Fort Funston

Quick take: great place to cool off

Such a nice place to cool off during the summer heat in the rest of the Peninsula. Lots of families and people walking their dogs. Some leashed and some off leash.

We walked down the beach until we came to a killer flight of stairs back to the parking lot. Definitely a challenging flight of stairs.

The weather and views are worth the huff and the puffs.

Super fun! Now I know why every dog lover recommends coming here! You will definitely return home with shoes full of sand though.

Even though we rescued our dog a year ago, we never wanted to come here because he wasn't that well behaved. Main pain point is leash reactivity. We have been working super hard on it for the past year and finally have started feeling more confident taking him on hikes with us. Do be aware that there are a TON of dogs here, 99% offleash. But the upside is that all of the dogs we encountered on our visit were very well behaved. Our dog was probably the worst!

This place is HUGE. Our dog Yuki was way too excited at first so he kept barking and not listening. We were able to find a strip of land off to the edge that was empty. We let him offleash and just let him release some energy, doing full sprints chasing us. He was so much better after that. We walked all the way over to the beach, but it looked like it might've been closed or something. We kept going and had Yuki run up and down the huge sand hill. He was super happy with his tongue flopping everywhere.

So many offleash dogs, but they were so well behaved! Most of them didn't even look twice at Yuki and preferred to sniff. The ones who were interested in Yuki would just sniff him a few times, and would return to their owner.

If your dog is reactive, I'd definitely be mindful if you want to come here. If the reactivity is a level 10, probably put this place on the backburner for a while. I'd say Yuki is around 5 out of 10 nowadays. It definitely helps if we can burn off energy first though. All in all, you probably know your dog the best and can decide whether this place would be a good fit!

Fort Funston is a must visit for dog lovers and owners alike. This former military installation, which once housed the 16-inch guns of Battery Davis, and then, Nike missiles, features gorgeous views of the Ocean Beach coastline. The paths are mostly paved, and very easy to traverse. They lead along the cliffs and coastline, and have paths down to the beach proper as well.

The park is dog friendly, and allow off-lease dogs to roam around. During our visit, we saw dogs of all breeds and sizes roaming around with their owners. Most were off-lease, and all were very well behaved and friendly. There was at least 1 watering station that we came across as well for dogs to stay hydrated during their outing.

The trails are apparently also popular for hang-gliders who launch off the cliffs, as well as horse riders who traverse the inner trails. Although we didn't see any during our visit.

The area tends to get very windy, so make sure you layer up accordingly. There is plenty of free parking in the lot at the entrance, and porta potties are also available in the lot as well.

Fort Funston is stunning!!! Dogs are allowed off leash and there are a lot of different trails and areas to walk around so it never feels too crowded.

The parking lot is free and there's lots of available spaces even on the weekends.

I would recommend bringing a jacket because it can be very windy even on sunny days since you're close to the ocean.

I love love love Fort Funston. It is my favorite place in the Bay Area. A fully off leash dog friendly beach vast majority of dogs are friendly with humans and dogs, some owners choose to keep their dogs on leash. There is a nice accessible partially shaded loop and a sandy beach side that is only accessible via a relatively difficult sandy stair trail. Parking is plentiful and rarely full, even on busy days.

It can get really windy sometimes which makes it cold and at its worst, inhospitable. Once I went when the wind was so strong my exposed skin was stinging even the next day from being sandblasted lol, I recommend checking the weather before hand.

You'll see fishermen, kites, paragliders, and lots of dogs here :)

Beautiful trails overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Love this place where I take my dog for walks off leash. This spot is very safe, no cars and my dog can't run out onto the street.

I love that this place has ocean views, different trails with varying degrees of difficulty, walk on sand or dirt trails. I can also walk down to the water and beach. Fantastic place!

Great morning scroll with my dog (mochiko) since the weather in the city is finally nice until it may start raining again.

Seen lots of cute pups/doggy with paw parent(s) having the time of their lives running around and what not.

Shout out to the lady who came to give my mochiko's bootie that was left behind in the midst of his walk.

Here's photos of mochiko happy he's able to be out on a long walk, it's been a minute. He got a little tired so we had to take quick breaks.

We really really loved this dog friendly beach! So many great walks and paths and the best part is that dogs are allowed to run freely. The one thing is that there are a lot of micro-plastics on the beaches which is a little sad to see.

I also recommend to come after noon when the tide is a little lower so you can do the full walk without having to walk around.

Overall, it's a great atmosphere and the doggies definitely had a great time.

Love this place!

Perfect walks in the morning enjoying doggies :)

Hand gliders and sea fishers

Paved walking paths

Lots of parking

Outstandingly me. Life is full of craziness. I am blessed and grateful to have grown up in the San Francisco Bay area on the peninsula. I could not ask for a more cultured and rounded upbringing. This review is for the charm of the area, although not perfect, I am glad that we have insightful people willing communities that can provide their own insights for others to help navigate the craziness of life within the Bay Area and beyond. Cheers to all.