Engagement Hill

This photo was taken from Engagement Hill, which can be reached via the SCA Trail. To get here, park at the Coastal Trail Parking (37.8338626,-122.4944786) right before the roundabout at Conzelman Road. Take the Coastal Trail north, which turns into the SCA Trail, and from here, navigate to the GPS coordinates for this from Engagement Hill. I faced south toward the freeways.

You can get a familiar photo at Engagement Hill in all months, but keep in mind that San Francisco is infamous for its fog. You might try to avoid the summer months but there's always a chance of having foggy weather. I recommend you always check the weather no matter the season. There are excellent webcams that can be found by searching Mt Tam webcams which are the best way to find out about the weather. Normal weather apps are not that accurate for fog here.

To capture the light trails glowing in the dark sky, I recommend visiting at night.

I highly recommend going with a friend. Make sure not to leave a single valuable item in your car. The Bay Area is not the safest in terms of break-ins so take precautions!

A 70-200mm lens is perfect for compressing the scene together. Although I didn't use one for this particular photo, I almost always use 100mm or more in Slackers Hill.

I shot this with a wider-angle lens (24mm) to accommodate fog. If you bring both wide-angle lenses and telephoto lenses, you will be keeping your options open.

The light trails are perfect leading lines. Pay attention to how you position them to draw the viewer's attention to the bright hills and the colorful sky.

Both Sausalito and Mill Valley are fantastic towns with great food options and gorgeous views all around. My favorite place to eat after capturing great sunset photos is Super Duper Burger in downtown Mill Valley. Don't miss it!

If you're in Sausalito earlier during the day, you might want to explore the hiking trails around you. There are many opportunities to capture interesting landscape and cityscape photos. Consider checking out Engagement Hill, SCA Trail, and Coastal Trail too.