Lands End Trailhead
The western edge of the city and the ruins of the vast Sutro Baths
The story
Before you is Lands End, the northwestern corner of San Francisco, where the city drops into the ocean. The Spanish named the westernmost point Point Lobos, for the sea lions that once lay on the rocks offshore. Below, by the water, you can see concrete ruins. These are the Sutro Baths. In 1894 Adolph Sutro, a self-made millionaire, took them on. Under one roof covering three acres there were seven pools, each with water of a different temperature. At high tide the ocean filled them in about an hour: some 1.7 million gallons. The baths held up to ten thousand people at once. Twenty thousand bathing suits and forty thousand towels were for rent. After the Great Depression, fewer people came. The baths were turned into an ice rink, but even that did not pay. In 1964 demolition began to make way for high-rise apartments, and in 1966 what was left burned down. The apartments were never built. Since 1973 the ruins have been part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The Merrie Way parking lot stands on the site of the Sutro Pleasure Grounds. The visitor center opened in 2012. From here the trail heads east, along the edge of the cliffs.
Visiting
Free parking, restrooms and a café are next door. Separate steep paths lead down to the ruins of the baths. The park asks you to stay on the trails and keep your distance from the cliffs.
On the trail
- Lands End — 2.9 miles round trip, 1.5 h
Sources
- National Park Service — Lands End: Point Lobos, Sutro Baths, the cruiser memorial (45 hits and 25 fires), Harris vs. Sutro in 1897
- National Park Service — Lands End Trailhead: the 2.9-mile out-and-back Coastal Trail, a level path to Mile Rock Overlook, free parking
- National Park Service — Sutro Baths: the history of the baths, 1894–1966
- Wikipedia (EN) — Lands End (San Francisco): the visitor center opened on April 28, 2012; shipwrecks
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