Fast Forward SummaryTM -- Whether you rent a bike in San Francisco or bring your own, riding your bike across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito is a great way to spend a day. After your ride and a day of fun in Sausalito you can return to the Ferry Building or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco by ferry. It's about an 8 mile bike ride from Fisherman's Wharf to the Ferry pier in Sausalito, and the first two segments of the ride are primarily on bike paths. The trip usually takes 2 to 3 hours, and the bike shops rank it as "Easy to Moderate" in difficulty. There are a couple of spots where parents riding with kids will want to take extra care, and we point them out below. You can lengthen your ride by continuing north from Sausalito, and we have route suggestions below.
Looking for more info on visiting the Bridge? We have a complete site dedicated to everything about the Golden Gate Bridge, OurGoldenGate.com
Riding Your Own Bike: If you're local you can pick up the route anywhere along the Embarcadero, the Wharf, Crissy Field, or one of the Golden Gate Bridge parking lots -- here's our detailed guide on where to park at the Bridge.
Renting a Bike: Bike rental shops are scattered across the Fisherman's Wharf area of northern San Francisco. They include safety gear and a map with your rental.
Bike Access Schedules: Bikes have 24-hour access to the Bridge, but have to use different sidewalks at different times. The hours when the west sidewalk or east sidewalk can be used by bike riders are listed here.
Biking the Golden Gate Bridge: The Details
Bike Renters: You can rent a bike (even a two-seater or one with a child seat on the back or rolling behind) at Fisherman's Wharf. As an example of the pricing, at one service recently prices started at $7 per hour or $28 per day per bike. This price typically includes a helmet, a bike lock, a map, and a canvas bag on the front of the bike in which to carry your camera. Some services also allow you to pre-purchase your ferry ticket back to San Francisco when you rent your bike.
Bike Owners: Starting from anywhere along the northern waterfront of San Francisco, you can now take the new bike path along the Bay past the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, Aquatic Park, Marina Green and Crissy Field towards Fort Point.
The map below shows the northern waterfront of San Francisco between the Pier 41 ferry terminal (with the dotted lines for ferry routes at the right) and the Golden Gate Bridge at the left. You can zoom in on any part of the waterfront to see the streets and bike paths that run along or near the water's edge. (Yes, the zoom really does get that close!)
Google Map Instructions: Use the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out, the arrow keys to scroll the map, and the SAT button to see the satellite view.
The Bridge offers great views of San Francisco, Angel Island, Alcatraz and the sailboats on San Francisco Bay. On the ocean side the rugged cliffs of the GGNRA and the Marin Headlands, crashing surf and dramatic fog and clouds are stunning.
On weekends and holidays bikes have free access to the west (ocean side) sidewalk of the Bridge (click here for schedule), and pedestrians are restricted to the east sidewalk -- this makes the bike ride fast and efficient, although you'll want to stop and take in some of the great views. On weekdays before 3:30 PM maintenance crews are working on the west side and bikes have to take the Bay-side (east) sidewalk, where there are often lots of pedestrians. As Tom Stienstra of the Chronicle put it, before 3:30 PM weekdays be ready to "go slow, be courteous and prepare to stop for the Kodak moments."
If you ride on the western (Ocean) side, a passageway beneath the Bridge will connect you to the fabulous views of Vista Point (in the north) and the south parking lot next to the toll plaza.
The map below shows the route across the Bridge and how it hooks up with The Sausalito Lateral at Fort Baker for the descent into Sausalito:
Safety and the Descent into Sausalito
This section is very important for families riding with kids, and for people "who haven't been on a bike in a few years."
The first two miles of the descent into Sausalito as you leave the Golden Gate Bridge requires that you ride in narrow bike lanes on a street called "The Sausalito Lateral" alongside cars that are going 45+ miles per hour. It is not unusual to see traffic moving at freeway speeds along this corridor, and we have driven by several accidents in just this 100 yards of road. You'll want to supervise kids and make sure they can handle their bikes well next to the high-speed traffic, or walk your bikes through this short section of road.
If you want to go straight to Sausalito, skip the section below about the side trip to Fort Baker.
Side Trip to Fort Baker
Why there are Red Blotches on this page: East Road is currently closed to bikes and pedestrians (until at least July 9, 2010) because of construction. We have blocked out text below in red like this because the route we recommend is temporarily unavailable. When the construction is complete and East Road is reopened to bicycles we'll remove the red so you can read the text again.
At the first intersection you come to after leaving the Bridge, you can turn left on Bunker Road to explore Fort Baker, and to get away from this traffic. The left turn itself requires lots of care at high traffic times, since you have to cross the busy street and there is no stop sign to create traffic breaks in groups of cars going 45 - 55 mph (70-90 kph).
This turn onto Bunker Road will allow you to enter Fort Baker and ride downhill towards the Bay (and towards the Cavallo Point Lodge hotel). Do not go through the long tunnel with the stoplight next to the hairpin turn after you first enter on Bunker Road -- that leads to a very different area and away from Sausalito. Following the hairpin turn shown in the satellite image above and following Bunker Road downhill connects with East Road along routes that run close to the Bay, with glorious views of the Golden Gate Bridge. You'll recognize spots where some famous photos were taken. This route also avoids much of the high-speed traffic.
When you are riding inside Fort Baker you can always tell which way you're going with a simple trick: if the Bay is on your right you are riding towards Sausalito, and will eventually rejoin the Sausalito Lateral just before it enters town. If the Bay is on your left you are riding towards the Golden Gate Bridge.
The map below shows the route through Fort Baker that then rejoins the Sausalito Lateral just before it enters the town: Remember that "E Rd" below, East Road, is currently closed to bikes during road re-construction.
Descending the Hill and Entering Sausalito
This section is also very important for families riding with kids and for less experienced riders.
When you first reach the outskirts of Sausalito the road goes through about 1 block of a very narrow, very busy street (shown at the bottom of the satellite image below) with a sharp blind left turn as Alexander Ave. transitions into South St. If you are riding with kids you'll want to supervise them closely or walk your bikes in this narrow 1-block segment.
Cars and buses squeeze through the same narrow lanes here with bikes, and there are no sidewalks or bike lanes. Transit buses pass through this turn and can barely inch by each other. To make things even tougher, some times of year the sun can blind drivers and riders as they round this corner coming uphill.
Make sure to stay well to the right on this blind turn to avoid collisions
Note: Many locals call the principal street in this area "Bridgeway." Officially the name of the street does not change to become Bridgeway until you're about 6 blocks into town, but even many residents apply the name to the entire length of the street.
After that choke point you're riding on typical city streets. Follow the main road after making this turn and it will become Bridgeway, the main north-south street in Sausalito. Follow Bridgeway to the intersection with El Portal (by the little park with the fountain, Vina del Mar Park) and turn right to reach the Ferry pier. Our Ferry Guide gives you all the information on this area.
If you stop to eat lunch at a restaurant in Sausalito, make sure you lock your bike. Even here bike thieves will seek out targets, especially high-end models.
How far should we ride?
When you reach a small park with a fountain and two elephant statues in front you're in the heart of downtown Sausalito, and the ferry pier is one block from Bridgeway after turning to your right. This is where most visitors stop to explore the shops in town, and there are many free bike parking racks near the Ferry pier.
Another option is to go a few blocks farther and turn left on Johnson St. for one block to explore Caledonia St., where restaurants and shops are focused on serving local residents and there are fewer visitors.
You can follow Bridgeway and a bay-side bike path for several miles north of downtown Sausalito.
Here's the map showing the route up Bridgeway to the Ferry pier in a larger scale than the maps above:
Longer Bike Rides Through Sausalito
If you want a longer bike ride after reaching Sausalito (and having a fabulous lunch or snack!), here's our page on riding from Sausalito to Tiburon.
You can also ride your bike back to San Francisco across the Bridge route instead of taking the Ferry, but the ride begins with a steep climb out of Sausalito before you reach the Golden Gate Bridge.
The Ferry Back to San Francisco
Be sure to check out our Sausalito Ferry Guide for links to current schedules. The bike rental shops in San Francisco are closest to the terminal for the Blue and Gold Fleet at Fisherman's Wharf, so of the two services that dock at Sausalito that's the easiest way to get back to your point of origin if you're a visitor.
The ferry crew will advise you where to stow your bikes on board. Walking passengers will be allowed to disembark before bikes, and bikes have to be walked until you are off the pier.
Insiders Tip: If you're visiting during the summer months there are extra ferries added to the schedule in the late afternoon, when over 1,000 bike riders may be looking to return to San Francisco. Despite the extra sailings, there will be times when the line gets so long that the people at the back have to wait for the next boat.
If you have theatre tickets or dinner reservations in San Francisco the night you make this ride, try to make your bike trip earlier in the day so you avoid the crush at the ferry pier after 4:00 PM.
Better yet, take advantage of the late ferry during the summer and have dinner in Sausalito!
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