Guides
Wonders of the Crosstown Trail
The 17-mile route avoids the guidebook spots. Here are 12 must-see destinations
By Peter Hartlaub | June 5, 2021 | Updated: June 4, 2021 5:24 PM
The Crosstown Trail is a true San Francisco miracle: a world-class hiking trail created by a band of citizens, who bypassed government bureaucracy and somehow finished the project in 18 months.
As the trail celebrates its second anniversary on June 5-6, 2021, it’s arguably more popular than ever, coming out of a pandemic that acted as a catalyst for producing urban explorers. The 17-mile trail stretches diagonally across San Francisco, from the southeast edge to the northwest corner, and seems to deliberately bypass all the S.F. tourism guidebook standards and trendiest neighborhoods, proving that there’s so much left in the city to be discovered.