San Francisco, CA: Wildcat Canyon Loop, Tilden Regional Park
This 6.6-mile loop visits 1,211-foot Wildcat Peak before dropping down the Conlon Trail to Wildcat Creek.
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Target the fall-winter rainy season for this hike, which stays doable even in mud season. Keep an eye out on Wildcat Creek for Tilden’s famous migratory newts, which, in mating season, travel up to two miles from their dry summer habitats to the creeks where the were born.
Trail Facts
- Distance: 10.7
Waypoints
WCL001
Location: 37.909602, -122.264859
Start at the Visitor Center on the Upper Packrat Trail
WCL002
Location: 37.912902, -122.269456
Turn right on the Peak Trail
WCL003
Location: 37.919238, -122.262169
Wildcat Peak
WCL004
Location: 37.919638, -122.258456
Turn left on Nimitz Way
WCL005
Location: 37.924061, -122.262269
Go left on the Conlon Trail (or continue to the Havey Trail, possibly more scenic but very muddy in winter).
WCL006
Location: 37.933855, -122.288196
Turn left on the Wildcat Canyon Trail. Look for newts in this section.
WCL007
Location: 37.91296, -122.269549
Retrace your steps back to Little Farm.