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Crissy Field
A former military airfield turned National Park Service recreation area on San Francisco Bay directly beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, bordered by the Presidio and the Marina district. Strong, reliable afternoon thermal wind and cold, choppy, current-affected water make it one of the most iconic and demanding kite/kite-racing venues in the US; it's home turf to Olympic-track kite racers and is where Jesse Richman set the sport's hangtime world record (22 seconds).
freestylebig airfreeride
Wind
| best months |
|
|---|---|
| season notes | Classic San Francisco summer thermal pattern driven by the temperature gap between the cold Pacific and the hot Central Valley, funneling strong afternoon wind through the Golden Gate. |
| avg knots | 18-30 |
| wind name | San Francisco thermal wind |
| direction to shore | cross/onshore, funneled through the Golden Gate |
| quality | steady but strong |
| typical kite sizes | 6-10m |
Water
| type | chop |
|---|---|
| temp summer c | 14 |
| temp winter c | 12 |
| wetsuit | 4/3mm or thicker year-round |
| tides | strong tidal exchange through the Golden Gate affects current and chop |
| currents | strong tidal currents and shipping-channel traffic |
Levels
| beginner | no |
|---|---|
| intermediate | no |
| advanced | yes |
| notes | Cold water, strong current, big tankers/shipping traffic and powerful thermal wind make this an advanced-only venue. |
Launch & crowd
| description | Beach launch beneath the Golden Gate Bridge near the St. Francis Yacht Club, used for national/international kite-racing regattas. |
|---|---|
| rescue | safety boats present during organized racing events |
| busy months |
|
| vibe | high-performance racing and freeride scene; base for the St. Francis Yacht Club's IKA Formula Kite events |
Monthly wind statistics
Station: San Francisco, CA (Weatherspark (NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis), ~5 km) — Windfinder's own San Francisco/Crissy Field windstatistics page could not be retrieved (live site 429'd repeatedly, JS-rendered app with no static numbers, stats API requires an undisclosed auth token). Used Weatherspark MERRA-2 reanalysis for the city of San Francisco (general area, ~5km) as fallback; this is broad city-scale reanalysis data and will understate the strong local thermal/gap acceleration Crissy Field itself experiences on summer afternoons. No Beaufort-probability metric available from this source.
| Month | Wind ≥4 Bft | Avg kn | Dir | Air °C | Water °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | —% | 7.2 | N | 10.6 | 11.7 |
| Feb | —% | 7.5 | W | 12.2 | 11.7 |
| Mar | —% | 7.8 | W | 13.3 | 12.2 |
| Apr | —% | 8.1 | W | 13.9 | 11.7 |
| May | —% | 8.3 | W | 15 | 11.7 |
| Jun | —% | 8.2 | W | 16.1 | 12.2 |
| Jul | —% | 7.5 | W | 16.7 | 13.3 |
| Aug | —% | 7.1 | W | 16.7 | 13.9 |
| Sep | —% | 6.6 | W | 17.2 | 14.4 |
| Oct | —% | 6.3 | W | 16.7 | 13.9 |
| Nov | —% | 6.9 | N | 13.9 | 13.3 |
| Dec | —% | 7.5 | N | 10.6 | 12.2 |
Hazards
- cold water
- strong tidal current
- commercial ship traffic in the shipping channel
- powerful, gusty thermal wind
Tips
- watch for shipping traffic and stay clear of the main channel
- iconic views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge while riding
Travel basics
| airport | SFO (San Francisco International) |
|---|---|
| getting there | car or public transit within San Francisco |
| accommodation | San Francisco hotels citywide |
| cost level | high |
| no wind | explore the Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco |
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · iksurfmag.com · iksurfmag.com