walking across the Golden Gate with children
 

Do you think kids ages 6/7 would enjoy the walk? How long does it take? Is it strenuous?
Might they be afraid of the height?
We will also be pushing strollers...any issues?
Finally, when we get to the other side are there any things nearby to see/places to eat.
Is there public transportation back?
Many thanks.

It is a bit of a walk, but I think it is wide enough for strollers:

http://www.portlandbridges.com/00,DR...francisco.html

You don't have to walk all the way across. I don't seem to recall there are any shops /walkable restaurants on the north side.

It is a nice view, but people afraid of heights might freak.

Some more info....

http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/san...a/ggbridge.htm

Umm..kind of a strange story about walking across the bridge... (sort of) Took ds to SF to look at an Art School in his Jr. year. We were staying down by the warf - he is a photographer and wanted a picture of SF. from the other side at night (city view) So we took a cab over the bridge to the Sausolito side - cab driver said he would come back and get us - it is late - dark, there is a look out point though across the bridge (that is ALL there is) ...

The cab company said they could not send the cab across the bridge - it is late, dark, and we have NO transportation back to the city.

After a very long time and a little panic (now after midnight) we got a cab company from Sausolito <sp> to come and pick us up (I called the Marriott where we were staying - it was a long drawn out event).

No, I did not see anything that you could walk to on the side we were on..and there is not available transportation. They kept saying it was some "law" about cabs and crossing the bridge and the city. I do not fully understand it to this day.

Ds ended up getting very sick that night - and I ended up having to rent a car and drive down to Orange County (home) from San Fran as he could not get on a plane.

Hmmm, interesting idea. We'll be in San Francisco in November. Will it be too cold to walk across the bridge during the day? We've been to the city many times before, but have never done this. Is it worth the trip?

I love bridges and like so many others I love the Golden Gate. So it feels mighty special to me just to walk across it, look up at it, etc. You may not feel so thrilled by it - not sure. As mentioned, you don't have to walk ALL the way across. You can walk halfway out and still get a good view and a feel for the bridge.

Just realized that when we get back to San Francisco we will be giving up our rental car. We're all adults -- any problem doing the walk without access to a car? Any suggestions for transportation to the area? Can we catch a ferry back from the other side?

There is NOTHING on the other side of the bridge close by it's all highway and hills. The closest town is Sausalito and that is still a few miles away.

There is no transportation back so I'd suggest if you want to walk, it's a long walk the bridge is more than a mile long and yes the view is spectacular.

It's definitely a special experience -- the view alone is spectacular. But it's not a short walk. And no matter what the weather is, it's always windy on the bridge. November is unpredictable...it could be absolutely crisply sunny, or it could be rainy and cold. I think the best suggestion is just to walk as far as you can, then turn around and come back.

If you are a GS (and if you don't understand, then you aren't) but in mid-May there is the opportunity for "Bridging" scouts to do this. Email me.

We took the motorized cable car tour. Great fun. Excellent tour which also included going over the bridge, a stop in a park for photo ops, and a drive back.

Do you have any more info on the cable car tour? I assume its not part of the municipal system/ Thanks.

I am pretty sure the motorized cable car tours are through Grey Line and that they pick people up at Fisherman's Wharf. They are basically buses outfited to look like cable cars.

If you take children across the GG Bridge on foot, it is imperative that you keep track of them every second. Seriously - the traffic on the bridge is non stop expect for the dead of night, and the barrier to the road is easily climbable.

There is nothing on the other side of the bridge till you walk to Sausalito. The kids will enjoy the bridge, may get tired to go back or all the way to Sausalito.

There is a bus to take you back "golden gate transit" but the last stop is somewhere in Sausalito, not on the bridge.

You can walk on the bridge a little, then back. Or you can take a bus over the bridge. Or what's that company name which takes people over the bridge in a fire truck?

Is this a possibility, you rent a car, one adult drives over the bridge to wait for everybody on the other side? This would be the easiest for the kids.

There is public transportation back from the Golden Gate bridge. There are two muni buses that come directly to the bridge area (right near the visitor's center), and both of them will take you near or to Golden Gate Park. The buses come pretty frequently, so you shouldn't have a problem catching one.

We saw lots of people walking with strollers. It is a LONG walk, but you can always turn back around.

Also, there is nothing at the visitor's center area, except for a small cafe, so your best bet would be to go either early before lunch or late after lunch.

We went to the bridge around 11:00 or so, and then took the bus down to Cliff House at Sutro Baths, which wasn't too far of a bus ride, and had lunch around 1:00 there. Of course, that is a little nicer of a restaurant than you may want to take kids, but the views are incredible there.

Yes, there are 3 buses from the bridge, 27, 29 and bus 76 runs on Sundays only. But they are all on the SF side, so if you want to walk the bridge...

Just out of curiosity, are the strollers you will be pushing for the six and seven year olds?

No, the 1 and 2 yrs olds.
We will be carrying the big boys :)