San Francisco is known for many things; hippies, the Castro, hipsters (shudder), awesome music, pretentious people (I’m sure you’ve all seen the South Park episode), and PUBLIC PARKS. Ok, maybe the last one not so much, but this blog will begin the much-deserved Park-Appreciation Movement. Please send donations to me.
Dolores Park
Ride your fixie on over and enjoy the Mission district. Awesome movie nights every month during the summer (check out doloresparkmovie.org for a schedule).
Alamo Square
Overlooking the Painted Ladies, feel free to sing along to the Full House theme song!
Golden Gate Park/The Panhandle
Larger than Central Park in NYC (I looked it up!), this park has a ton of different things to do and see, such as:
AIDS Memorial Grove (affiliated with the National Park Service as a national memorial)
California Academy of Sciences
Conservatory of Flowers
Japanese Tea Garden
Kezar Stadium
M. H. de Young Memorial Museum
Music Concourse
San Francisco Botanical Garden
Sutro Baths
These ruins right next to Ocean Beach are breathtaking, and the hiking trails surrounding the Baths are awesome. Not really a park persay, but worth seeing nonetheless.
Washington Square Park
Ridiculously close to the Green Tortoise, this park was featured in numerous scenes in Dirty Harry! If that’s not reason enough, tons of people practice Tai Chi in the early morning daily, feel free to jump in and show ‘em what you’ve got.
The Presidio:
Named a National Historic Landmark, this area has a few awesome spots to check out, such as:
Baker Beach
Absolutely beautiful beach with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge. As you wander closer to the bridge, don’t be alarmed by the naked men: half of the beach is a nudist beach. Make sure they don’t get in the way of your Golden Gate Bridge photos.
He's not always there.
Crissy Field
A great place to jog along the Beach, or sit and watch people jog while you eat a sandwich. Cool cafes, lots of space to lie around, beautiful space.
So enjoy! Lounge! Relax!
