When coastline meets waistline

Author: By Louis A. DiIorio, Globe Staff

Date: SUNDAY, November 2, 1997

Page: M10

Section: Travel

And if you were part of the record number of tourists and conventioneers (3.5 million) who came here last year, there's a good chance you discovered -- either by foot or bike -- the diversity of the Bay Area's outdoor playground: coastline, headlands, and mountains with magnificent vistas; miles of hiking and biking trails; Golden Gate park; and even Herb Caen Way along the Embarcadero, a favorite for skateboarders and roller bladers.

Just minutes from downtown, you can bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, jog along the beach or waterfront, sail on the bay, or hike along the coast. For a speedy getaway, try the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the largest urban national park in the world, covering three counties along 28 miles of coastline. To the north and south of the Golden Gate Bridge, the recreation area's redwood forests, beaches, and rocky shorelines provide an immediate respite from the hustle and bustle of city life.

If hiking is your thing, Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County offers 30 trails and 65,000 acres of wildlands. It's too late to enjoy the spring flowers, but there's always next year.

Located in a canyon on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais (where mountain biking is reported to have been started) in Marin County is Muir Woods, a 550-acre preserve, home to some of the world's oldest redwoods. The peaceful setting of the forest's trees and ferns are on a gentle trail and accessible to nearly everyone. It's open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. Call 1-415-388-2595 for maps and more information.

For those who prefer a smoother ride than mountain biking on Mount Tam, there's always the Golden Gate Bridge, 1 1/2 miles across, and with heavy winds it can be quite a workout.

Monday through Friday, the east walkway is open to cyclists, and the west walkway on weekends. On the Marin side at the end of the Vista Point parking lot is a bike lane parallel to Highway 101, which turns off to Alexander Avenue. The road winds through Sausalito, offering a great Bay view.

One of the best places for a bike ride is at Golden Gate Park. On Sundays, John F. Kennedy Drive is off-limits to cars, allowing 7.5 miles of cycling. In-line skaters share the park with bicyclists on weekends . . . so, heads up!

Sea kayaking is reported to be one of the fastest growing sports out here. The 20-footers used are longer, wider, more stable, and will not tip over (so they say), unlike its whitewater counterparts. Sausalito, it turns out, is kayaking headquarters for the Bay Area, and at the Sea Trek Ocean Kayaking Center (1-415-488-1000), the first Sunday of every month is ``demo day,'' when you can take lessons in the protected waters of Richardson Bay. After 20 minutes, they say you're ready to solo. Within paddling distance are Angel Island, the Sausalito waterfront, and, for the real adventurer, the ultimate challenge of paddling under the Golden Gate Bridge.

State park officials, hoping to attract more visitors to 740-acre Angel Island -- the West Coast's Ellis Island -- started tram service this summer on the 8-mile perimeter road. The rides will run weekends during November, ending Dec. 1. On Feb. 27, they will resume on a daily schedule. The route includes views of San Francisco's skyline and stops at the island's former Army posts and immigration station. Tram riders can rent headsets for the 50-minute audio tour describing the island's history and natural resources. Ferry service is available daily from San Francisco, Tiburon, and Vallejo. . . . Meanwhile, Vallejo has doubled its ferry service to San Francisco with the addition of two new high-speed ferryboats. The increase in service provides an easier link between San Francisco and attractions such as Marine World Africa USA and the Napa Valley Wine Train. The high-speed ferries, cruising at 36 miles per hour, have reduced travel time between the cities to 53 minutes. . . . The natural beauty of Monterey and Carmel is enough to attract anyone, but now with the opening of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit, you have one more reason to visit one of California's most popular attractions. And getting there may be easier. Train service from the Bay Area to the Central Coast, after a 26-year absence, may be revived soon, thanks to a 1990 voter-approved rail bond.

Good news for the San Francisco Zoo. On June 3, voters OK'd a $48 million bond issue (to be matched by $25 million in private funds) for an ambitious renovation and expansion project. The work would be done in phases over seven years, while the zoo remains open. . . . Bay Area Rapid Transit, or BART, which has expanded its smoking ban to enclosed areas outside its fare gates, continues to grow. There are proposed extensions to the San Francisco International Airport and from Fremont to Warm Springs in the East Bay. Meanwhile, East Bay residents are already taking advantage of the 14-mile extension to the Dublin-Pleasanton area. But not all Castro Valley residents seem pleased. BART's new line may mean the end of the AC Transit's RCV bus, which runs from Castro Valley to San Francisco. Angry bus riders are attempting to keep the bus route from being scrapped, arguing that it is less expensive and more reliable than BART. If you're looking for sea lions, try the ``K'' dock on the northwest side of Pier 39. ``We recently counted 820 of them,'' said Charlotte Tracy, spokeswoman for the Marine Mammal Center. . . . If you need help planning a fall trip to Northern California's redwood country (north of the city), the Redwood Empire Association's latest 48-page visitor guide is a must. It features maps, national and state parks, museums and galleries, B & Bs, lodging, camping, suggested tours, and an events calendar. The guide is available by mail by sending $3 check, cash, or money order for postage and handling to Redwood Empire Association, 2801 Leavenworth St., 2d Floor, San Francisco, CA 94133, or call 1-888-678-8503. You also can view the Redwood Empire on the World Wide Web at www.redwoodempire.com.

Bill Kimpton, San Francisco's preeminent hotelier, who operates 20 European-style hotels in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland, Ore., is returning to his Midwest roots. He recently purchased a hotel in Chicago (the Bismark) and is closing a deal on another one there (the Oxford). In addition, his company, Kimpton Group, is in the final stages of negotiations for an office building in Denver and is scouting sites in Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.

Kimpton said he'll be spending about $30 million to renovate the Bismark and reopen it as Hotel Allegro in February. He plans to give the Oxford a $25 million facelift, rename it Hotel Monaco Chicago and open it sometime next spring. Another hotel in Seattle, called Hotel Monaco Seattle, opened in July. Two years ago, he opened his first Hotel Monaco (the former Bellevue in San Francsico) at the corner of Geary and Taylor. . . . Speaking of hotels, did you know that the San Francisco Hilton and Towers is the largest hotel on the West Coast, with 1,895 guest rooms? It occupies a full city block bounded by O'Farrell, Mason, Ellis, and Taylor streets. . . . For a bit of the French countryside, try the Petite Auberge on Bush Street. Twenty-six cozy rooms just four blocks from Union Square. . . . Nob Hill's Stanford Court Hotel, 25 years old this year and home to the noted Fornou's Ovens restaurant, is going through a three-stage renovation, two already being completed. ``Renovated, upgraded, you name it,'' said one employee. ``It's going to be something.'' . . . Speaking of restaurants, Gira Polli is expanding. The popular dining/take-out/home delivery restaurants at Washington Square (North Beach) and Mill Valley -- famous for its rotisserie roasted chicken and lamb -- will soon be opening in Marin, Lafayette, Walnut Creek, and one more at a site not yet announced. . . . Also in North Beach, near two of our favorites (Biordi's for fine Italian pottery and crafts, and the Caffe Roma Coffee Roasting Co.), is Lorenzo Petroni's just-done-over North Beach Restaurant (1512 Stockton).

They say it was a Navy town. No more! Treasure Island Naval Station, the last of the four big bases that made the Bay Area a naval power throughout most of this century, has been closed. The base housed up to 30,000 sailors and officers as recently as 1993. On Sept. 30, the island and the adjacent Yerba Buena Island were turned over to San Francisco. The bay's three other big Navy bases -- Alameda Naval Air Station, Mare Island, and Oak Knoll Hospital -- were closed within the last year, as were several smaller support installations before them. The uses proposed for Treasure Island range from a theme park to fancy hotels to housing for the homeless. . . . And while the rift continues over the future of the closed Presidio, Camp Roberts, a still active Army base near Paso Robles, is getting a Korean War-vintage tank right off the Presidio parade ground. The new centerpiece for the parade ground will be a cannon that had been sitting on the lawn of the Presidio museum. Called the Ordonez, the cannon was manufactured in Spain and captured by US forces in the Philippines.

For visitor literature, including maps and lodging guides, send $2 to the San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau, Visitors Information Center, PO Box 429097, San Francico, CA 94142-9097, or telephone the Visitor Information Center at 1-415-391-2000.