Lands End on a Foggy Summer Morning

The foghorn on Mile Rock sounds a two-tone warning — low mournful note followed by a higher one, like a tuba and an oboe discussing navigation's futility. Cypress trees dripping. The trail from Merrie Way parking lot to Eagles Point: 1.5 miles, paved, mostly level, accessible, and also one of the wildest places in San Francisco. Cliffs drop to rocky coves where surf explodes against sea stacks and shipwreck remains poke through sand at low tide.

The Sutro Baths ruins at the start: Adolph Sutro built six saltwater pools with slides, trapezes, and seating for ten thousand in 1896. Burned 1966. The concrete skeleton is being slowly reclaimed by the sea. At low tide you can climb down and stand in the old pools, now filled with seawater and algae.

South through twisted Monterey cypress, then the cliff edge opens: Golden Gate Bridge to the east, towers emerging from fog like ship masts. At Mile Rock Beach, a stone labyrinth laid by a local artist faces the sea. Most mornings someone walks it slowly — meditation against one of the most dramatic backdrops in California. Layers required. The Pacific wind is cold even in August. Free, daily, best parking at Merrie Way lot.