From Mount Tamalpais in the Golden Gate National Recreation Center, the skyline of downtown San Francisco just barely creeps into view.

Embarrassingly, this photo was taken on my first trip to Mount Tamalpais, after living in the Bay Area for over three years. But I like visiting locations over and over to build a rapport with the landscape. When I lived in the Mid-Peninsula, that meant visiting the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserves. Now that I live in San Francisco, it’s time to start building a relationship with some North Bay landscapes. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is top on my list, with its high mountains, rolling hillsides, and panoramic vistas of the Bay Area. And I especially love that many of the views offer a small view of the San Francisco skyline. My first visit to Mount Tam coincided with a beautiful sunset, and needless to say, I’ll be coming back.

Purchase “San Francisco from Mount Tam” Fine Art Print: