In San Francisco, there’s no shortage of historic sites to visit. Fort Point, Alcatraz Island, and the Golden Gate Bridge are just a few examples of these.

One more, though, is not only one of the city’s more popular historic sites, but it’s also been an iconic part of San Francisco’s skyline since its construction in 1933; Coit Tower.

Coit Tower was named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit, a wealthy patron of the city’s firefighters. Upon her passing in 1929, plans were set in motion to erect the tower as a monument to the firefighters she loved so much.

Despite us growing up less than an hour from the city, we have NEVER taken a tour here. During our most recent visit to SF, we decided to change that and do it.

Read along while we give some factual tidbits of this amazing place and get all the information you’ll need to put together a trip for yourself. Let’s get into it!

Visitor Information

How To Get There

There are numerous ways to reach Coit Tower and is highly dependent on your travel style.

Walking

Coit Tower is a fairly short distance from many neighborhoods and tourist areas of the city. The easiest thing to do is to type Coit Tower into Google or Apple Maps and select the walking option.

Be warned, though. The maps will fail to mention the steep hill you will have to negotiate to get there. Not to mention the other steep hilly streets found throughout the city. Just something to keep in mind.

Driving

If you’ve driven your car here or have rented one, the address to the tower is as follows:

1 Telegraph Hill Blvd. San Francisco, CA 94133

Simply plug it into your GPS and follow the directions. Just be aware that parking can be scarce. The parking lot is very small and most people will need to park down the street and walk up.

*Note:

No EV charging stations on site.
The closest is a ChargePoint station in a parking garage on Sansome street about a 10-minute walk away. You could park there and walk up the Greenwich Steps until you reach the tower.

Uber, Lyft, or Taxi

This is by and large the easiest (but admittedly not cheapest) option and is what we did. For clarity, we spent $10.82 plus tip for an Uber Comfort from Pier 39.

Our driver was able to get us there quick and dropped us off right at the entrance. Lyft will probably have similar fares but we have no idea what a traditional Taxi would cost.

Here’s a list of some of San Francisco’s Taxi companies. Tap/click on their name for their contact number:

Bus #39 from Fisherman’s Wharf

If you’d like an affordable transportation option, the best to go would be to take the #39 bus from Fisherman’s Wharf. You can get the detailed schedule here.

The only downfall to this is the bus doesn’t make change. One-way fare is $2.25 per person. So either make sure you have exact change on you or you can pay with a Clipper card.

You can either get a physical card or keep the digital version in your phone’s wallet. If you’re planning on utilizing Bay Area transportation options like buses, ferries, etc, this is the way to go as it’ll save you money.

Hours and Fees

Coit Tower is open to the public daily (except for major holidays) between the hours of 10am - 5pm. If you plan on visiting during a holiday, it would be best to call ahead to make sure they’ll be open.

Fees vary depend on the type of tour you want to do and other variables. If you just want to go to the top floor, it’s $5 per person. If you want the full tour, prices are as follows:

Adult: $10 (non-resident) / $7 (resident)
Senior (62+): $7 (non-resident) / $4 (resident)
Youth (12-17): $7 (non-resident) / $4 (resident)
Child (5-11): $3 (non-resident / $2 (resident)
Child (4 & under): Free

The full tour includes access to the second level and a docent-led tour of the murals on the main floor. That part of the tour is 30-40 minutes in length and you’ll learn about the tower’s inception as well as the 26-Artists who painted the murals.

Coit Tower Cafe

Located outside the tower near the parking lot is the Coit Tower Cafe. It is open daily from 9:30am - 6:00pm. They serve a variety of foods like pizza, burgers, pastries, etc.

Keep in mind that food is not allowed inside the tower. So you will need to finish whatever you have before starting your tour.

To pass the time, take in the views surrounding the tower via the viewing scopes. They cost a quarter and you’ll get a few minutes for each use.

The Tour

To begin your tour, head up the stairs and go through the entrance. There, an employee will greet you and send direct you to the ticket window.

Many of the same rules you’ll find at other historic sites apply here. Most of it being common sense. They have one rule, though, that I haven’t encountered anywhere else and that’s if you’re carrying a backpack or any other kind of bag, it needs to be worn on the front of your body. Just something to be mindful of.

If all you want to do is check out the murals on your own and you DON’T want to go up to the top, you won’t have to pay anything.

If you want to take the docent-led tour of the murals, they’ll only do so if it’s a group of at least 4 and no more than 6. So you may end up having to wait a bit if it’s just 2-3 in your group.

The murals are stunning. Be sure to take the time to really at them. They were painted by 26 Artists a year after the towers opening in 1934 and depict daily life for Californians during the Depression.

Once you’re finished checking out the murals, simply circle back around and get into the left side of the queue line near where you first entered. The employee will direct you to the elevator once they’re ready for you.

The elevator is old and tiny. The door is manually closed and locked by an Operator (via a gate) and rides up to the upper level with you. Once up there, you’ll walk up two sets of spiral staircases to reach the viewing deck.

The viewing deck is completely open. As in, there’s no roof. There’s a raised, yellow step at the top of the red stairwell so be sure to watch your footing. This was done to prevent rain from flooding the lower part of the tower.

From here, you’ll have a commanding 360-degree view of the city. The windows were originally unobstructed but as a precaution, glass has been installed to act as safety barriers.

Some highlights you’ll be able to see from here are the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, nearly the entire Embarcadero, Nob Hill, and many other well known attractions.

If it’s a particularly busy day, I can see how it could get uncomfortable and cramped up there. There was maybe 10 other people in there with us and it was slightly difficult moving around.

Back Down the Elevator

Once you’ve gotten your fill of the views, simply head back down the spiral stairwell and wait for the elevator to come back up. They make regular trips up and down so no need to call for them.

After leaving the tower, you’re free to stay and explore the grounds more. Behind the tower is a nice grassy area that’s not only good for a break area, but also provides a killer view of the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island (pictured above).

Conclusion

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Thanks for reading and safe travels!

Coit Tower: How To Tour This San Francisco Icon