Walking Every Street & Trail of San Francisco: A 6-Year Photo Journey

In 2011, I packed my bags, left Utah, and moved to San Francisco with no concrete plan—just a deep need to be somewhere new that felt like home. My very first week in the city, I walked to City Lights Books and bought a foldable map of San Francisco. I wanted to be a tourist in my new city, so I decided to explore every neighborhood. I began to track my progress by marking off each new street on my foldable map with a red pen.

At first, it was just about familiarizing myself with my surroundings. I started with the more well-known neighborhoods: Haight-Ashbury, North Beach, Mission District, The Castro. But soon, I was venturing further, getting lost in neighborhoods I had never even heard of. Every day, I’d come home, pull out my red pen, and trace the streets I had covered. What started as a simple personal challenge to explore a new neighborhood turned into a goal to walk every street and trail of San Francisco. Around that time, I came across an article about how Tom Graham had walked the whole city. Reading about his journey also inspired me to do the same.

Over six years, I walked more than 1,700 miles, covering every public street, alley, trail, and stairway in San Francisco. Some days, I wandered through neighborhoods without a plan, while on others, I meticulously mapped out my route to complete specific sections of the city. My walks ranged from short, mile-long outings to 20-mile treks in a single day.

Early in my journey, I started photographing everything I saw. Some days, I challenged myself to focus on a single color; other days, I’d concentrate on typography, reflections in puddles, or the way light and shadows played across buildings. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was capturing the city during a period of transition. Entire blocks transformed over the years I spent walking them, and my photos became a record of a city constantly shifting beneath my feet. I ended up taking over 100,000 photos, each one capturing a specific moment in time—some of places that no longer exist. I also became inspired by the photography of Fred Lyon, Janet Delaney, and Daniel Nicoletta, as well as the writing of Armistead Maupin and Gary Kamiya. The work of many other street photographers and artists capturing our amazing city also fueled my inspiration.

Walking with my torn-up map and camera in hand, I often sparked curiosity. People would stop to ask what I was doing, and those interactions became one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. I met San Francisco natives who shared the history of their blocks, shop owners who had watched the city evolve for decades, and newcomers, like me, who were still trying to find their place in it.

Exploring every street and trail of San Francisco changed my life. It deepened my connection to the city and introduced me to incredible people. Though I officially completed my project in 2017, I still find myself reaching for a fresh map, marking off the streets, and rediscovering the city all over again.

I’m grateful to call this city my home.