Connecting the Golden Gate National Recreation Area on both sides of the San Francisco Bay is one of the worlds most famous bridges - the Golden Gate Bridge. You can hike with your dog across the familiar orange bridge, maybe the most photographed man-made structure in the world. This canine hike is more than 1.5 miles one-way and an estimated 3800 people make the walk each weekday with foot traffic doubling on the weekends.

You will pass under the worlds two highest bridge towers, 220 feet above the water. Views from the bridge on a clear day can extend 20 miles out to sea, although the pedestrian walkway is on the east (city) side.

This is not the place to hike with your dog if you own a skittery pet - you are only feet from speeding traffic, it is noisy and the bridge does sway. A new 46 Public Safety Railing has recently been installed to provide a better buffer for bridge hikers. The south terminus of the hike in San Francisco is in Fort Point and the Golden Gate Promenade extends the hike another 3.5 miles along the San Francisco Bay.

A live webcam provides continuous pictures of the bridge at http:// www.goldengatebridge.org so you can check on visibility before making a special trip to the bridge with your dog.