San Francisco Hikes: Ecology Trail & Lovers’ Lane

Having seen quite a bit of San Francisco and having so much more to do there, I didn’t think I’d be hiking in The City. A few weeks back the kids wanted to do another drive through the famous Golden Gate Bridge. And I, having signed up for the 52 hikes challenge, thought, I’d squeeze in a hike somewhere on the peninsula, while were there. And I finally settled on Ecology Trail and Lovers’ Lane.

Ecology Trail and Lovers’ Lane

Ecology Trail and Lovers’ Lane are trails in the Presidio area of San Francisco. Ecology Trail is around 1.4 miles and Lovers’ Lane, 6. Hop on to one more trail from there and you’ll get to hike a 2.6-mile loop in the area.

This hike starts at a vista point and then goes through some thicket, some tall trees, eucalyptus groves, and some homes. You get a peek at the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and even walk through a sandy stretch of the trail before you get back onto the parking lot. And there’s a bonus sight beside the trail if you know about it and look for it. That, later in the post!

The hike is mostly easy. I’d say the Ecology trail and the part that connects Lovers’ Lane back up to the starting point is easy to moderate because it’s uneven, unpaved and a bit of going-up-and-down hills. The Lovers’ Lane stretch is paved and easy. Overall, it should be a pleasant hike.

How to get onto this loop

If you’re looking to do this loop, and find that the directions you found were confusing, just follow the instructions I’m about to give you.

Find your way to the parking lot beside ‘Inspiration Point’ in the Presidio of San Francisco. Inspiration Point is the vista point I mentioned earlier. It looks out to the greenery of the Presidio, and into the San Francisco Bay. Some famous landmarks you can see from here include the Palace of Fine Arts and Alcatraz. You could take a look at the sights before you go looking for the trail or you can reward yourself with it when the hike is done.

The loop that I talk about here, begins on the right-hand side of the vista point; you’ll see some steps leading down the hill. That’s the way to go. At the bottom of the steps, you have a choice: Ecology trail first or Lovers’ Lane.

We choose to do Ecology Trail first so we turned left. (This is what I’d recommend, too. Remember— the bonus sight I was talking about). You can go to the right if you’d like to go the other way and start with Lovers’ Lane.

Ecology Trail

Lovers’ Lane

Ecology Trail ends at Hardie Avenue. And then you can make the switch to the next trail by continuing on to Funston Avenue, at the beginning of which, you’ll see a set of steps leading down to a wooded area on the right. There’s even a small sign to mark Lovers’ Lane. (I believe that you could also walk down Funston Avenue, turn right onto Presidio Boulevard and get onto Lovers’ Lane from there.)

How did Lovers’ Lane get its name:

This lane dates back centuries and history has it that this lane was what connected the soldiers in the Presidio to their sweethearts in the city of San Francisco!

In fact, the Lovers’ Lane of today is said to be one of the oldest footpaths in this part of the peninsula. According to Presidio ).gov, the lane goes back to the 1700s. An info. board by the trail tells me that it was in the 1800s and 1900s that the US Army beautified the path and added the bridge and some other features, here.

Now is a lovely paved path in the Presidio of San Francisco.

Some reminders for this urban hike:

• Set your ‘destination’ to Inspiration Point. There’s a parking lot there although not a large one.
• To be able to do the whole loop/ 2+ miles, you’re going to have to do Ecology Trail, Lovers’ Lane as well as the little trail that connects Lovers’ Lane to where you started the wall (ie. if you started with Ecology Trail
• As for the sights from here, look for the views from Inspiration Point, catch that sneak peek at the Golden Gate Bridge and seek out the bonus sight, Wood Line — a work of art in a eucalyptus grove beside Lovers’ Lane.

Want to take up the 52 Hikes Challenge?

If you like hiking but need a little push to get you out the door, sign up for 52 hike challenge. Start this month and finish around the same time next year — just do a ‘hike a week.’
🥾This was my hike11 of 52! 🙂

If you’d like to see some moving visuals, check out these reels:
Hike 11a – Ecology Trail
Hike 11b – Lovers’ Lane

Liking to —

Pictorial Tuesday

My Corner of the World

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