Sutro Baths

Super cool, kind of creepy, and the cave right next to it is a wonderful little gem in the city.
I made a day of going to Louis’ Restaurant, The Sutro Baths, and the Legion of Honor as well as the awesome wooded paths between them. It was a great way to check out the area.

Super Tip — 100% overrated. Do not believe the reviews.
First, this spot is off the beaten path for any SF itinerary, the other side of the city. If you are visiting SF for the 10^th time and want to consider something new — then consider coming here.
It takes a while to get here and parking is HORRENDOUS.
Is the history cool — maybe, but you can google it. If you are so into visiting old bath house /​swimming pools on the west coast well then your next spot better be Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk. If SC it is not on your trip itinerary — save your 4 or 5 star and stop being a try hard.
If you do make it out — congrats, it’s your 11^th time to SF. Just make sure to visit the Labyrinth just a short walk away. Now that is pretty cool — some excellent photo ops.
Then again if you are coming out here you have already been to the indoor Labyrinth as well…
Shopping Tip: The on sight Gift Shop is very well laid out and is worthy of 4 stars. Very nice pieces, small gifts and the place where I got an awesome Sutro Bath Magnet… I get them where ever I go —

This place is practically blocks from my parent’s old home in SF.
Never ever stepped foot at this magical place, but better 22 years late than never?
Beautiful! The cool trees and the ocean waves plus the gnarly ruins makes this place perfect for photos and just to listen to waves splash.
Parking can get packed, but be patient. The actual view is a hike down and the ruins are fun to walk along, but also if you are not careful, you could fall.
There is a really awesome spot where the big rock formation has a hole in the shape of a heart. kinda cute.

You’ll see the Sutro Baths right as you start the Land End’s trail. You can walk down and walk into some caves (as long as the tide is low) and peek out to see the waves hitting the rocks. When the tide is lower, there’s more beach but if not, you’re restricted to a smaller portion of the area!
The Sutro Baths are apparently ruins from an 1800s bathhouse that eventually burned down in the 60’s. You can still see the outline of the building and parts of the building that stick out.
Overall, with the right amount of fog and cloud, you can get a pretty amazing photo.

The more I visit, the more magical this place becomes. Just to imagine what this place used to be blows my mind. It’s fascinating. Google pictures! Do some research before you visit so you understand what you’re looking at.
When visiting– wear good shoes. It’s rocky, sandy, and the ground is uneven. But it’s a great place to explore. Don’t miss the cave, the lookout, walking the cement outline of what used to be a huge bath house. This place has come a long way from when we used to visit. The trails are updated, there is better signage, parking has improved a ton, and the gift shop is amazing. Some seriously great finds in there.

Such a beautiful gem tucked away on the coast. If you’re looking for a family day of exploring, climbing the rocks, and coast views, then this is the trip to take.
Our family is always looking for new adventures and Sutro Baths is a definite is you’re a resident of the Bay.
The views and surrounding trails are immediately easy for anyone to do. I know most people find hikes exhaustingly hard, but this is more of a walking hike with some stair and rock climbing at your leisure. For the most part, starting from the top near the café, you can determine how far you want to trek.
Along the way is a labyrinth, sitting areas with amazing views, rocks for climbing, and shoreline stops.
After you’re done, indulge in a warm beverage at the café and relax in the calm busy-​ness around you filled with tourists, locals, and kids alike. Wonderful fun that we are sure to experience again.

Beautiful and breathtaking. Pictures really don’t do it any justice so you have to see it in person. Always a great spot to visit and definitely hike at the Land’s End trail, there’s an amazing Labyrinth in the middle of your hike!

This is one of those places that I think to myself, «if Heaven is real, I want this to be it».
I found out about this place via Twitter or all places, I saw some photos and knew the next time I was in the area that I had to go. And thank God I did.
Honestly, words really don’t describe it. It’s really just breathtaking. He cool air hits you as you’re standing on one of the rocks looking out into this enormous body of water. It’s one of those places, for me at least, where you can put your entire life into perspective in minutes.
Note: don’t be a dummy like me and wear anything else but sneakers– the rocks can be slippery and there are plenty of hills, this is San Francisco after all. And be careful because I don’t want you falling off of a rock or ledge and into the water.
I read somewhere in a review that this is a great date place and I couldn’t agree more.
Bring your camera! I know that’s a duh comment anymore but seriously, you’ll want to snap some photos.
There is a café and restroom at the upper portion so you’re not totally isolated from society when you’re there.
Hike as long as you can to enjoy as much of the area as you can get in. This is one of those great tourist places that you don’t realize about SF. There is so much more to the city than urban sprawl. Next time I’m in the area, I am coming back for sure. No matter what the Über cost is.

Building a public pool at the Ocean’s footsteps is a fantastic idea. Until you run out of business. Decade over decade, the nature takes back what used be theirs, and leaves you with the ruins of what once was a public bath, a century later.
Now, it’s one of those magical places only San Francisco can offer. The powerful Pacific Ocean craved out caves, and the water makes its way through the rock formations. Peaceful on a calm day, and mystic on a foggy morning.
Great for exploring and starting your coastal hike along the trail towards Land’s End.
Breathtaking!

I really love the seaside however I feel like the Sutro baths are completely overrated. Once you walk down the steps it kind of looks like a miniature sewage processing plant, not very attractive or comforting. It looks much better if you just stay upstairs next to the Cliffhouse restaurant and don’t bother going down.
I really feel like coming here is a waste of your time and really, with stunning views and beaches all over San Francisco, you’re so much better off spending your time elsewhere. I don’t think it’s the must-​see everyone makes it out to be and just do not understand the attraction.

This place is so, so spectacular. My boyfriend took me here unexpectedly and it was a wonderfully surprise. The ruins of the bath were fun to explore (and a bit heart racing!) the sunsets here are picturesque; they look the way sunsets do in paintings… But 10x better. It’s very peaceful and memorable.
With lots and lots of stairs and uneven walking, this place is not friendly to those with physical disabilities, which is unfortunate. Everyone should be able to experience this special place and I hope that will eventually be possible, but it is something to be aware of when visiting. Also, the ruins of the baths are not somewhere you want kids or anyone with poor balance exploring. Take your kids straight to the beach and away from the ruins, because that whole thing screams «did you remember to get your tetanus shot?» My boyfriend fell into a hole here in the dark once and almost broke his leg… But that’s a story for another day.
All in all, beautiful place with an interesting history. I look forward to visiting again and encourage anyone who can to go.

The pictures that Unilocalers have provided really do speak thousands of words here. I true local gem and an icon of San Francisco’s «local flavor». This place has an interesting and quirky history. There’s a great podcast on the history of the Sutro Baths if you’re interested:
It’s pretty obvious that this place is disintegrating into the beach and ocean quickly. I was wondering what my grandchildren would see of this place.
Beautiful, majestic views of the ocean. Quite a gem of San Francisco. It can be a very different environment depending on what time of day or night you are there — dawn, mid-​day, sunset, night. All awesome.
I come here on occasion with my family to enjoy the ruins, the beach, and to hike along the adjoining Lands End trail. My favorite visit so far was when I visited with my son at sunset. The fog was rolling in off the ocean while the sun was setting. Amazing.
There is a mix of tourist groups, families, groups of teenagers, and photographers.
Plenty of parking too. I am sometimes surprised to see how few people are walking the trail, but no complaints ;)

PERFECT DATE PLACE. Whether it’s a morning sunrise, beach time play time, or enjoying a nice sunset, Sutro Baths is a pretty amazing spot to spend with that special someone.
— The walk up and down to the beach /​ruins can be fairly steep which is great for some hand holding action.
— If it’s a little chilly during the early morning or watching a sunset, you can make the arm around the shoulder move if you’re a guy. If you’re a girl, you can try the arm grab.
— A great place for some cutsie pictures or to show off your photo skills. I, personally, lack both of those so hopefully you’ll do better than me. ;)
— If this is a first date, you should read the Wiki page so you can come off a little cultured. Knowledge is power, y’all.
— Go into the water or lay on the beach and people watch! It’ll make for a really nice day.
Good luck, ladies and gents. You can do it!

Another San Francisco tourist trap. A beautiful one though.
The history behind is quite interesting. I’ve seen this place in multiple «Things to do while in SF» lists so I was happy to stumble upon it while walking the Lands End Trail. I didn’t even know it was connected.
The stairs going down to it is gravelly & turned into really lose sand in come parts so if you’re wearing shoes you don’t want to ruin, I would suggest you plan for another day. If you don’t care, then TREK on!
There are signed to clearly mark where Sutro Baths is so you won’t miss it.
There are multiple places to enjoy the views of this place, there is one on a lightweight cliff then you can go down by the beach there. I went on a foggy day but it still doesn’t disappoint :)
A great place to listen to the waves of the ocean & WATCH DOLPHINS, yup, watch dolphins. They play in the little cove between the rocks in the ocean. They’re more visible from the Lands End cliffs.
Happy Tourist Trapping!

Somewhat biased here, because I recently chose this for my engagement spot, but half because I ran out of time to look at other places for a surprise setting. I didn’t have time to walk around everywhere here, but I did go down to the main spot. Couple negatives were that the walk down to the beach is really difficult, I would recommend sports attire and the proper shoes. The other thing is that the cool little ledge area where you see all the pics kind of smells from all the standing water. There is a nice breeze from the ocean and the view is really nice. Definitely a good spot to check out though.

Interesting history!
Hubby and I have a passion for history… actually, it is he who usually gives me the lowdown on the landmarks we visit, he is sort of like my Wikipedia, but this time it was me who gave him a little history of the Sutro Baths (after I did a little research on it).
It was our intent that day to dine at the Cliff House but when seeing the ruins after looking below from the restaurant, we wanted to explore instead. We love visiting ruins and historical buildings and clearly seeing the demolished concrete walls, the blocked off stairs and passageways of where something used to be got me curious about what and how this place looked like before. Turns out that in the late 19^th century, Sutro Baths was to be the world’s largest indoor public swimming pool built by and named after a former mayor of San Francisco, who was also a rich entrepreneur. History states that «…the baths struggled for years, mostly due to the very high operating and maintenance costs, and eventually closed.» and just as it was to be demolished a fire destroyed the building and was abandoned. Read up more on it on your spare time as it is more interesting to know about the place before you visit.
The ruins was quite interesting to explore as we went over and around rocks and old bricks and even inside a tunnel or cave. The cave wasn’t very long or deep, Just midway through there’s a deep opening leading through the ocean and waves would crash into the cave at high tide. There is no exit at the other end of the cave, there is just an opening where you can view more rocks and the ocean. The cliff and surf area can be extremely dangerous and there is actually a sign posted there that people have been swept from the rocks and drowned, so use great caution and watch out for rogue waves!
There is a hiking trail to the Upper Coastal Trail which is 760 ft. Be careful because it is a steep trail with uneven terrain. Looking towards the ocean you can also see a set of rock formation island, they called this Seal Rocks, because of the history and population of sea lions. Overall, very interesting day and we never did get a chance to eat at the restaurant for some reason. Oh, and bring a jacket, can get windy. Wear layers.

I would totally swim here if it was clean haha (it was a swimming center back then)
Around 1896, Sutro was considered to be the world’s largest indoor swimming pool.
This was on our list when we visited SF.
We parked along Ocean Beach, passed by the Cliff House restaurant and basically hiked down to get to the sutro baths.
Besides the smell, it was fun exploring the ruins and its caves.
You don’t have to hike to check this place out; although there is a hiking trail near it.
Perfect of all ages, and great for pic opportunities!

Sooooo glad I finally got to explore around here! :D
I came with a group of friends over Memorial Day Weekend and it was a bit foggy and the weather seemed to be at the cusp of raining. I made the mistake of wearing a very thin shirt under just one hoodie. I was freezing! So wear layers! Good thing I warmed up after walking a bit though.
We parked in the parking lot next to the visitor’s center and above the ruins. We came here before a rush of visitors so we found parking easily. The walk down to the ruins is quick and easy, so we checked that out as well as the tunnel out to the rocky side.
We ended up exploring the rest of the area by following the nearby trails. Mild walk, a few stairs that were harder to go up than down on (my thighs were buuurning), lots of pretty stuff to look at! We followed the trail towards the cliff area we had seen earlier from around the USS SF Memorial site. Checked out the labyrinth too before heading down towards the water.
The four of us had packed lunches so we sat down on a log to eat and watched dogs play together in the sand. There were some obvious bonfire pits (like 4 or 5) that had been occupied from the night before. Two of them were still smoking! Smoke was billowing out! We sat around one of the smoky ones and ended up pouring some water over the smoky log. Also the one we were sitting at was LITTERED with beer bottles, half-​used lighters and fluid bottles, and miscellaneous trash. It was so frustrating to see. People really need to learn how to clean up after their asses and/​or there should be some trash cans installed.
Anyway… after that we explored some less traveled trails and saw a lot of pretty flora! Careful of thorny plants though, I was wearing some thin leggings and had to proceed with much caution.
Had a great (and tiring) hike back to the car. I really enjoyed visiting the Sutro Baths and surrounding Land’s End trails. :)

Sutro Baths were a fun place to climb around and take in the ocean before we went on a coastal hike. We found street parking easily (Friday daytime) and contemplated buying lots of things in the gift shop. Hello, restraint!
Go, explore!

I’ve lived in the Bay Area my entire life and have never actually been here before, well at least until yesterday. Let me tell you, this place is great.
You feel like you’re in the ruins of a post apocalyptic Bay Area. The aliens have lost, but the remains of our former civilization still exist and need to be rebuilt. It’s that type of place, filled with majestic beauty and glamor.
There were a decent amount of people, and parking what a hoot and a half, but this is also a tourist trap, so it makes sense. There are many path ways here, and I’m not sure what the one we took was called, but it was great. The actual ruins themselves are a sight to behold. We even saw some dude trying to do a handstand on the highest peak. Everyone was watching, wondering if he would fall.
SF is known for its high winds and cold weather, but yesterday was just perfect in almost every way imaginable that the experience was flawless. If you enjoy beauty and great views, this is the place for you.

Siempre me resulta atractivo caminar ente ruinas y estas ruinas justo al acabar Pacific Beach me tenían intrigado desde que las viera bajando la cuesta en coche. Ya no queda nada pero lo que hubo aquí fue en su momento una de las grandes maravillas de la arquitectura modernista, del hierro y del cristal, una construcción sin rival en dimensiones que albergó la mayor piscina cubierta jamás construida por el hombre.
Es posible caminar entre los restos de esta mega-​estructura decimonónica y maravilla de la técnica para su época. Hoy en día aún puede verse algunas columnas de hierro a modo de peines marinos que destiñen rojo y, si bien la mayor parte de las estancias están secas, puedo cerrar los ojos e imaginarme diferentes historias de bañadores y saltos y risas.
Un espacio que me gusta mucho.