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Angel Island Summit Loop (North Ridge Trail - Sunset Trail Loop Mount Livermore Summit Loop)
Hiking Trail
Hard
5.11 mi
801 ft
Views over the San Francisco Bay and rich history on the hike to the top of Mount Livermore.
Angel Island is the largest island in the San Francisco Bay. Though it’s not as famous as its much-smaller neighbor Alcatraz, Angel has much more to offer in activities and scenery. Those include hiking, biking, camping, and cuisine. There’s also a lot of history here pertinent to wars and immigration. You can learn about it at the visitor center and by hiking the trails to see remnants of the past. Besides that, natural scenery on the island is pretty spectacular as well. By hiking this loop, you’ll get views off every side of the island, over The Bay and surrounding cities. There are shady groves, open meadows, and chapparal thickets in a patchwork covering the slopes.
The highpoint of the island is called Mount Livermore. North Ridge Trail and Sunset Trail both reach it from different directions. This loop takes North Ridge—the longer and more scenic of the two—in the uphill direction, and Sunset Trail to go downhill. If you want to stop in the visitor center before beginning the hike, you may prefer to loop in the opposite direction, because Sunset begins nearer to the visitor center. North Ridge Trail begins right at the ferry dock, close to the Angel Island Café.
You can only reach Angel Island by ferry, either from San Francisco or from Tiburon. Buying the [ferry ticket]( hearing offers for Segway tours, and seeing advertisements for the café makes the place feel rather commercialized at first, but after starting the trail you’ll leave all that behind.
The trails can be crowded, but aren’t always. Most people stick to the lower elevations of the island. Hiking to the top gives the place a much wilder and natural feel, so it’s well worth the effort. There are a few picnic areas near the top where you can enjoy a packed lunch, or wait until you get down for a specialty meal at the Angel Island Café.
Sources:
Written by Jesse Weber
Angel Island is the largest island in the San Francisco Bay. Though it’s not as famous as its much-smaller neighbor Alcatraz, Angel has much more to offer in activities and scenery. Those include hiking, biking, camping, and cuisine. There’s also a lot of history here pertinent to wars and immigration. You can learn about it at the visitor center and by hiking the trails to see remnants of the past. Besides that, natural scenery on the island is pretty spectacular as well. By hiking this loop, you’ll get views off every side of the island, over The Bay and surrounding cities. There are shady groves, open meadows, and chapparal thickets in a patchwork covering the slopes.
The highpoint of the island is called Mount Livermore. North Ridge Trail and Sunset Trail both reach it from different directions. This loop takes North Ridge—the longer and more scenic of the two—in the uphill direction, and Sunset Trail to go downhill. If you want to stop in the visitor center before beginning the hike, you may prefer to loop in the opposite direction, because Sunset begins nearer to the visitor center. North Ridge Trail begins right at the ferry dock, close to the Angel Island Café.
You can only reach Angel Island by ferry, either from San Francisco or from Tiburon. Buying the [ferry ticket]( hearing offers for Segway tours, and seeing advertisements for the café makes the place feel rather commercialized at first, but after starting the trail you’ll leave all that behind.
The trails can be crowded, but aren’t always. Most people stick to the lower elevations of the island. Hiking to the top gives the place a much wilder and natural feel, so it’s well worth the effort. There are a few picnic areas near the top where you can enjoy a packed lunch, or wait until you get down for a specialty meal at the Angel Island Café.
Sources:
Written by Jesse Weber
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