreets-map

Part 6.75: West Portal to Balboa Park BART via K Line

25 minutes. Easy access to BART/Muni to get home. sfstreets-map

Alternative Routes

SF has a lot of neighborhoods, and everyone has their own opinion on what counts, what they’re called, and where the boundaries are. I think this route does a good job of touching all of the most well-known subdivisions- but if there is something major I missed, let me know and I’ll tweak it for future iterations!

An improved or alternate route could include the following smaller neighborhoods and prominent landmarks: