Printed Guides
To assist your exploration of historic San Francisco, two Barbary Coast Trail guides are available. You can purchase them below or at various San Francisco bookstores.
Barbary Coast Trail Pocket Guide
32-page full-color official guide includes map, site descriptions, illustrations, and old photo.
Quicksilver Press
ISBN #0964680424
$9.95
*Usually ships within forty-eight hours. Shipping and handling is $3.95 for U.S. address. For non-U.S. address, please contact us for shipping cost.
Walking San Francisco on the Barbary Coast Trail
274-pages, includes maps, trail guide, history of early San Francisco, and tips on restaurants and fun things to do along the trail.
Quicksilver Press
ISBN #0964680416
$18.95
*Usually ships within forty-eight hours. Shipping and handling is $4.95 for U.S. address. For non-U.S. address, please contact us for shipping cost.
Where to find these guides
Visitor Information Center
749 Howard Street @ Moscone Center (between 4th and 3rd streets)
(415) 392-2000
Alexander Book Company
50 Second Street
(near Market Street)
(415) 495-2992
California Historical Society Bookstore
678 Mission Street
(between 2nd and 3rd Streets)
(415) 357-1860
Listen to History Come Alive!
Audio Tours
- Sound effects, period music, dramatic reenactments
- Printable Maps
- 40 to 65 Minutes of audio for each tour
- Loads onto your smartphone, tablet, or computer
You’ll hear the rumble of the 1906 earthquake, Sam Brannan kicking off the Gold Rush, a tong war battle, and much more.
We offer three Barbary Coast Trail audio tours. Order all three for a discount.
part One:
Silver Strikes, Earthquakes, & Lion Dancers
Starts at the Old Mint, a national historic landmark, visits Hallidie Plaza, Union Square, one of the first public squares in SF, Maiden Lane, a sunny street with a shady past.
Audio length: 40 minutes
Time to complete the tour: 2 hours
Printable map included (PDF).
$10
part two:
Gold Rushers, Shanhaiers & Jazz Dancers
Begins at Portsmouth Square, birthplace of the village of Yerba Buena (later renamed San Francisco) and the site where Sam Brannan jump-started the Gold Rush, the western headquarters of the Pony Express.
Audio length: 40 minutes
Time to complete the tour: 2 hours
Printable map included (PDF).
$10
part three:
Poets, Paesanos, & Windjammers
Begins at two haunts of the Beat generation, explores North Beach and Telegraph Hill, including Coit Tower and its priceless Depression-era murals, travels along the waterfront to Hyde Street Pier.
Audio length: 62 minutes
Time to complete the tour: 2.5 hours
Printable map included (PDF).
$10
Guided Tours
Author and trail creator Daniel Bacon is your personal guide to the Barbary Coast Trail. His lively descriptions and amusing anecdotes are a treat for all those who love The City by the Bay.
Guided Tours are available by appointment. The cost is $25 per person with a $400 minimum. You can also take a self-guided tour of the trail anytime using our Audio Tour or Printed Guides.
Tour One
Silver Strikes, Earthquakes, & Lion Dancers
This tour explores an area that was devastated in 1906 and then rebuilt into a world-class city.
- Old U.S. Mint
- Union Square
- Maiden Lane
- Oldest Cathedral In The West
- First Asian Temple In America
Tour Two
Gold Rushers, Shanhaiers & Jazz Dancers
This tour explores the period when San Francisco catapulted from a small Mexican village into a thriving metropolis.
- Portsmouth Square, the birthplace of the Gold Rush & the village of Yerba Buena
- Commercial Street
- The City's Original Shoreline
- Pony Express headquarters site
- Wells Fargo History Museum, featuring Gold Rush artifacts
Tour Three
Hipsters, Italianos, & Semaphore Hill
This tour highlights the vibrant bohemian culture of North Beach.
- Vesuvio Café, once a Beatnik mecca
- City Lights Bookstore, where Allen Ginsberg & Jack Kerouac once read their work
- Molinari’s, an authentic Italian delicatessen since 1896
- Washington Square, the heart of North Beach
- Washington Square, the heart of North Beach
Tour Four
Stevedores, Fishing, Feluccas, & Windjammers
This tour explores San Francisco’s rich maritime heritage.
- The Great Seawall, San Francisco’s largest public works project
- USS Pampanito and Jeremiah O’Brien, two WWII era vessels
- Fisherman’s Wharf
- Hyde Street Pier, the largest collection of historic ships in the United States
- Aquatic Park, the most beautiful WPA project in the country
