Everybody loves Golden Gate Park -- people, dogs, birds, frogs, turtles, bison, trees, bushes, and flowers. Literally, everything feels unified here in San Francisco's enormous arboreal front yard, but this great city landmark wasn't always a favorite place to convene. It was conceived in the 1860s and 1870s and took its current shape in the 1880s and 1890s, thanks to the skill and effort of John McLaren, a Scot who arrived in 1887 and began landscaping the park. Totaling 1,017 acres, the park is a narrow strip that stretches inland from the Pacific coast. No one had thought about the challenge the sand dunes and wind would present to any landscape artist. McLaren developed a new strain of grass called "sea bent," which he had planted to hold the sandy soil along the Firth of Forth, and he used it to anchor the soil here, too. He also built the two windmills that stand on the western edge of the park to pump water for irrigation. Every year the ocean eroded the western fringe of the park, and ultimately he solved this problem, too. It took him 40 years to build a natural wall, putting out bundles of sticks that the tides covered with sand. Under his brilliant eye, the park took shape.
Today's Golden Gate Park is a truly magical place. Spend one sunny day stretched out on the grass along JFK Drive, have a good read in Shakespeare Garden, or stroll around Stow Lake, and you, too, will understand the allure. It's an interactive botanical symphony, and everyone is invited to play in the orchestra.
The park consists of hundreds of gardens and attractions connected by wooded paths and paved roads. While many worthy sites are clearly visible, there are infinite hidden treasures, so pick up information if you want to find the more obscure, quaint spots. Head first to the McLaren Lodge and Park Headquarters (tel. 415/831-2700), which is open daily. Of the dozens of special gardens in the park, most recognized are McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell, The Rose Garden, Strybing Arboretum and, at the western edge of the park, a springtime array of thousands of tulips and daffodils around the Dutch windmill.
In addition to the highlights described in this section, the park contains lots of recreational facilities: tennis courts; baseball, soccer, and polo fields; a golf course; riding stables; and fly-casting pools. The Strawberry Hill boathouse handles boat rentals. The park is also the home of two major museums: the California Academy of Sciences (see separate listing below) and the currently closed M. H. De Young Memorial Museum, which is moving to a new location within the park in 2005.
For further information, call the San Francisco Visitor Information Center at tel. 415/283-0177. Enter the park at Kezar Drive, an extension of Fell Street; bus riders can take no. 5, 6, 7, 16AX, BX, 66, or 71.
Conservatory of Flowers--Built in 1879, this glorious glass structure is the oldest public conservatory in the western hemisphere. After a bad storm several years ago and delayed renovations, the conservatory has been closed and visitors have only been able to imagine what wondrous displays existed within the striking assemblage of glass. Thankfully, a $25-million renovation, including a $4-million exhibit upgrade, is slated for completion as this book goes to press. Make a point of staying a while; there are good sunny spots for people-watching as well as paths leading to impressive gardens begging to be explored. If you're around during summer and fall, don't miss the Dahlia Garden to the right of the entrance in the center of what was once a carriage roundabout -- it's an explosion of colorful Dr. Seuss-like blooms. For more information, visit www.conservatoryofflowers.org or call tel. 415/831-2700.
Japanese Tea Garden -- John McLaren, the man who began landscaping Golden Gate Park, hired Makoto Hagiwara, a wealthy Japanese landscape designer, to further develop the garden originally created for the 1894 Midwinter Exposition. It's a quiet place with cherry trees, shrubs, and bonsai crisscrossed by winding paths and high-arched bridges over pools of water. Focal points and places for contemplation include the massive bronze Buddha (cast in Japan in 1790 and donated by the Gump family), the Shinto wooden pagoda, and the Wishing Bridge which, reflected in the water, looks as though it completes a circle. The garden is open daily November through February from 8:30am to 5pm (teahouse 10am-4:30pm), March through October from 8:30am to 6pm (teahouse 10am-5:30pm). For information on admission, call tel. 415/752-4227. For the teahouse, call tel. 415/752-1171.
Strawberry Hill/Stow Lake -- Rent a paddleboat, rowboat, or motorboat and cruise around the circular lake as painters create still lifes, joggers pass along the grassy shoreline, ducks waddle around waiting to be fed, and turtles bathe on rocks and logs. Strawberry Hill, the 430-foot-high artificial island that lies at the center of Stow Lake, is a perfect picnic spot; it boasts a bird's-eye view of San Francisco and the bay. It also has a waterfall and peace pagoda. For the boathouse, call tel. 415/752-0347. Boat rentals are available daily from 10am to 4pm; four-passenger rowboats go for $13 per hour, and four-person paddleboats run $17 per hour.
Strybing Arboretum & Botanical Gardens -- Six thousand plant species grow here, among them some ancient plants in a special "primitive garden," rare species, and a grove of California redwoods. Docent tours begin at 1:30pm daily, with an additional 10:30am tour on weekends. Strybing is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. For more information, call tel. 415/661-1316.
