The small trailhead sits at the junction of Conzelman and McCullough. I followed a path to the north, crossed McCullough, and begin climbing on the wide signed trail. The grade is moderately steep throughout as the rocky trail climbs through nearly treeless coastal scrub, with sagebrush and coyote brush common. I saw quite a bit of zigadene in bloom, as well as some purple bush lupine, California poppies, ookow, paintbrush, and checkerbloom. At 0.2 mile, Coastal Trail heads off toward the Golden Gate Bridge, and the dead-end trail to the viewpoint sweeps right.
More climbing. Views back to the north are incredible and include all the Headlands hills and Mount Tamalpais. A pipevine swallowtail fluttered along. Near the top the trail splits once more, but the path to the left was signed as closed. The last bit to the top was somewhat overgrown and I was surprised to see native bunch grasses here.
The very top is wide open and level and offers simply the best views of the Headlands, Golden Gate Bridge, ocean, San Francisco, and just about everything else for miles and miles. The best part? I had the hilltop completely to myself.