09-07-2026 Monday Fort Baker, Fort Point, Fort Cronkhite, Golden Gate Bridge

Fort Baker was fun. Today's weather was one of those phenomenal Bay Area days. It was a short-sleeve day, and we enjoyed every minute of it. I have not been to Fort Baker since I was a kid. It was busy because of the holiday. The Bay Area Discovery Museum was especially busy, with kids everywhere. Lisa and I drove around making a few stops for photos. The view of the bridge from the water line is stunning. We also walked onto the pier at Horseshoe Cove to see if anyone caught any crabs; quite a few had. We drove to Cavallo Point and found parking nearby. All the buildings have been converted/restored into The Lodge at the Golden Gate. The buildings are stunning. What a great place to stay, but too expensive for my pocketbook. We went into the Mercantile Store at the Lodge, and we each found a shirt on the sale rack that was closer to what we would consider a normal price. LOL! The clerk who helped us was really nice and thanked us for coming in. 

The bar at Cavallo Lodge

Other side of the bar

Entrance to the Restrooms. It is beautiful
so I had to take a photo

   

The ceilings were all inlaid, gorgeous.

The Cavallo Lodge

Officer Housing, now part of Cavallo Lodge

The building next to Cavallo Lodge with the bar and restaurant

We were getting hungry and decided to drive over to Fort Cronkhite since it's by the beach. Maybe we could find somewhere to eat our picnic lunch. The parking gods were looking out for us and we found a great parking space by the beach. We grabbed our lunches and binoculars and headed to the beach. To get to the beach, you walk on a wooden bridge that spans over Rodeo Lagoon and out to Rodeo Beach. We stopped a few times on the bridge to bird watch. We saw a Blue Heron, Sandpipers, Killdeer, Pelicans, and one lonely white crane. The beach is dog-friendly, and they can run off-leash. Because of the holiday, there were lots of people, but we found a log to sit on, ate our lunch, watched the surfers by the cliff on the right, and enjoyed the sunshine. You don't have too many days like this in the San Francisco area. 

Rodeo Beach and a surfer on the right side

View of Fort Cronkhite from Rodeo Beach

Later, as we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, I tried to remember the last time I had crossed it. It had to be over twenty years ago. Wow! The things we forget as we get older. Luckily, there was not much traffic as we crossed. 

We took the turnoff for Fort Point since that was our next destination. Lots of traffic! Winding down the road to the Fort took patience. Bikers crossing in front of moving cars, people walking in front of moving cars, cars not watching as they back out of a parking space...Oh, I don't miss this kind of stuff. But I got to see my first driverless car, Waymo. Not sure I'm ready for that. 

We made it to the Fort and again the parking gods were in our favor. Passport stamps were right inside the entrance of Fort Point, so I took care of that first. The exhibits were extremely well done, and most of the rooms had a display. We took in most of the exhibits all the way to the top of the Fort. What a view of San Francisco, AND there's now a Ferris Wheel at Fisherman's Wharf (I had to look it up because I wasn't sure if it was Pier 39). When did that go in? I think it's been ten-plus years since I visited Fisherman's Wharf. The last thing was a visit to the store. I bought a few things, but they didn't have any NP passport stickers. The salesperson said they ran out but to check the other store. We passed it on our way to the Fort. It's called the Warming Hut. No parking gods for the Warming Hut, but Lisa parked her car by a barricade, and I ran in, bought my stickers, and ran out. Fort Point has a great history and I would recommend this NP site, just not on a holiday weekend when the weather is beautiful. 

We passed this on the way to Fort Point. Beautiful.

View from Fort Point. 

Info about the Fort.
You will have to blow this up to read.

View of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Fort Point Entrance

             
      

I like the "Fun Fort Fact." 

One of the exhibits

This was a game for kids. Great way to
explain how the arches were made. 

Original Fort entrance doors.
Plaque below gives some history. 

Chief Engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge.

This is a photo of all the doorways
to each room to the end

Civil War bunk set up.

This shows how the plaster was formed over the brick.

We thought we would try our luck and decided to drive to the Golden Gate Bridge Welcome Center. Talk about a maze to get there and the traffic!!! No parking gods this time. As we wound our way past the center, under the bridge to the other lots, we found them blocked off too. I can't even explain what we did to get back on the bridge to head north. It's one of those times you had to be there...LOL! 

All in all, it was a great time. We saw everything on our agenda and will try the Welcome Center again tomorrow on our way to The Presidio. Adam and Bri were still visiting with Barry when I returned, so I spent a few minutes with them before they jetted back home. They both had to work tomorrow. They live in the Dog Patch area, and it would take them a bit to get home. 

I hope you enjoy this information and please feel free to add any comments below. 

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