San Francisco: Activities

• sailing

  The bay is at its best from April through August, when the west winds blow. But the waters around San Francisco are treacherous at any time of the year, and it's extremely important to pay attention to the tides. The easiest way to get out on the water is to take a sailboat cruise and let a more experienced skipper take the helm.

• swimming (outdoor)

  Swimming is unsafe and unpleasant in the arctic currents of oceanside San Francisco. There's a tiny patch of beach at Aquatic Park, just west of Fisherman's Wharf, where you often see hardy swimmers in the chilly waters.

• surfing

  San Francisco's Ocean Beach is one of the most challenging and exhausting places to surf in California, especially in winter, when the powerful, cold swells can reach 4m (12ft) or more. There are no lifeguards, and you should never surf alone or without at least a 3mm full-length wetsuit.

• walking

  Walking the hilly streets of downtown San Francisco combines excursion with exertion, challenging even the fittest tourist. Golden Gate Park is the place for promenading, while San Francisco's wind-swept beaches are for passionate lunging.

• jogging

  At dawn and dusk, the running paths in Golden Gate Park are infested with brightly-clad jogging hoards. This is a jogger's catwalk, so wear your Sunday best. The Presidio is another great park for running.

• cycling

  For leisurely cycling, head to Golden Gate Park or the Presidio and avoid the inner-city hazards of steep hills and aggressive motorists. Downtown becomes a sea of festive bicyclists on the last Friday of every month when Critical Mass, a cheerfully anarchic ride of hundreds (sometimes thousands) of cyclists, gathers at the bay end of Market St and rides, bells ringing, to a different destination along a different route each time.

• roller skating

  Rollerblading will help you cover more of Golden Gate Park than you can manage on foot, and you can rent skates from nearby Haight St. Every Friday night about 20:00 , hundreds of rollerbladers meet at Justin Herman Plaza for Midnight Rollers, a 20km (12mi) group cruise around downtown and the northern waterfront.

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