Hiking Trail Information

Location: South San Francisco, Golden Gate State Park, CA

Distance: ~10 miles

Type: Loop

Rating: Difficult

Permits & Fees: Parking at Skyline College requires a $2 day-pass, which can be purchased at various locations around the campus.

Preparation

I woke up at 5 a.m. on a Friday morning and drove 1 hour and 45 minutes to the Skyline College campus. I parked in Lot C, where the trailhead to Notch Trail is located.

The Hike

I started the hike at Skyline College in Lot C. The trailhead for Notch Trail is located towards the end of the lot. The hike immediately begins with an uphill climb with views of the ocean and the surrounding hills.

About a mile up the Notch Trail, it ran directly into Sweeney Ridge Trail. I continued straight along the trail until I reached this sign:

The next step was to find the Baquiano Trail; this was the next leg of the loop. I came across a paved portion of the trail and took a left. It’s important to continue in this direction due to how the trail runs into the highway- I’ll explain later on in this post. I continued until I reached yet another sign and a trail hazard. Part of the trail had been washed away due to the heavy amounts of rain within the last few months.

The trail continues towards the direction of the ocean and the views were absolutely stunning! Baquiano Trail continued up towards Cattle Hill where a sign that reads “Trailhead, 0.5 miles” was located on a gate:

An important note: DO NOT hike to the Baquiano Trailhead- it’ll lead you away from the loop. I continued on until I reached the sign that read “Farallones View Trail: Overlook Park Boundary, 0.6 miles”. I followed this trail down an extremely steep hill until I reached the backside of a church parking lot – not my favorite part of the hike; it was a little odd.

From here I took a left at the front of the church and walked along Highway 1 until I reached a crosswalk that led me to Rockaway Beach. I followed the path until I reached a stream where I rock-hopped to get back on the trail:

The trail continued along the coast and led me directly to Mori Point. I highly recommend taking an extra 10 minutes to walk to the edge of it and enjoy the view. At

the beginning of the point, there is this sign:

Another important note: Take the Lishumsha Trail as opposed to the Timigtac Trail. There are several trails that splinter off of the Timigtac Trail, which makes it difficult to navigate which direction to hike. I took the Lishumsha Trail until I reached the parking lot located at the Mori Point Trailhead:

The parking lot connects to Highway 1. I took a left until I reached a crosswalk without a stop-light. This part of the hike was very dangerous and it’s important to pay attention to the traffic; there’s a blind corner that cars speed around. After safely crossing the highway, I took a right and walked along the highway until I reached a steep, paved road with a sign that read “Orchid Gardens”. At the top of this hill was a parking lot and a large sign that marks the start of Sweeney Ridge Trail, which I used to continue back on the loop.

This portion of the hike was by far the most difficult. Up until the last two miles of the hike, it was an uphill climb. I hiked until I reached a sign that directed me back towards Skyline College,

I hiked the last mile back to the trailhead for Notch Trail, which led me right back to my car at Lot C. Although this trail was confusing to navigate at certain points, it was by far one of my favorites.