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San Francisco Cable Cars
Guide and Tickets
You need to ride a world famous San Francisco cable car but you want to get the most bang for
your five-buck (one way) ride. Don't just passively sit there or you'll feel ripped off when the short (about twenty minutes) ride ends. You need some insider
information. Position is everything when stepping into the cable car fray.
You want to be in the front of the cable car and for Maximum Fun you want to be hanging onto a pole while standing on the running board.
This is the best spot on San Francisco's cable cars and sure beats being cooped up inside where you won't see
anything. Just make sure to scoot your boot when passing other cable cars and traffic, you don't want to turn yourself into road-pizza because your caboose got
clipped by a delivery truck. Keep listening to the cable car's lyrics because in the cable car fray - things can get pretty wild...
San Francisco cable cars run along three different routes roughly every ten minutes. The two
main lines, Powell/Hyde and Powell/Mason, start off at the busy intersection of Powell and Market and vaguely make their way towards the popular destination of
San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf. The other San Francisco cable car route is the California/Van Ness line which starts at California and
Market and continues on until Van Ness. The Powell/Hyde line actually ends up close to Ghiradelli Square where you can shop or eat (check out Ana Mandara, a
Vietnamese restaurant that is owned by Don Johnson and Cheech Marin).
Along the way you can exit the cable car at Lombard Street, famous for being "The world's crookedest
street." If you aren't going to Lombard Street then get your camera ready because at the top of this hill (Hyde
and Lombard) you are treated to an unobstructed view of San Francisco's Alcatraz Island. Across the street from the end
of this line (at Hyde and Beach) is The Buena Vista Cafe, where legend has it that the Irish Coffee was born. If you don't feel like shopping at Ghiradelli then
you can visit the San Francisco Maritime Museum, the Hyde Street Pier, or just relax by the water and watch the boats go by.
The other cable car line is the California/Van Ness line. This cable car rides through the hills of the Financial District and hits the top of
Nob Hill where you'll find luxury hotels and nightclubs with some of the most stunning views of the city. Go up to the 19th Floor of the
InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel to the Top of the Mark and sip a martini while listening to some cool jazz. The cable
car then makes its way down the hill to Van Ness Street where it stops and goes back the other direction. There is no turnaround for this line because the cable
car has a grip at both ends of the car.
If you're lucky enough to be visiting during the month of July then you won't want to miss the annual cable car bell ringing contests. The
contests are held in Union Square and draws thousands of spectators, both locals and visitors. Some of the grip men are extremely good at what they do and the
applause that they receive can be thunderous with approval. Grab a hot dog and make a day of it, the event draws celebrities and local dignitaries like the Mayor
of San Francisco so you know you'll be in for a wild time.
The cable cars begin operating around 6:00 in the morning and continue until about 12:30 at night. While there is a printed schedule available
from MUNI the cable cars generally run about every 10 minutes. As of this writing the fare is $5.00 and all fares are one way. If you anticipate using the cable
cars more than once in a day you should get a day pass which is $11.00.
Cable Cars Tricks - San Francisco
By: Drew McKinney / Copyright SFTRAVEL LLC
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