Golden Gate Park
Couple on a row boat enjoying Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park; (c) Soul Of America
From nondescript sand dunes with random shrubbery to a magnificently designed public space, this beloved 1017-acre park is configured as a 3-mile by half-mile rectangle. When you include the 8-block-long Panhandle, Golden Gate Park spans half the width of San Francisco and all of its heart.
Nearly 14 million annual visitors make Golden Gate Park the third most visited city park in the United States, after Central Park in New York City and Lincoln Park in Chicago.
It is the only large urban park in America to include Basketball Courts, Handball Courts, Baseball Fields, Track & Field, Tennis Courts, Dog Run, Bowling Greens, a Japanese Tea Garden, waterfalls, a conservatory, an arboretum, buffalos, windmills, and fine restaurants. A 9-hole public golf course is thrown in for good measure.
For pleasant exercise, consider the walking trail that starts at Stanyan & Fulton Streets. It winds and changes elevation over 10 miles en route to the Pacific Ocean whose breezes are a perfect ending to the annual Bay to Breakers Race. The race was so rejuvenating that I ran it twice.
Barring rain days, Sunday Drum Circle is non-stop in Golden Gate Park; (c) Soul Of America
Stroll past the many picnic areas. Near one of them, your ears will lead you to the drum circle.
Wherever you travel in the park, prepare to observe hummingbirds, herons, hawks, owls, ducks, warblers, woodpeckers, finches, and many other bird species attracted to the utopian diversity of plants throughout the landscape.
Thanks to attentive park maintenance, generous philanthropy, and many volunteers, the park receives plenty of TLC that accentuates a dazzling array of attractions.
Two Dutch Windmills of 75 feet height, once pumped irrigation water that helped transform the park’s western half from dunes into landscaped lawns and gardens. Beneath the North Windmill is Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden which sparkles in glorious bloom every Spring.
An authentic Dutch Windmill near the breezy oceanside of Golden Gate Park; (c) Soul Of America
I’ll never forget the time I took my 80-year-old grandmother here. Her eyes glazed upon the restored North Windmill on JFK Drive. She was astonished at seeing something so beautiful, inviting, and unexpected. From that moment onwards, I became her favorite grandson.
Beach Chalet, originally opened in 1925, was designed as a restaurant and bathing facility for ocean swimmers. As ocean swimming declined in popularity over the decades, the fortunes of this building declined. For many years it alternated between closing and only opening for private events.
Then a public-private partnership restored its indoor murals and attracted a notable restauranteur. Today the two-level chalet challenges the nearby Cliff House for inventive cuisine and unobstructed sunset views of the Pacific Ocean.
Take it from me, the chef’s filet mignon is flawless … some of the best I’ve tasted in America. And though it has a perfectly admirable micro-brewery, the restaurant is family-friendly too. Beers aren’t my strength, but I’m told by a friend who lives in the city, that the selection is solid.
Since the popularity of soccer in America has dramatically grown over the last 25 years, the fields are packed most days. A quaint surprise is the Buffalo Paddock, a friendly and safe home for this buffalo bison herd since 1899.
Spreckels Lake attracts remote-controlled boat owners of Model Yacht Club on the weekends. Like the owners, you’ll have a lot of fun watching electric-powered sailboats. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in model yachting and power boating.
The annual Spreckels Music Festival in the heart of Golden Gate Park; (c) Soul Of America
Boathouse and Paddle Boat Rentals surround Stow Lake, the park’s biggest lake. You can paddle past an old stone bridge, a tall waterfall, and a Chinese pavilion. Even though the waterfall is man-made, it organically fits in to capture your imagination.
More adventurous travelers climb Strawberry Hill, an island in the center of the lake. Strawberry Hill measures 429 feet above sea level. As the highest point in the park, it offers excellent views of surrounding communities, as well as distant views of Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, and majestic Mount Tamalpais.
The lake attracts ducks who greet visitors hoping for a few crumbs, while turtles lounge on rocks and herons hunt for small fish. Like a dream sequence, Strawberry Hill attracts swallowtail and monarch butterflies. It’s a good idea to bring bread crumbs and binoculars or a camera with zoom lens.
The Japanese Tea Garden, originally developed for the 1894 World’s Fair, was designed by Baron Makoto Hagiwara, a wealthy landscape designer. It is the oldest Japanese Tea Garden in America. That temporary exhibit became a permanent feature afterward and the Hagiwara family increased the size of the gardens.
The Japanese Tea Garden pagoda in Golden Gate Park; (c) Antonio Gabola/UN
They imported exotic animals and statues developed by a Master Shrine Builder in Japan. Today it is one of the most prized attractions in Golden Gate Park.
M.H. de Young Museum enjoyed a 2005 makeover whose architecture draws as much attention as its fine collections in American art, African Art, Oceanic Art, South American art, and Photography. When major international exhibits tour at the de Young, arrive early for underground parking.
A hiding-in-plain-sight treat is the deYoung’s 144-foot high observation deck offering Free panoramic views of the park, San Francisco, and both bridges.
Few parks in the world are as consistently colorful and fragrant as Golden Gate Park due to Strybing Arboretum and San Francisco’s moderate climate permitting a year-round growing season.
The remarkable viewing deck at de Young Museum is a hit, rain or shine; (c) de Young Museum
Cast your eyes on the Japanese Cherry Tree and Plum Tree Blossoms, redwood groves, tulips, dahlias, and roses among the 8,000 varieties in its landscaped gardens. Also notice flora from distant Chile and Australia, a waterfowl pond full of geese and swans, and many other birds.
The Music Concourse hosts free concerts on Sundays during the summer and serves as a picnic spot year-round for visitors to the California Academy of Sciences, de Young Museum, and Japanese Tea Garden.
The breathtaking California Academy of Sciences is easily one of America’s best science museums. Re-imagined, expanded, and reopened in 2008, the energy-efficient architecture includes solar panels under a 2.5-acre living roof and features 1.7 million native plants.
The interior sports a 4-story rainforest, Steinhart Aquarium, Philippine Coral Reef, all-digital Planetarium, inventive Water Planet, and Earthquake exhibits. More than 38,000 live animals call the California Academy of Sciences home.
Sharon Art Studio is the city’s largest community art center, offering affordable classes in ceramics, glass, jewelry, drawing, and watercolor for all ages. The Children’s Playground has entertained generations of San Franciscans since 1887 and the carousel was built in 1914.
Both the playground and carousel underwent a major renovation and reopened in 2007 as the Koret Children’s Quarter. Kids make the climbing wall and rope climbing structure popular. Kezar Stadium was leveled and reimagined as a venue for track meets and occasionally, a track star in training.
Conservatory of Flowers at Golden Gate Park was built by talented craftsmen in 1879; (c) Soul Of America
Built in 1879, the Conservatory of Flowers, an elegant Victorian structure built of wood and glass, is the oldest building in Golden Gate Park. It houses a living museum of rare aquatic and tropical plants, including a 100-year-old giant Imperial Philodendron and a world-renowned collection of orchids.
Maybe it’s the abundant flora producing concentrated oxygen in this remarkable greenhouse, but whenever I enter, it feels like I’ve stepped into a dream sequence. I’m never in a rush to leave.
Whatever leisure attraction, work event, or serendipity brings you here, Golden Gate Park always makes you leave part of your heart in San Francisco.