This is a recommended/suggested Presidio stairway trek for visitors as well as locals. It includes three long ones: the Dunes Boardwalk Trail, one of the Connector Trails, and our longest (472 steps counted today), the Batteries to Bluffs -- with an optional detour to the Fort Scott neighborhood’s “hidden” community garden.
I take public transportation, so from the Park Presidio & California bus stop headed up 14th Ave. into the park. This trail will take you above busy Park Presidio with a view of Mountain Lake directly across.
You’ll see the first stairway up ahead to your left, which I call the Dunes Boardwalk stairway. It has 90 regular steps up from the paved trail (first pic), but the boardwalk at the top includes some built-in steps which brings the total to 104 over to the twin benches.
Continue out to the trail’s west side and uphill on Battery Caulfield Road. At the top, Battery Caulfield merges with E-W Washington.
Washington curves a short distance alongside an auto barrier to Immigrant Point Overlook.
If you’d like to detour over to Fort Scott’s secluded organic garden from Battery Caulfield and Washington, Just walk up the trail from the Compton street sign. You’ll pass an Anza Trail marker and soon see the Rob Hill Campground buildings. Continue around to the campground’s east side and enter the forest on one of the short, unmarked trails that will take you to the Fort Scott neighborhood. Here on Central Magazine can be seen a yellow fire hydrant at the trailhead for the trail I use most. This will take you past a tire swing and down to the backs of the homes and a few narrow neighborhood streets. The garden is off Wisser Ct.
Return the same way, then north to where Central Magazine meets Harrison and Washington. Immigrant Point Overlook is just to the left where you can't miss the trailhead sign for the Connector Trail (208 steps).
The Connector descends to Lincoln where there’s a crosswalk. Here you have your choice of The Sand Ladder down to Baker Beach (second photo) or a sandy trail to Battery Crosby (third pic).
Atop Battery Crosby is the west trailhead for the Batteries to Bluffs Trail, descending steeply (last two pics). Upon reaching the little footbridge on the west side, noticed the gap here has been fixed so that the steps continue down normally and are now easier to navigate.
Out at the east trailhead of this up-and-down stairway trail, I’d planned to continue on the Coastal Trail to the bridge area. When I got to the top of the last battery along this part of the trail, with its concrete-and-wood stairway, trail detour signs were in place. No idea when this section will reopen, but soon there'll be two new Overlooks, one near the Batteries to Bluffs east trailhead and the other at the bridge area.
Down from the dunes boardwalk.
The Sand Ladder down to Baker Beach from Lincoln
Trail down from Lincoln to Battery Crosby and the Batteries to Bluffs west trailhead
Batteries to Bluffs west trailhead atop Battery Crosby
Descending from View Point Overlook on the Batteries to Bluffs Trail
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