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How to Get to the Golden Gate Bridge by Car
ALERT: The Golden Gate Bridge District and CHP close the North Vista Point and the Welcome Center parking lot at the South Vista Point to passenger cars from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM on summer weekends and on busy summer weekdays, as well as on holiday weekends year round. We have all the details and alternate parking spots here.
There are several parking lots at or near the Bridge, which you can read about on our Golden Gate Bridge parking page. You can walk across the Bridge from any of the adjacent lots.
How to Get to the Golden Gate Bridge by Taxi, Uber or Lyft
The ride from San Francisco to get to the Golden Gate Bridge (the southern parking lot and the visitor center) to begin your walk will usually take 15 to 20 minutes if you come from Union Square, although it can double that duration at busy commute times. Fisherman’s Wharf will be faster since it’s closer depending upon your pick-up point, although surge pricing can raise rates.
Coming from Sausalito you should set your destination as the Conzelman Road bridge parking lot, since this will prevent the driver from crossing the Bridge and you won’t have to pay the bridge toll. You can walk on a pathway from there that leads under the bridge to Vista Point, which offers fabulous views of both the San Francisco skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.
By Taxi or Ride Share: Getting Back
If you want to take a taxi “down the hill” into Sausalito or back to San Francisco after walking across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, here’s what to do:
WALKING NORTH: Stop at the rest area at the north end of the Bridge, which is called “Vista Point.” You can then call Uber or Lyft, or call a taxi and say, “Please pick us up at the Vista Point parking lot in Sausalito by the Golden Gate Bridge.” You can even schedule in advance the time when they will pick you up, but leave yourself time to enjoy the walk.
There is one catch to doing this: if the taxi or ride share driver is coming from the Marin County (Sausalito) side of the bridge, they can’t drive directly to Vista Point. Coming from the north, they have to drive across the Bridge, pay the toll and come back north again to get to Vista Point, adding to the cost of your ride. The area at Vista Point is so beautiful and the chance to photograph the Bridge is so wonderful that you may not mind.
If you want to save money and the whole gang is up to it, signs at the north end of the Bridge will direct you to the pedestrian passageway that leads beneath the Bridge to the parking lot and hiking areas on the other side. (Use the restrooms at Vista Point first, since there are no services on the other side of the Bridge.) Take this path and head uphill on the other side and you’ll come to another parking lot. Call the taxi to pick you up there and they don’t have to cross the Bridge, pay the toll and come back.
In this case, you’d tell them, “We’re in the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot on the Sausalito side, across the Freeway from Vista Point, just off Conzelman Road next to the bridge.”
WALKING SOUTH: Another parking lot and observation area are at the southern end of the Bridge. Just tell the taxi to pick you up “at the Golden Gate Bridge South Parking Lot by the observation area.”
How to Get to the Golden Gate Bridge by Bus
Golden Gate Transit buses (owned by the Bridge District) connect Sausalito and points north with San Francisco, allowing you to get to the Golden Gate Bridge in each direction. Routes that stop at the Bridge in either direction in San Francisco are numbers 2, 4, 8, 10, 24, 26, 27, 30, 38, 44, 54, 56, 58, 60, 70, 72, 73, 74 and 76. The Golden Gate Transit website has further information on these comfortable (some say luxurious) commuter buses, and you can also call 511 for transit assistance.
The San Francisco Muni Bus system routes 28 and 29 allow you to get to the Golden Gate Bridge, and serve the southern end of the Bridge.
