Secrets of the Golden Gate Bridge

Weekends and holidays, it's pedestrian only. How long does it take to walk across the Golden Gate Bridge? The bridge is 1. If you do the Hop On Hop Off bus tour , you can walk one way and catch the bus at the other end Vista Point to avoid the return walk. When is the best time to walk across? And on weekdays, you'll be sharing the sidewalk with bicycles until 3: Plus, no bicycles are allowed on the east sidewalk after 3: Best time in my opinion: Beautiful light and all the bicycles are on the west side of the bridge.

Weekends in the afternoon; the cyclists are on the west side all day, but there are more walkers on the bridge, too. Tip for walking the bridge: San Francisco is not a very warm place, especially in summer. Even when the sun is shining, it can be rather cool. And it's colder on the bridge because cool winds are usually blowing in through the gap from the chilly ocean. The bridge is very windy. Also, the fog comes and goes suddenly and unpredictably; the fog will drop the temperature abruptly. More on San Francisco weather. This is one of the most popular ways of experiencing the Golden Gate Bridge.

You can ride a bike over and back, or take the popular bike ride over the bridge and down into the seaside town of Sausalito, returning to the city by ferry. Almost everyone going on to Sausalito far below opts to ride the ferry back to San Francisco; that avoids the tough ride back uphill and puts you on a ferry ride with great views of the city and Alcatraz rated 2 best ferry trip in the world by the Society of American Travel Writers.

I've put together some helpful information on both renting bikes and taking bike tours over the bridge. See what the trip is like, what to do in Sausalito, tips on taking the ferry, and how to get some good deals on both bike rentals and tours, at biking the Golden Gate Bridge. You can ride your own bike over, or rent a bike and follow the map provided.

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It's a pretty easy route to follow, though there are some hills to climb see my photos, maps and description of the bike route. If you don't want to do the ride down to Sausalito, you can just turn around and ride back across the bridge. There are a number of bike tours available where a guide takes you on a ride to the bridge, usually from Fisherman's Wharf, across it, and then down into the town of Sausalito, where you have time to explore before you take the ferry back to the city.

See my suggestions for taking the tours. In addition to the above-mentioned bike tours, there are some good walking tours of the bridge, and bus tours that cross the bridge. San Francisco City Guides: Their guides are all volunteers, but very professional and knowledgable. I've been on several of their tours and really enjoyed them. No reservations, just show up at the appointed time and place. See Golden Gate Bridge tour. Walk across the bridge and up into the Marin Headlands: Then head down to explore Sausalito, and take the ferry back to the city.

They stop at both ends of the bridge: You can admire some of the best bridge views at both ends of the bridge, plus you can walk across the bridge from one end and pick up the bus at the other end if you want. City Sightseeing includes the Sausalito loop in all their 1, 2 and 3-day bus passes, so you have the option of crossing the bridge and exploring the town of Sausalito, along with using the routes around San Francisco.

See Hop On Hop Off tours for more info and booking. This is a different, but very popular tour. Ride a real fire engine over the bridge and down into Fort Baker and Sausalito, then back to the city. Leaves from Fisherman's Wharf, stops at Fort Point. See fire engine tour for more info and booking. The bridge is open for cars 24 hours a day. After you cross the bridge, there are a number of parking options.

But first, what about the toll? It used to be free for motorcycles and carpools of 3 or more in a car during rush hour, but that ended in Carpools and motorcycles get a discount if they use FasTrack. Unlike the Bay Bridge, there are no humans in the toll booths, and you don't need to have cash to get through the toll plaza anymore.

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It's all electronic now. The sensor reads your FasTrack tag or photographs your license plate when you drive through the toll booth; you slow down but don't stop.

Golden Gate Bridge

There are various options for paying:. To set up an account, or make payments, see bridge tolls. What about rental cars? Best plan is to discuss the rental company's policy when you rent the car. If you opt to having them pay it, you're covered. If you opt out, it's up to you to pay the toll within 48 hours of crossing the bridge.

See more info on this. This can get crowded on sunny days, so fortunately there is another That takes you right into the parking lot. To get to the North Tower lot on the other western side of Highway , take the Alexander Avenue exit the second exit after the bridge. Coming from SF, take the first left after getting off the freeway, go under the freeway, and follow Alexander Avenue to the parking lot next to the bridge.

Two public bus lines leave from SF, cross the bridge, and stop near the Vista Point at the northern end of the bridge minute walk from the stops , and the Hop On Hop Off buses take you directly from SF to the Vista Point parking lot. See above for information on biking across the bridge.

What You Probably Didn't Know About the Golden Gate Bridge

The imposing hills that line the approach to San Francisco Bay on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge are the location of some of the absolute best views of the Golden Gate Bridge. A narrow road winds along the bluffs, with periodic areas to pull off and park: Getting up to the Headlands. Tragedy of Victoria's Secret founder uncovered as first stores open in Britain".

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We can't predict your family's reaction to International Orange -- never mind the neighbors -- but yes, you can.

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Copy the paint formula listed on the bridge's website -- it's free! Does the bridge get entirely painted every year? It's true that the top coat has been fully repainted over time with new and environmentally-improved International Orange top coats. However, there are ares that haven't been stripped to bare metal and completely repainted, said Bauer. Every two years, the bridge's engineers conduct an inspection of every inch of the bridge, Cosulich-Schwartz said.

Once a work plan is developed from those inspections, the painters know where they'll paint next. Then the bridge's ironworkers will rig up scaffolding to create the job site. They create containment areas for painters to change into and out of their protective gear. The areas also keep contaminants getting outside to the public, which are sometimes traveling just a few feet from the job site. That's when the painters start sandblasting the area to be painted to remove all of the old paint. Then they prime the area to a thickness of 10 milliliters, followed by an intermediate coat and two top coats.

It can take months, depending on the size of the area.

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For the most part, however, "we're hoping to get 25, 30 years of life out of this paint job," said Bauer. It depends on which part of the bridge is being painted and how exposed it is to the elements. Aaron Kozlowski, chief opperating engineer at the Golden Gate Bridge. It's the bridge's unique ring tone, created by four fog horns using 80 pounds of air pressure to blast decibels of sound. With a range of up to six miles, it's activated when it's too foggy for ships' crews to see the bridge.

Of course, it's a backup: