San Francisco
Views, views, and more views bring skaters to the city of San Francisco, where trails along the Embarcadero and Ocean Beach offer glimpses of everything from the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges to Alcatraz Island and the windswept Pacific coast. But the city's skating hub is Golden Gate Park. Every Sunday (and soon, we hope, Saturdays too), a section of this 1,017-acre green oasis closes to traffic so skaters can slalom, stair ride, and just plain fool around without worrying about inattentive motorists with cell phones.
San Francisco itself sports a very active inline community dedicated to recreational skating as well as roller hockey, roller dance and speedskating. Several local shops sponsor and promote a host of skating events, while the California Outdoor Roller Skating Association (C.O.R.A. -- linked from our home page) puts on the infamous Midnight Rollers Friday Night Skate, plus other year-round events for roller and in-line skaters of all skill levels. If you're planning an extended visit to San Francisco, be sure to contact C.O.R.A. to find out about upcoming events.
South of San Francisco, the rolling coastal hills continue down the Peninsula to the Dumbarton Bridge. Over on the coast, Half Moon Bay offers skating alongside the Pacific, while San Francisco Bay's western shore is almost totally lined with paved trails. Inland, local favorites are the Sawyer Camp Trail and Canada Road, located right on top of the San Andreas Fault.
| Trail | City | Distance | Scenic | Ability | Pavement |
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| Sierra Point Public Trail | Brisbane | 2 mi |
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| Bayside Park/ Airport Hotel District | Burlingame | 7 mi |
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| The City of the Dead | Colma | 3 mi |
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| Foster City Loop | Foster City | 12 mi |
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| Foster City Shoreline Trail | Foster City | 8 mi |
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| Half Moon Bay Beach Trail | Half Moon Bay | 6 mi |
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| Bayfront Trail/ Dumbarton Bridge | Menlo Park | 18 mi |
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| Golden Gate Park | San Francisco | 2.5 mi |
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| Lake Merced | San Francisco | 4.5 mi |
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| Marina Green | San Francisco | 8 mi |
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| Midnight Rollers Friday Night Skate | San Francisco | 12.5 mi |
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| Monday Night Skate | San Francisco | 10 mi |
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| Ocean Beach | San Francisco | 6 mi |
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| State Recreation Area | San Francisco | 3 mi |
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| The Embarcadero/ Fisherman's Wharf | San Francisco | 12 mi |
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| The Embarcadero/ South Beach | San Francisco | 4 mi |
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| The Presidio | San Francisco | 4 mi |
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| Treasure Island | San Francisco | 2 mi |
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| Canada Road | San Mateo | 7.6 mi |
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| Sawyer Camp Trail | San Mateo | 12 mi |
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