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Lands End

The Lands End Trail San Francisco follows an old railway bed for about 1.5 miles, from the Sutro Baths ruins to Eagles Point, along cliffs above the mouth of the Golden Gate. Three ships wrecked below it: the tanker Lyman Stewart in 1922, the Ohioan in 1936 and the Frank Buck in 1937. Engine parts still show at low tide.

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San Francisco · 7 min listen · 6 sources

Quick answer

1Eduardo Aguilera built a seven-circuit labyrinth at Eagle's Point in 2004

2It was vandalised repeatedly, destroyed in August 2015 and rebuilt a month later with 50 volunteers

3The labyrinth was destroyed again and has not existed since 2021

Full transcript

The Edge

Lands End is where San Francisco stops arguing with itself. West of the Sutro Baths ruins, the city simply ends, and the land drops about three hundred feet to a churning seam where the Pacific and the bay collide. The trail follows an old railway grade for about a mile and a half to Eagles Point, packed gravel laid down by men who once carried paying passengers out to a pleasure palace that has not existed for sixty years. From the path you look straight down the throat of the Golden Gate, the channel where the rivers meet and the current runs fast enough to swing a ship like a door. On a clear morning the Farallon Islands hang on the horizon twenty seven miles out, sharp as teeth. On a foggy one the bridge horn reaches you first, low and patient, and the world shrinks to the width of the path. Both versions are equally real. Count the ships waiting to enter the Golden Gate from the overlook.

A Railway That Was Already a Ghost

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The Slot That Swallows Ships

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The Ohioan, 1936

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The Lyman Stewart, 1922

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The Frank Buck, 1937

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Mile Rock and the Spur Down

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The Labyrinth Keeper

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A Thing That Comes and Goes

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The Sutro Baths That Started the Walk

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The Coast That Refuses to Settle

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The Walk Back

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Deep-dive audio

1The Edge0:51Free preview
2A Railway That Was Already a Ghost0:37Unlock to listen
3The Slot That Swallows Ships0:35Unlock to listen
4The Ohioan, 19360:40Unlock to listen
5The Lyman Stewart, 19220:41Unlock to listen
6The Frank Buck, 19370:40Unlock to listen
7Mile Rock and the Spur Down0:38Unlock to listen
8The Labyrinth Keeper0:37Unlock to listen
9A Thing That Comes and Goes0:38Unlock to listen
10The Sutro Baths That Started the Walk0:40Unlock to listen
11The Coast That Refuses to Settle0:35Unlock to listen
12The Walk Back0:46Unlock to listen

On the ground

Checked against official sources on the dates shown. Nothing here is a price or an opening hour — those go stale.

Which way in

Merrie Way lot
The main trailhead. Large lot, restrooms, visitor center and trail maps, and the easiest access to the 2.9-mile out-and-back Coastal Trail.
checked 2026-09-07
El Camino del Mar lot
The second lot. Both have accessible spaces, and this one has an accessible overlook with benches at its north end.
checked 2026-09-07
Eagle's Point, for the eastern end
Park at the USS San Francisco Memorial or along El Camino del Mar and start from that end instead.
checked 2026-09-07
Paved as far as Mile Rock Overlook
From Merrie Way the trail is wheelchair accessible to the Mile Rock Overlook and bike accessible until the Eagle's Point steps. Past that it is stairs and uneven ground.
checked 2026-09-07

When to come

A weekday
The trail is heavily trafficked at weekends, though the main lot generally still has space.
checked 2026-09-07
September or early October
Those are the months with the most reliably clear air. July is statistically the foggiest.
checked 2026-09-07
Mid-morning to mid-afternoon
The marine layer is thickest from about three to ten in the morning and rolls back in through the Golden Gate in the late afternoon.
checked 2026-09-07
A low tide
The stern and boilers of the 1937 wreck show at low tide from the stairs below the Merrie Way lot.
checked 2026-09-07

When not to

Any impulse to step off the trail onto the bluffs
The sand and rock are loose and eroding. People have fallen from these cliffs and died.
checked 2026-09-07
Dressing for the weather you set out in
A sunny afternoon on this coast turns windy, foggy and cold very fast.
checked 2026-09-07
The stretch near Eagle's Point, in wind
It is the rugged part of an otherwise easy trail, and the rocky cliffs there are treacherous and windy.
checked 2026-09-07
Turning your back on the water
Sneaker waves sweep across without warning and pull people off rocks and beaches into the sea.
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Where the shot is

Mile Rock Overlook, on the short spur off the Coastal Trail
The Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands, and Point Reyes on a clear day.
checked 2026-09-07
Below the overlook
The same view without the crowd. Most people turn around at the overlook; the trail keeps going down to a small rocky beach.
checked 2026-09-07
The Coastal Trail between the vista point and the Legion of Honor
Remnants of the Lyman Stewart and the Frank Buck, the two ships that went down on the same rock fifteen years apart.
checked 2026-09-07

Eat nearby

Seal Rock Inn Restaurant, 545 Point Lobos Avenue
A few blocks east of the Merrie Way lot, looking out over the Sutro Baths ruins. The dining room called the Terrace opens toward Lands End.
checked 2026-09-07

Where next

sutro-baths-sf walk
Directly below the Merrie Way lot, down the stairs from the same parking area.
checked 2026-09-07
ocean-beach-sf walk
South past the ruins, where Geary Boulevard and the Great Highway converge at the north end of the beach.
checked 2026-09-07
cliff-house-sf walk
Take the signed connector east to El Camino del Mar by the Legion of Honor, scan the city from the overlook, and come back on the El Camino del Mar Trail rather than retracing the Coastal Trail. The connector is a quarter mile round trip, rated easiest.
checked 2026-09-07

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What travelers say

Distilled from Google, TripAdvisor, Reddit and Chinese-language posts — every claim links to its source.

"There will be less likelihood of fog if you go before early afternoon."

Tip: For Lands End, start early to maximize clear ocean views; fog often builds later.

fog timing

"The lands end trail is about 8000 steps if you do not go into Sutro baths."

Tip: Budget enough energy for a long step-heavy walk; add Sutro Baths only if you can handle extra distance.

trail length/effort

"Can be a bit muddy after rains."

Tip: Wear grippy shoes and avoid slick trail sections after rain, especially near beach descents.

trail conditions

"they are looking at the parking lots by Sutro Baths, by Lands End, outside the old Cliff House"

Tip: Treat Lands End/Sutro Baths parking lots as high-risk for break-ins; leave nothing visible and consider transit.

parking theft warning

TripAdvisor

"DO visit the National Park office to understand the history of the area."

Tip: Stop at the National Park office first for maps/history; it turns a scenic walk into a more meaningful visit.

visitor center value

TripAdvisor

"Start your adventure at Sutro Heights Park."

Tip: Begin at Sutro Heights Park to combine historic grounds with a scenic entry into the Lands End area.

starting point

After the guide

Practical bookings for this stop. These are affiliate links: they cost you nothing extra and they do not change what we recommend.

Frequently asked

How long is the Coastal Trail?

About 1.5 miles one way, between the Sutro Baths ruins at Point Lobos and Eagles Point above El Camino del Mar, so roughly three miles there and back. The surface is packed gravel laid on an old streetcar bed, mostly level, broken by two staircase sections. Allow ninety minutes with stops at the overlooks.

Can you actually see the wrecks?

Only at low tide, and only two of them reliably. Rusted engine mounts from the Lyman Stewart and the Frank Buck sit in the surf below Mile Rock Beach; both hulls were partly blown apart with dynamite in 1938. Check a tide table for a minus tide and look from the sand rather than the cliff.

What were the Sutro Baths?

A vast saltwater swimming complex opened by Adolph Sutro in 1896, with seven pools under an acre of glass, filled and flushed by the tide. It could hold thousands of bathers and never made money. The building burned in 1966 while it was being demolished, leaving the concrete tanks and tunnels at the trailhead.

Is the labyrinth still at Eagles Point?

It comes and goes. Eduardo Aguilera laid the stone spiral out in 2004 on the bluff below the trail. Vandals scattered it in 2015, volunteers rebuilt it, and it has been dismantled and rebuilt repeatedly since, reported gone in 2021 and back later. Whether you find it depends on the month you walk.

Sources

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