Arnold & Tad’s Peninsula Hiking Adventure

Distance: 3-14 miles per day
Duration: 3-4 days
Difficulty: Moderate to Challenging

A Trail of Two Cities

When a move to Marin County separated two friends by miles of highway, a simple walk to each other’s houses transformed into an hour’s long car journey. Or did it?

Both avid outdoor adventurers, Tad Thomas and Arnold Ambiel realized that while their houses were no longer connected by city streets in Los Altos, they were connected by the Ridge Trail. In Marin County, Tad’s house lies adjacent to the Lucas Valley Preserve while in Los Altos the Arastradero Preserve offers easy access to the Ridge Trail network.

So in the Spring of 2026, Tad and Arnold set off on a journey to walk to each other’s houses using the Ridge Trail network. Employing a combination of tools including AllTrails, Google Maps and Ridge Trail maps, they plotted a 9-day voyage, completed in daily segments. Word got out and soon friends and family asked to join in. The trek started and ended at their front doors; each day’s hike started as close to the end of the previous hike as possible. With limited public transit and overnight accommodations along portions of the route, they relied on “trail angels” – friends and family to help support the adventure. As their journey unfolded, they discovered the route offers great opportunities for a multi-day thru-hike experience.

Badge created by Suzanne Ambiel to commemorate the journey.

Itinerary

DAY 1: Half Moon Bay to San Bruno

Difficulty: 13 miles, 1,729 ft elevation gain
AllTrails map
PDF maps: Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail and Sweeney Ridge
Overnight: Airbnb in San Bruno (north end of Sweeney Ridge)
Notes:
- A docent is required to hike the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail. You can sign up for a hike at https://webapps.sfpuc.org/trails. Just make sure the hike will take you from the southern end of the trail to the northern end.
- Food: options are limited at the end of this first day. Make sure to pack food, or plan to take a rideshare to a restaurant, or order delivery.
- Transportation: SamTrans route 294 will bring you to the southern end at Lifemark Drive. Otherwise you will need to arrange transportation to the trailhead.

DAY 2: San Bruno to South San Francisco

Difficulty: 8 miles, 715 ft of elevation gain
AllTrails map
PDF maps: Skyline College to Pacifica and Mussel Rock to Lake Merced
Overnight: Airbnb or Hotel in Daly City/San Francisco
Notes:
- Maps show a Ridge Trail gap between these two sections, however this is easily passable by walking along Palmetto Ave. and Westline Dr.
- Food: there are a number of options to grab lunch and dinner along this day’s route.

DAY 3: South to North San Francisco

Difficulty: 14 miles, 1,391 ft of elevation gain
AllTrails map
PDF maps: Lake Merced to Stern Grove, Stern Grove to Presidio, and Presidio to the Golden Gate Bridge

Want to keep the adventure going?
Stay the night at the iconic Presidio and consider ending the trek with a stroll across the Golden Gate Bridge the next day.

Overnight: Rob Hill Campground in the Presidio
Notes:
- Distance: If you stop to stay overnight at the Rob Hill Campground, that day’s distance would be 13 miles instead of 14. This day could also be split into two, with plenty of overnight accommodations, places to eat, and transportation available in San Francisco.
- Food: There are plenty of food options through the city, and a General Store in the Presidio near the route with food available.

DAY 4: Presidio to Marin Headlands

Difficulty: 2.75 miles (or 4.5 miles if you come back across the bridge), 240 ft of elevation gain
AllTrails map
PDF maps: Presidio to the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge: Presidio to Marin Headlands
Notes:
- Transportation: If ending your trip at the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, you can take Golden Gate Transit route 120. Or you can come back across to the San Francisco side for more transit and rideshare options.
- Food: There is a cafe at the southern end of the bridge.

Additional Notes

Transportation

To get to and from the trailheads at either end of this trip, you have a few options:

Public transportation:
- SamTrans route 294 will bring you to the southern end at Lifemark Drive.
- There are many public transportation options if you end your trip in San Francisco.
- If ending your trip at the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, you can take Golden Gate Transit route 120.
Car shuttle: leave one car at the south end and one at the north (wherever you intend to end your trek). Just make sure you do not leave any valuables in your car, and that parking overnight is allowed where you decide to leave your vehicle.
Rideshare: take a Lyft, Uber, or similar service to the start and from the end of your journey. Either end of the route should have phone service.

Gear Transport

If you’d like to travel lighter and only carry a daypack with you, you can use a package delivery service such as SenPex.com to send your gear to your next overnight accommodation.

Planning Extended Routes

On either end of this route there are more Ridge Trail miles to explore! Use our interactive map, trail section maps, and more Trip Planning Tools to create a Ridge Trail thru-hike of your own!