New trails in works for Sutro Bath House ruins

By Ryder W. Miller

As part of the ambitious plans by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) to enact facility improvements in the areas encompassing Lands End, Sutro Baths and the Cliff House, there will also be improvements made in the Sutro Bath House ruins.

The Sutro Bath House was built in 1896 and closed and demolished after a fire in 1966. The baths, located just north of the Cliff House, was once a recreational swimming attraction which drew and heated water from the Pacific. It attracted visitors from the City and surrounding areas.

The two-acre structure was constructed of glass and had a number of attractions, including restaurants, theater, rare plant displays and Egyptian artifacts. At one time, it was converted to an ice skating rink.

The National Park Service (NPS) does not plan to recreate the lost Sutro Baths structure, but some of the trails through the area will be improved.

"The baths in all of our management plans have been a stabilized ruin," said GGNRA Chief of Public Affairs Rich Weideman.

Though the present area of Sutro Baths is an eyesore compared to its former glory, the area will remain, to a large degree, as it is, but with more interpretive signage and some erosion stabilization.

"We don't want to put in a new trail system and have it collapse," Weideman said. "Geo-technically, it is unstable in certain areas."

There have been small landslides in the past, and stabilization may involve planting ground-stabilizing plants in the area. There are also plans in the works to make the area more wheelchair accessible.

The most noticeable change in the area will be a number of interpretive exhibits that will tell the story of the baths, including information about Adolf Sutro and the railroad that delivered passengers.

The GGNRA is in the fundraising, design and planning stage of the Sutro Baths project, which will be on the scale of improvements similar to Crissy Field.

Trail improvements at Lands End and a new visitor center at Merrie Way are also on the way, but the baths will remain as is.

The NPS has a mandate to preserve historical archeological structures, even if they are decaying, like some of the areas of Sutro Baths and the sea wall at nearby Ocean Beach.

"They are an archeological treasure as they are," said Weideman.

He said there would be an early spring release date for the project's final plans.

"The GGNRA is still working on the specifics," Weideman added.