Fort Funston

Where is there a fort? I was told there's a fort. Well - not actually told but it's in the name... No joke pretty spot.

Great dog friendly beach! Everyone's dog is so friendly. Lots of available parking and there's multiple walking trails if you're not interested in the beach.

The trails are clean with multiple trash cans along the trail. No public bathrooms except for three porta potties in the parking lot.

It is cold even with the sun out so remember to bring a jacket! With the wind, the sand can get into your eyes so bring sunglasses!

Definitely recommend. You can even invite friends without dogs cause it's a nice walking trail

Loved walking around this area. So many cute dogs to see with a great view of the ocean ofcourse. It was such a beautiful day! Parking can be tricky, we got lucky to see someone leaving at the right time.

I don't have a dog but its a great park to roam around and enjoy some scenery and your photo ops or IG enthusiast this is the place to go to. Even for alone time you can come here and enjoy.

like what people mention the port potties are eh, bring some toilette and hand sani.

The very edge of the United States with unspoiled, rustic vistas over a wide expanse of the Pacific. It's peaceful.

We sat on some weather-worn benches talking to an old-timer, an Army Veteran from Los Gatos who said he drives up a few times a month to clear his head. I'm sure there's more of a story there.

It seemed especially meaningful on Veterans' Day listening to his tales as he educated us on the Nike and Atlas missiles that could be fired from this strategic lookout and the missile silos once underneath the scrub and parking lot.

All that remains of the silos was long ago decommissioned, filled and sealed. Knowing they were beneath our feet was amazing- and chilling.

Decades ago, the government planted Monterey cypress and Blue Gum eucalyptus both to hide the military installation and protect against cliff erosion. It just looks like an undeveloped open area, an untouched area of San Francisco.

The Outer Sunset with its rows of near-identical houses began forming a residential neighborhood about a half mile away from these sand dunes during the late '50s and '60s.

Now, dog lovers bring their happy pooches to this (I believe) off-leash area but please be careful: Once on the beach, the cliffs behind you can suddenly collapse.

In February, a young woman sitting on the beach was buried by a sudden avalanche of sand and her loyal dog desperately dug to free her before the SFFD arrived. She suffocated, so sad.

So beware of your surroundings: An English professor once lectured to my class, "Nature isn't cruel, it's indifferent."

Don't turn your back to the ocean (sneaker waves) or stand or sit near the edge of the cliffs.

All that said, Fort Funston is a magical spot; you can see dolphins traveling in pods, usually in the early morning, and occasionally a whale, but earlier in the year.

Worth a visit for beautiful scenery without the crowds and deep military history interesting to many.

The greatest place to bring a dog off leash. Miles of sand dunes to explore with your pup, just be careful of the cliffs, dogs fall off almost every day! Whether you're dog is a puppy or older, Funston is perfect for all ages and sizes! There's also access to the beach/ocean if your pup wants to swim!

This is a great place to relax or hike in Westlake. Recommend bringing a jacket as the winds and chill can pick up pretty quickly. Near the South Parking Lot, there's a hangglider launching point. It was pretty cool seeing them take off, glide in the air, and land. The park is also a VERY popular for dog owners. I'd probably say that at least 20% of people there had dogs.
The trails themselves are quite flat and a mixture of paved roads and sandy trails. There's lot of cool things to look at including missile sites, ocean, SF, the rock garden, etc. There are people coming here for the beaches, but it was pretty chilly. You can easily spend a few hours exploring the area.
If you're looking for a strenuous hike, look elsewhere, but if you're looking for a place to walk and are a dog lover, this place is for you.

On a recent road trip along the CA coast, Fort Funston happened to be the closest beach to our Airbnb, and as we only had a little time before we needed to head into San Francisco, we made our way here for our "ocean farewell."

I had no clue this is a well-known dog beach, in fact, I'm pretty sure we were the only people without a pet accompaniment (except a few fishermen). With this knowledge, I might not have chosen it as a particular destination, but seeing all those furry cuties was such fun, especially as we always miss our Great Dane when traveling. Even early in the morning we encountered at least fifty pups, all well behaved, and just living their best lives: meeting friends, chasing balls, running in the foaming surf.

It was a verrry foggy morning, so we might have missed other options, but from what I can tell, you must park in the (very large, yay!) lot, and take a mile-ish paved hike to reach beach access. Brushy plants, succulents, and rusted battery tunnels border the trail, keeping things interesting. These end in cliff walls made of sand, so be careful and don't get too adventurous and close to the edge! Otherwise, it is an easy walk, very level, until the terminus, where you'll plod through rather icky, muddy sand down a steep hill to the beach. From there, we found ourselves at a wide open expanse of sand and ocean, with not nearly as many visitors. A spattering of large rocks are home to crabs, mussels, anemones and other sea creatures, and various deteriorating structures from the fort's active time in both World Wars decorate the area, as well as the edges of the surrounding cliffs.

We wandered along the beach, stopping to watch fishermen and enjoy the sunrise, when I noticed some large sand crabs skittering about with the retreating waves. One hit my ankle, and I quickly skipped along, until we stopped right below the entrance to the beach. Once more, as we stood in the water ebbing back into the ocean, I found at my feet, truly THOUSANDS of baby sand crabs. They got stuck in my sandals and on my toes and ugggh. Still gives me the heebie jeebies! So please, learn from my experience: don't hang out in that strip of the beach, and watch where you step, or be prepared for a real life horror movie. On the positive side, I didn't feel so bad about leaving the ocean after that!

Sand crabs aside, this is a great leash-free dog beach, there is no fee, and loads and loads of parking.

My over exuberant pup had the time of her life here. It was triple digit in the East Bay so we headed over here. Be warned the hike down from the main parking area can be a little sketchy, bring good shoes, however I was foolish enough to do it with flip flops until the sand got too hot towards the bottom.

We let pup off leash and so could hang and butt sniff with literally hundreds of other dogs on the beach that day. Playing in the waves to cool off, not bad for humans to on those too hot days. The walk up was a quad burner but I had a doggie assist...how the heck could she still pull so hard after playing???

Only other word of caution, if you got a two wheel drive car, do not park on the shoulders in the sand...we saw the same poor really unhappy guy still there three hours later, waiting for what I guess was a tow truck...me, I had my trusty pre-historic Toyota Landcruiser, now I know why these are the choice of Middle Eastern types and despot dictators in the silica heavy environments.

My friend told me the story behind this park is that it used to be a military base/outpost that had been decommissioned after the war and had turn to basically an open field lying unused. He spoke of joining many others for it to be preserved and turning it into a park, a park that now attracts many, many people and many of their dogs. He showed us the park which has great views of the city - San Francisco and on the other side the ocean with cliffside views while in between different trees and other brush.

Nothing like I've seen here east are lots of open paths and field for dogs to run freely and enjoy themselves. Did I mention the views here are great? Every vantage point I wanted to stop and take it in even though it's the same ocean I was looking at. At some points the people below on the beach looked so small which made the perspective that much more enjoyable. Each fellow dog owner we encountered were friendly and my friends dog I think had just as good of a time as we did. If you have a dog that is well behaved or like to see many types of dogs I'd recommend for sure.