Once home to seven swimming pools, water slides, trapeze rings, and an amphitheater, the disheveled ruins of the Sutro Baths at Land’s End still seem much like things out of a Mizukami fantasy. Though the forgotten bathhouse’s best days have long since passed, a walk through Land’s End in San Francisco is still a magical escapade for you and your dog. Running along the most northwestern corner of the city, the park hosts quite a few stunning, and quirky, sites to explore.

Some of the most dramatic destinations can only be realized by very fit pooches and their people, such as the spectacular view from the Crow’s Nest (just off Del Mar Street) or the harrowing descent down to the shore on the windy, weather-beaten Land’s End Staircase. Even worse, of course, is the ascent. Locals swear there’s a hidden labyrinth on the bluff overlooking Mile Rock Beach, which doesn’t demand strength so much as patience and perseverance to uncover.

Other delights, such as the famous Cliff House, the sounds of the foghorns from Point Bonita Lighthouse, and the rambling railroad-tie steps bordered by dune tansy and white albizia that lead away from the Merrie Way parking lot, are more accessible to both fifteenth-hour humans and those dear four-legged friends that have been our companions for many, many years.

Walking through the Land’s End area, most of which was once the private estate of Mayor Adolph Sutro, won’t cost you a penny, and though dogs are not as common here as Ft. Funston or Crissy Fields they are welcome as long as they behave themselves. On my most recent trip, I ran into a fellow with two young Labradoodles, which is one of those mixes that seems like a bad idea until you actually meet a couple rambling cheerfully through the tall grass beside the trails.

Since this is a GGNRA area, make sure you have a leash with you at all times, as well as the means to clean up any mess that Fido may leave. Also, watch out for the poison oak; it looks quite similar to the wild blackberries that promenade down the hillsides and through the cypresses.