GOLDEN GATE PARK - SAN FRANCISCO, CA

GOLDEN GATE PARK - SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Published: 09/30/2009 by D Travel

Golden Gate Park is the true heart of San Francisco. Having been a frequent visitor to the Park for more than 18 years in the Bay Area, I felt pretty confident that I knew everything there was to know about it, but my latest research tells me that I am mistaken in that belief. Golden Gate Park is a vast treasure -- larger even than New York’s Central Park.

The Park has come a long way since it was a collection of sand dunes in 1870, the year it was deeded to the people on the premise that one day, San Franciscans would feel overcrowded and need an escape haven. This is certainly borne out by the fact that an astonishing 75,000 people visit Golden Gate Park on any given weekend. Thank heavens for John McLaren, the nature enthusiast who arrived in San Francisco from Scotland in the 1870’s and transformed the wind-swept sand dunes into a lush repository for trees (there are over a million of them now), grass and some fairly exotic plants.

The Midwinter International Exposition of 1894 was an actual World’s Fair that operated in Golden Gate Park from January 27 to July 5, 1894. This World’s Fair was responsible for the creation of the original M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. Mr. de Young was then editor and sole proprietor of an upcoming local newspaper, the SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE. The sprawling exposition/carnival was designed to improve the economy and attract tourists, and it was a resounding success.

Today, Golden Gate Park is a study in renewal and renovation, and a testament to the dedication of the people who live in the City and love Golden Gate Park deeply. Although there have been periodic episodes of crime within its boundaries and ongoing controversy over the tenancy of a number of homeless people, it remains a huge, beautiful, relatively safe and calm place to come and unwind from the tensions of the urban day.

You like flowers, right? The Conservatory of Flowers located at the east end of the Park has over 1,500 species of plants from dozens of different countries, with everything from the lowland tropics (with a 100-year-old philodendron), to the highland tropics (including dracula orchids with hinged ‘lips’ and eye-like petals!), to aquatic plants (giant water lilies and carnivorous Asian pitcher plants), and a huge number of potted plants. Geckos are used in the huge greenhouse to naturally control pests. Among other educational exhibits, there is an exhibit dedicated to plant pollination which features 800 live butterflies flying around amongst the visitors. On the first Tuesday of each month, admission is free (open Tuesday through Sunday 9am to 4:30pm).

Every Sunday, cars in the park are banned from 5am to 5pm on JFK Drive, the Park’s main road, as well as certain other streets in the Park as well. This is the time to grab your rollerblades or your bike and get busy, because this really is one of the best ways to really see all of the Park’s lush greenery, waterfalls and gardens. If you want to rent your bike or skates, you can do so at: Avenue Cyclery, 756 Stanyan Street (415) 387-3155; Skates on Haight, 1818 Haight Street (415) 752-8375; Park Cyclery, 1749 Waller Street (415) 221-3777; or Golden Gate Park Bike and Skate, 3038 Fulton Street (415) 668-1117.

How about a lazy boat ride around Stow Lake, the largest lake in the Park? This lake surrounds the Strawberry Hill island which has a great electrical waterfall. You can rent one of those ever-so-charming pedalboats, or a rowboat or an electrically-powered boat at the boathouse on the northwestern side of the lake at Stow Lake Bike & Boat Rentals, 50 Stow Lake Drive (415) 752-0347. This is also one of the favorite fly-fishing spots in Golden Gate Park.

If you don’t feel like spending any money, a leisurely stroll through the 70-acre San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboreteum is just the ticket. Admission is free and it might just be the best walking terrain in the entire Park. Here over 7,500 plant species entice the senses (and there are signs for each one in Braille) with incredible fragrances. Northern California’s largest horticultural library, the Helen Crocker Russell Library, can also be found here. The primary entrance to the Garden is at Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, but you can also enter through the Friend’s Gate from the Japanese Tea Garden. (Weekdays, 8am to 4:30pm; weekends, 10am to 5pm) Free guided walks daily at 1:30pm.

An absolute must-see when you come to Golden Gate Park is the new California Academy of Sciences building, which took nearly 10 years to construct at a cost of over $500 million dollars. This stunning building promises to be the ‘greenest’ museum on the planet, even using recycled denim fibers for insulation. The new amazing single structure has multiple venues including the aquarium, the planetarium, the natural history museum and a four-story rainforest. The Academy is now home to nearly 40,000 animals. It has a new 3D theater, a lecture hall, a Naturalist Center, two restaurants, an adjacent garden and aviary, a roof terrace and an Academy store. Also contained within the superstructure are the Academy science labs and administrative offices, including an extensive library and scientific archive consisting of more than 20 million specimens. Hours are Monday – Saturday, 9:30am to 5:00pm; Sunday, 11:00am to 5:00pm; every Thursday night from 6:00pm to 10:00pm, the Academy has a special ‘Nightlife’ event dedicated to music, “provocative science,” mingling and cocktails for those over 21. The Academy of Sciences is located at 55 Music Concourse Drive in Golden Gate Park; various ticket admission prices apply.

Reputedly the birthplace of the fortune cookie, the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park was designed for the World’s Fair in 1894, and still has some of the original features such as the Drum Bridge and the tea house. The best time to explore this relaxing haven is when everyone else is at work, and for the $3 admission, it’s well worth planning to arrive during a less popular time period. Take your time to really explore all the hidden statuary and bridges on this beautiful five-acre complex of paths, ponds, cherry trees, bonsai, azaleas, koi fish and exotic birds. Located between JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. Drives (415) 752-4227.

Okay, the horse stables haven’t reopened just yet, and it may be awhile before they do, but just in case all of the above hasn’t kept you totally captivated, here’s a short list of all the rest of the activities and must-see’s available in this awesome park:

The de Young Museum is truly an architectural wonder, having been rebuilt after the Loma Prieta quake of 1989. Now the Museum proudly displays permanent collections of Filipino, African, Maori, American Indian and New Guinea art on its first and second floors, as well as Egyptian treasures in special galleries. Admission is free on the first Tuesday of each month; $6 - $10 otherwise. Tuesday through Sunday, 9:30am to 5:00pm.

Garden of Shakespeare’s Flowers was designed to honor the plants and flowers described in Shakespeare’s plays, a total of over 150 different specimens. Located at Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and Middle Drive East.

If you feel like shootin’ some hoops, there’s almost always some fairly stiff competition going on in the Panhandle at the eastern end of the Park on Masonic Street (between Oak and Fell Streets).

Kezar Stadium, with seating for 10,000, has an all-weather track for public use, and the field can be reserved for various sports. Located at 755 Stanyan Street (415) 753-7032.

If model yachting is your thing, Spreckels Lake, located on the northern side of the Park at 36th Avenue, is the home of the San Francisco Model Yacht Club. The lake has been specifically designed for yacht owners to walk around each side of the lake with a padded pole to prevent the yachts from colliding with the edge of the lake.

Sharon Art Studio, near the Children’s Playground at the far eastern end of the Park, offers classes for adults and children in drawing, painting, ceramics and metal arts.

There’s an actual bison paddock next to Spreckels Lake with a successful herd of the buffalo being cared for by the San Francisco Zoo. They date all the way back to 1891, when the park’s commission purchased them with the aim in mind to breed them in captivity due to their dwindling numbers throughout North America.

An article about Golden Gate Park would not be complete without mentioning the free concerts in the Park on Sundays. Now held at the Music Concourse, a large open-air plaza with the Spreckels Temple of Music or “Bandshell” as its focal point, the concerts have been performed free for the public since 1882 and have featured such greats as the Grateful Dead and Luciano Pavarotti.