An underrated San Francisco Beach: Fort Funston
Fort Funston is an underrated beach with hiking paths, outlooks, cliffside views, and beach access great for regular day use, exercise, and photoshoots. It is safe, clean, free access and parking, and has cell reception. There are no formal restrooms, however, there are porta-poties!
Abigail Barker photographed by Alexandria Denison March 2024 on a hill at Fort Funston
Whether you are searching for a great beach without having to drive through San Francisco, just to enjoy the sunshine that is coming out, to celebrate a birthday, or for a photoshoot, Fort Funston is highly underrated and should be utilized more often!
Just south of San Francisco is Fort Funston, it sits just on the edge of the city and right before some colorful pink and yellow houses. And right next to Fort Funston is a beautiful coastal trail, this is why I think that Fort Funston is really underrated as a tourist attraction or even as a bay area local favorite!
Fort Funston features free parking, an observation deck, and multiple trails; three of which lead to the beach below. In addition to the views and hiking trails, visitors are encouraged to interact with nature as you can volunteer at the green house, go paragliding if you’re able, and there’s even a designated dog park marked off by cones! Dogs are welcome in the rest of the park as long as they are leashed!
This is also one of my favorite places to do photoshoots, since it is still a diamond in the rough and not as well known as other spots! Not only that, but SF’s Fort Funston has a unique landscape that is beautiful to photograph and worth a trip on its own!
Just down the street is another little parking lot where you will find Battery Davis trail, this is more of street parking, but here you will also find the Funston Horse trail if you are a horse fan, I say it is worth bringing out your big furry friend too!
Did I forget to mention that it is safe, clean, free to park and enter, and has perfect cell reception? I have been to this beach multiple times and have never seen a homeless person, very little trash, and there are porta-potties. I just recommend bringing your own hand sanitizer for after using the restroom!
Fort Funston is located on Skyline BLVD right across from the SF police dpt pistol rance and right next to lake merced, so maybe go take a trip to the lake merced boathouse after hiking around Fort Funston and getting your photoshoot done?
I mentioned that I love doing photoshoots here! Below you can see some of the photo shoots I’ve done at Fort Funston, and if you’re interested in booking, feel free to reach out by clicking here! Also, if you want to see more of my work, please follow me on Instagram. Want to keep reading? Lets go here!
