But on many days, the wind and bay water lapping against piers, not tourist chatter or stadium cheers, are the featured sounds. Many parts can feel like discoveries for all but the most seasoned city explorers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On a recent afternoon, I traced a 5-mile route<\/a> brimming with history, art, and new development beyond what postcards and city-guide listicles could ever provide. It\u2019s also flat and welcoming to wheelchairs, no small thing in our hilly city.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Because so much of this walk touches upon the city\u2019s working maritime history, I started at the International Longshoremen\u2019s and Warehousemen\u2019s Union (ILWU) Memorial on Steuart and Mission Streets, just north of where the \u201cCupid\u2019s Arrow\u201d statue frames (or ruins, if that\u2019s your take) a Bay Bridge view.\u00a0<\/p>\n Heading south along the Embarcadero, the next of my many stops was the city\u2019s only floating fire station at Pier 22\u00bd. It dates back to 1913 after the 1906 earthquake demonstrated SF\u2019s need for more agile emergency services, but the station and its fireboats are no relic. It was updated in 2020<\/a> to adapt to king tides and rising sea levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n A great way to view the station is through the glass of the nearby Bow sculpture<\/a>, which mimics the prow of a ship and has translucent photos of the fireboats through the years.\u00a0<\/p>\n I passed beneath the Bay Bridge, heard the traffic rumbling on its double decks, and headed towards Fishing Pier 28. If you do this adventure in reverse, the next two spots would serve well as final stops. At the Hi-Dive Bar and Grill, at the foot of Pier 28, and a few steps south at Red\u2019s Java House, you\u2019ll find down-to-earth haunts with stunning bay views.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is an interactive map; you can move it around and scroll to zoom in or out. View a fullscreen version here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both have food (the Hi-Dive is more varied), and the Hi-Dive pours stiff \u201cDRAAANKS\u201d (so says its sign out front). Red\u2019s has minimalist burgers (no lettuce or tomato allowed) on sourdough, blurry photos of Anthony Bourdain dining in, and red vinyl stools and sticky tables.\u00a0<\/p>\n Red\u2019s is attached to what looks like a parking lot, but pause for a moment to contemplate Pier 30\/32. This was where the famous West Coast waterfront strike began in 1934. The International Longshoremen and Warehousemen shut the port down in May. On July 5 \u2014 Bloody Thursday \u2014 police and the National Guard intervened, threw tear gas, injured thousands, and killed two people, one of several deadly days up and down the coast during the strike.\u00a0The sculpture at Mission and Steuart, where I started my walk, commemorates the spot of the Bloody Thursday deaths. <\/p>\n This galvanic maritime history is a wild contrast from the post-industrial calm I experienced on my walk: it\u2019s a peaceful place to sip Red\u2019s molten hot coffee, chat up senior citizens working on sudoku puzzles, and watch the Bay Bridge traffic go by.\u00a0<\/p>\n Old city, new art, splash hits<\/p>\n Just past Pier 30\/32, the contrast between blue-collar past and current gilded age came into sharp focus. A patch of grass hosts an 18-foot metal sculpture, one of 100 pieces the Port of San Francisco will install as part of a 34-mile art walk<\/a>. Google Maps calls it the \u201cEmbarcadero Fish,\u201d but it\u2019s officially \u201cAtabey\u2019s Treasure\u201d and is meant to honor the Ta\u00edno goddess of water.\u00a0<\/p>\n Next was Pier 40, where I veered left off the Embarcadero to stay bayside and check out South Beach Harbor and its beautiful sailboats and extended fishing pier.\u00a0<\/p>\n Looming to my right was the San Francisco Giants\u2019 home, Oracle Park. On game day, like it was on my excursion, the sound of 30,000-plus fans, plus the smell of street-corner hot dog vendors, will give it away.\u00a0<\/p>\n Whether you love or hate the Giants (or just want them to be less controversial<\/a>), there\u2019s no arguing that the park is one of the nation\u2019s most breathtaking baseball stadiums.\u00a0<\/p>\n Follow the path around the water\u2019s edge and find the seal statue outside the center field gates. It\u2019s both a fun nod to bay life and an homage to the minor league team<\/a> that called San Francisco home until 1957, when the New York Giants moved west. Among the Seals who\u2019d go on to bigger things was a North Beach kid<\/a> named Joe DiMaggio<\/a> \u2014 a New York Yankees Hall of Famer, national icon, and briefly, Mr. Marilyn Monroe<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n For more recent history, walk west down the \u201cPort Walk\u201d between the sliver of bay known as McCovey Cove (named after Hall of Fame Giant Willie McCovey) and the rear wall of the ballpark. <\/p>\n Embedded in the concrete are dozens of plaques highlighting moments from the team\u2019s quarter-century in this location, including three World Series victories.\u00a0<\/p>\n I also learned that a Giants\u2019 home run will trigger fountains on the wall above the Port Walk, sending down a misty spray \u2014 a\u00a0 nice way to cool off on a hot day. <\/p>\n Tucked inside the wall is also a notch<\/a> where you can watch the game for free for an inning or two. Even in bad weather, you\u2019ll likely see kayakers in McCovey Cove with their mitts on, waiting for a rare splash hit<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shipyards and railways<\/p>\n Having gotten my baseball fix, I turned left past the ballpark and crossed Mission Creek on the 3rd Street drawbridge. In the 1960s it was rechristened the Lefty O\u2019Doul Bridge in honor of another local kid and minor-league Seal who became a big league<\/a> star. The bridge was my first up-close taste of the truly industrial, riveted steel motif that would dominates the rest of the hike.\u00a0<\/p>\n Designed by Joseph Strauss, who also drew up the Golden Gate Bridge, Dirty Harry fans<\/a> will recognize this bridge immediately. It\u2019s the last heel trunnion type bascule drawbridge<\/a> in the city \u2014 one that opens via weighted counterbalances. It\u2019s a landmark and still works for boats coming in and out of Mission Creek (but not on days with park events).\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the bridge, I kept left and enjoyed one of San Francisco\u2019s newest green spaces: China Basin Park<\/a>, which includes a dog run, wooden boardwalk, tons of spots to sit, and (heads up!) a very active bike lane. It\u2019s also a rare east-side chance to squidge your toes in sand under the watchful bronze eyes of McCovey, whose statue has been returned<\/a> after the park\u2019s construction.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pro-tip: the park isn\u2019t just great for viewing the cove\u2019s kayakers; at sunset, views north are a feast for the eyes.\u00a0During the 2010 World Series, it was also the site of local activity that made one out-of-town reporter\u2019s newscast go viral<\/a>.<\/p>\n At this point, I could have headed west up Mission Creek to check out a different kind of flotilla \u2014 houseboats \u2014 but I decided to save them for last. Instead, as a history nerd, I wanted more SF maritime industry. It hasn\u2019t all been swept away by the redevelopment down here.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stay close to the bay and you\u2019ll pass the massive Pier 50 and its Port of San Francisco sign. A few steps more to the south are two \u201cyacht clubs\u201d with nary a yacht in sight. They function more as social clubs and share a cove with another remnant of a different era: the wooden and steel ruins of the railway ferry, where train cars were barged across the bay to and from Richmond, which has a mirror-image ruin<\/a> along its shore. Passengers and cargo making a transcontinental trek would pass through here.\u00a0<\/p>\n The slip was abandoned after a fire in 1984 and now evokes more ruin-porn than industrial-heyday vibes.<\/p>\n Just beyond is yet another new green space, Bayfront Park, which sits next to Chase Center, home of the Golden State Warriors and plenty of other events. It\u2019s hard to imagine that this shoreline was once a marshy wetland.\u00a0<\/p>\n But just past Bayfront Park is a great reminder that nature is still at hand. At the Agua Vista Park Public Fishing Pier, seasoned anglers show up in the shoulder hours, when fish are most active. The bay is far cleaner now than in the 20th century<\/a>, but if you\u2019re fishing, check signs that flag which species are safe to eat. And if you\u2019re barbecuing on one of the pier\u2019s grills, remember to discard your hot coals in the right bin.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s also reportedly a bicycle graveyard in the water at the end of the pier, a memorial to the city\u2019s fallen bike messengers<\/a>, but the water is too murky to see anything.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t My final stop southward was Crane Cove Park<\/a>, which has converted what was once a major shipbuilding site, especially during World War II, into an outdoor museum and recreation space.\u00a0<\/p>\n Huge tools, such as a steel lathe and radio drill press, have been preserved, as have the cranes that helped get the battleships and others into the water. Now the cove launches a thousand kayaks and paddleboards, which let you get up close to the massive dry docks, only recently shuttered and now in dangerous disrepair<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Back to the houseboats<\/p>\n South of Crane Cove, there are two new neighborhoods rising, but also long, often deserted blocks, weeds instead of green space, a giant electrical substation, and plenty of chain-link fence. Let\u2019s save those for another adventure.\u00a0<\/p>\n To wrap up my journey, I wanted to circle back to see the houseboats and more of the Mission Bay neighborhood, the only one in SF<\/a> to grow in sales tax revenue and population<\/a> during the pandemic. Once railyards and warehouses, the revival began in the 1990s when the University of California San Francisco expanded here with research labs, clinics, and more recently a children\u2019s hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n The hope was to grow a world-class biotechnology hub, and there\u2019s a biomedicine presence here. But tech firms have also put down roots (Uber, OpenAI), as have thousands of residents. SF\u2019s first new public school in 20 years<\/a> is opening in Mission Bay next month.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n From Crane Cove, I headed north on Illinois Street to the Chase Center, then took a left on 16th Street. I then took a right on 4th Street, walked past UCSF\u2019s Koret Quad on the left, and kept north until I saw tents, picnic tables, and community gardens.\u00a0<\/p>\n The social heart of the neighborhood, on Mission Bay Boulevard, includes a lineup of food trucks next door to a mini-golf course. It\u2019s another great option for\u00a0an afternoon snack and coffee. Two blocks northwest on Corinne Woods Way, I reached my final \u2014 and favorite \u2014 stop of the journey: the Mission Creek Channel houseboats.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 20 floating homes and their eccentric, extravagant designs are easy to see from the creekside park. Keep your eyes peeled for the blue and gold bungalow with a sheep sculpture on deck. The homes cost a pretty penny<\/a> and rarely go on the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some residents reportedly prefer \u201cfloating home\u201d to houseboat, as the latter term implies the ability to motor about independently. These homes were originally two miles south in Islais Creek but when they had to move to make room for merchant shipping, they needed a tow.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you\u2019re ready for refreshment \u2014 not the \u201cjump in the bay\u201d kind \u2014 you have plenty of options. The food trucks are back a couple blocks; 3rd Street has a host of options; and Mission Rock Resort<\/a>, The Ramp<\/a>, and the Atwater Tavern<\/a> are all closer to the water. (Check The Ramp schedule for live music.) If you finish before 3 p.m., Arsicault Bakery\u2019s newer Mission Rock location<\/a> has legendary croissants and cold brew.\u00a0<\/p>\n How to get there<\/p>\n The start of our route is a short walk from the Muni and BART Embarcadero stations or several bus lines, including the 38-Geary or 5-Fulton. If you\u2019re working in reverse, Muni\u2019s 15-Third and 22-Fillmore buses and T-Third train come through Mission Bay. The Caltrain terminus is just over the creek at 4th and King.<\/p>\n \n\tMore from The Frisc…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"San Francisco\u2019s bayfront is one of the world\u2019s most iconic \u2014 and most visited. But that\u2019s from the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[2854,8256,1335,10659,7000,418,1103,2268,1727,101,1914,4820,103,102,104,106,105,1911,72332,160191,10475],"class_list":["post-398924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-adventure","tag-chase-center","tag-development","tag-explore","tag-golden-state-warriors","tag-history","tag-mission-bay","tag-nature","tag-outdoors","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-bay","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news","tag-soma","tag-south-of-market","tag-urban-hiking","tag-waterfront"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ILWU-Memorial-jpg.jpg\")
The sculpture at Steuart and Mission Sts. marks where police killed two workers on \u2018Bloody Thursday\u2019 during the 1934 waterfront strike. I started my 5-mile excursion here. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Firestation-next-to-floating-jpg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Bow-scultpure-jpg.jpg\")
\nThe original Station 35 building (L), home of the SFFD fireboat fleet. The nearby Bow sculpture (R) includes images of fireboats of years gone by. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/strike-plaque.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Old-People-sudoku.jpg\")
\nPlacards along the Embarcadero south of the Bay Bridge tell the story of the 1934 strike, and picnic tables are a quiet place to work on puzzles. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Embarcadero-fish-jpg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/kayaks-and-sailboats-pier-40.jpg\")
\nAtabey\u2019s Treasure (L) aka the Embarcadero Fish rises from the pavement. At Pier 40 and South Beach Harbor, you can rent a small kayak or ogle something a bit larger. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Seal-statue.jpg\")
\u2018Meet me at the seal\u2019: For a quarter-century, this statue beyond the centerfield gates has been a meeting spot for Giants fans. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Oracle-Park-spray-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Kayakers-in-McCovey-Cove.jpg\")
\nLook out below (L): When a Giant hits a home run, fountains on the right field wall spray a mist down to the Port Walk. Kayakers (R) hope for a home run ball to turn into a rare \u2018splash hit.\u2019 (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Lefty-ODoul-Bridge-jpg.jpg\")
The Lefty O\u2019Doul Bridge, seen from the Oracle Park Port Walk. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"Oracle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Oracle-Park-from-China-Basin-Park.jpg\")
Whether or not you\u2019re a fan, the Giants play in one of the nation\u2019s best ballparks, seen here from China Basin Park. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/old-rail-ferry-terminal-Pier-52-alex.jpg\")
The abandoned rail ferry pier, across the street from Chase Center, conjures images of trains crossing the bay on barges. (Alex Lash)<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Guide-to-which-fish-to-eat1-1.jpeg\")
Avoid the surfperches. For the others, it depends if you\u2019re a man or woman and how old you are. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1lznp0UktvXd6DgwUMj5G3Q.jpeg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_9038.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/machine-part-EDIT.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_9048.jpg\")
\nCrane Cove scenes: The preserved crane, the steel lathe, and the beach.<\/p>\n![\"Houseboats](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Houseboats-at-sunset.jpeg\")
I had to get back to see the Mission Creek houseboats before sundown. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Houseboats-with-sheep-jpg.jpg\")
Two more Mission Creek houseboats (or floating homes, if you prefer). One has a sheep onboard. (Taylor Barton)<\/p>\n