Friday, October 16, 2009

Marin Headlands & Point Bonita

Want to get gorgeous views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, a picturesque lighthouse, and the Pacific Ocean all within proximity of one another? Well, just head for the Marin Headlands, a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. A couple Sundays ago, we woke up to perfect autumn weather: sun, sun, and more sun along with cool, crisp temps. Not having been to Marin in while and itching to shoot off some photos, I suggested that we take an afternoon road trip to see if we could catch some cool views and enjoy the spectacular weather. And what views we saw...

The Golden Gate as seen from the headlands...

San Francisco...

You can hike down to the beaches below - but we stayed up high...

A lone boat heading back into the bay...

The higher you go, the better the views...

That's Point Bonita Lighthouse off in the distance - our next stop...

You have to pass through a tunnel to get there...

The Point Bonita Lighthouse is still active and is around 150 years old...

There's the lighthouse - you have to cross this rickety old bridge to get there...



Here's the view looking northward up the coastline...

The water was pretty rough that day, but that didn't keep the boats away...

The rugged shoreline is littered with sunken ship wrecks...

The view from the window inside the lighthouse...

Here's the view looking south...


You have to wait to cross the bridge -
only two persons at a time are allowed on it...

We're waiting our turn to go back...

Here's the lighthouse from the other side of the bridge...



Some park service housing - not bad, huh?

If you drive further up the road, you get some awesome views
of the lighthouse from higher up...

...and of the coastline too...

Then we explored some tunnels which led to other viewpoints...

You just can't escape graffiti, though...

That's Point Bonita off in the distance...

Then we headed back to the viewpoint closest to the bridge...



One last shot of the late afternoon sun...
Here's a link to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, a true gem of the San Francisco Bay: Golden Gate Rec Area.

Watch this short video clip to hear the sound of the ocean...

3 comments:

chrome3d said...

Excellent photos and a lot of them, almost like being there myself. The views from high up where quite breathtaking. Thanks!

diane b said...

What a beautiful trip and weather you had. Your photos are excellent.It sure is a beautiful bridge and so red! The scenery is breathtaking.

Girl Tornado said...

Ah, you make me "homesick" to visit my sister! My mom was here this weekend, on her annual pilgrimage to Arizona (from Ohio). She and her friend will be visiting my sis the week after next and they are all going down to Carmel and Big Sur to spend a few days. How I wish I could go with them!

I love your hike, and the lighthouse. I will have to put that on my list of hikes to do next time I visit my sis!