End of the day? Ready to head home? But still short of your minimum daily fitness goals?
Fear not, friends. We’ve got the perfect solution:
Three custom bar hops — complete with waypoints of note — that will net you an extra 7,500, 10,000 or 20,000 steps.
Bonus: They’re all built for your convenience, leaving either from a BART stop or Caltrain.
Don’t forget your comfy shoes.
7,500 Steps: “I’ve been hearing about this sauna thing….”
24th Street/Mission BART to Archimedes Banya
Consider this the fitness option. For this walk, we’ll be heading out from the Caltrain terminal to Archimedes Banya in Bayview. From a navigation standpoint, it couldn’t be easier: you’ll be walking south, mostly along Third Street (which, incidentally, will give you a variety of opt-in or opt-out points, if you feel like adjusting the length with the help of the T-line). Keep the Bay on your left and it’ll be a piece of cake. Along the way, we’ll pass the Museum of Craft and Design (you already know if this appeals to you) and, once you’re nearly there, the Speakeasy brewery. Of course, we promised you drinks at the end of the trail, not just in the middle and throughout — so rest assured that once you reach the Banya, the city’s best sauna complex, you’ll be able to partake of their drinks menu, including $20 pitchers of Stella Artois.
10,000 Steps: “I’ve got a buddy in town and he wants to see everything”
Embarcadero BART to Presidio Social Club
Leaving Embarcadero Station, we’ll be curving along this extremely popular walking path past a Fodor’s Guide worth of attractions. We’ll start by going up Market to Drumm Street, then heading along the water’s edge most of the rest of the way. There are a lot of potential diversions, especially if you’re showing an out-of-towner some spots, with killer views of both bridges, a million bayside cafés (conservative estimate), Pier 39 (it doesn’t hurt to give it a look once in a while, if only for the Alcatraz and Angel Island views) and through Fort Mason — which is well worth exploring, especially if SFAI has a show or event on. We’ll end up with a short walk through the Presidio and end at the park’s best bar: the Presidio Social Club.
20,000 Steps: “If I don’t get some fresh air I might go full Michael Douglas in ‘Falling Down’”
Powell Street BART to the Actual Ocean
To be clear, this is not the most direct route to the ocean — it is, in fact, one of the longest we could devise without actually heading east at any point (uh, except for one tiny jog in Golden Gate Park). You’ll want to get an early start for this one, but luckily, the Riptide, the bar at the end of the trail, is open late. You’ll leave the Powell Street station, skirting around the Tenderloin to head north on Fillmore and then west on Clay — though of course you’re free to substitute your favorite north-south or east-west thoroughfares. From here, we dip into both the Presidio and Lands End; depending on your speed and available daylight, you can see things ranging from an 1898 fortification to the Golden Gate Warming Hut to the Sutro Baths. If it’s nice out, you can skirt west and walk along the beach itself. Happily, the Riptide awaits: a true dive bar at the edge of the known world, it’s Outer Sunset’s version of the 500 Club. And for anyone not wanting to Uber home, the L is within sight of the front door.
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