I started by parking on Rodeo Beach and walking up the coastal trail.
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The views quickly become incredible.
There's a bunch of old WWII relics left in these hills, including Battery Townsley, which is now little more than a pretty man-made pond and an awesome echo chamber.
Before I reached the summit of Hill 88, the green rolling hills of the Marin Headlands opened up before me. They are quite spectacular at this time of year! The wildflowers aren't out in full force yet, but green hills are good enough.
I had been visiting San Francisco regularly for three years before I moved here, and coincidentally I had never visited during the rainy season. I had driven up in the summer multiple times, and I had come during the holidays, but whenever I came the hills were always covered in dry, ugly, brown grass. So I thought they were always that way; I had no idea about the wildflowers and greenery that accompany spring!
At the top of Hill 88, some of the WWII relics are just as interesting as the view. I liked how former windows in rooms without ceilings framed the landscape.
From Hill 88 you are rewarded for your efforts with amazing 360 views of the ocean, the rolling hills, and even the city of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Unfortunately, my camera was too crappy to take very good pictures of the bridge or of the incredible creature I saw on my way down: a golden eagle!
On the walk down I came around a corner in the trail and was suddenly only about 15 feet away from a stunning golden eagle who was perched on a post surveying its domain. It allowed me to watch it quietly until I got too close, and then it flew away.
I had timed my hike so that by the time I was almost back down the sun was setting. I watched people surf in the twilight on Rodeo Beach until it grew too dark.
Following is a picture of the peak of Hill 88 as seen from below.
And here is a picture of the view from the very top:
