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Baker Beach
The Presidio beach with the head-on Golden Gate Bridge view.
Sutro Baths
The 1896 ruins on the cliffs at the western tip of the city.
Lands End
The Coastal Trail along the northwest cliffs with bridge overlooks.
Golden Gate Overlook
The Langdon Court plaza with the two cypress framing the bridge.
Where we shoot, on a map
Batteries to Bluffs is the 0.7-mile coastal trail in the Presidio that drops 470 stairs from the bluff above Baker Beach down to Marshall's Beach, the only foot-access beach in San Francisco with a head-on view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Closed to dogs, tide-dependent at the bottom, and gorgeous at sunset when wet sand reflects the bridge towers. The cluster's most cinematic walk-and-arrive.
The way I actually pitch Batteries to Bluffs is the SF photographer's secret. Head-on Golden Gate Bridge view from a beach you can only reach on foot, 470 stairs of earning it, and almost always empty even on weekends. Baker Beach gives you the bridge with easy access — drive up, walk thirty feet, you're in. Batteries to Bluffs gives you the bridge with a story and zero strangers in the frame.
The lay of the land
The story I tell most often about Batteries to Bluffs is the bail-and-recommit one. October surprise proposal, couple flew in from Chicago, partner being surprised had no idea where we were going. We met at Langdon Court and started down the trail. About a hundred stairs in, the partner being surprised stopped, looked at the rest of the descent, and said the thing every photographer dreads on a proposal day: "Is this really worth it? Can we just do this up top?" The proposer caught my eye over her shoulder. I gave him the small nod — we'd talked about this exact scenario on the booking call. He said the line we'd workshopped: "I read about this beach, I really want to see it, just give it ten more minutes and we'll turn around if it's not worth it." She agreed, mostly because she didn't want to ruin his SF trip. We kept going. When we hit the spur and the bridge came into view straight on for the first time, she actually said "oh." That single syllable. He dropped the knee right there on the spur, before we even hit the sand, with the bridge directly behind them and the wet sand of Marshall's visible thirty feet below. The frame from that moment is one of my favorite shots of the year. We did the rest of the engagement session on the beach as the tide pulled back and the towers reflected. Climbed the 470 stairs back up in the dark with her ring on and the both of them laughing about how close she'd come to bailing. Lesson I pass on now: the partner doing the planning needs to be ready for the bail attempt halfway down. The stairs are a real ask and they will surface doubts. Have one line ready — "I really want to see it, give it ten more minutes" — and the moment at the bottom always wins the argument.
Make a trip out of it
Where to stay
Getting here
A few things about Batteries to Bluffs Trail
The trail has 470 stairs from top to bottom. A stair-construction project completed in October 2007 installed more than 500 box steps to stabilize the descent. The wooden steps are still maintained but expect rebuilds every few years.
— Presidio.gov / Modern HikerMarshall's Beach is the only foot-access beach in San Francisco with a head-on view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The only way in is via this trail.
— Presidio.gov: Marshall's BeachMarshall's Beach is fully submerged at high tide. Photographing the beach requires checking the NOAA San Francisco tide-station before the shoot. The lowest evening tides often fall near sunset in the right months, which works out conveniently.
— Parks Conservancy / Presidio.govDogs are not allowed on the Batteries to Bluffs Trail, unlike Baker Beach (allowed) and Crissy Field (allowed). The closure is to protect sensitive coastal scrub and nesting birds.
— Presidio.govThe serpentine rock faces along the trail and on Marshall's Beach are some of the most exposed serpentine in California. The rock formed on the deep ocean floor 150-200 million years ago and was scraped onto the continent as the Pacific Plate dove under the North American Plate.
— Modern HikerThe Batteries to Bluffs name comes from the historical coastal-defense emplacements (batteries) along the trail and the geological bluffs they sit on. Battery Crosby, Battery Boutelle, and Battery Godfrey are all visible from the trail or accessible from short spurs.
— Presidio.gov / Modern Hiker
Batteries to Bluffs Trail also appears as Marshall's Beach Trail, Marshall Beach, Marshalls Beach, or Marshall's Beach.