you cross. The trail continues on the far side of the paved path, climbs moderately and then descends. At the next paved path, you turn left. After about 150 feet, just before you reach the corner of Fulton and Stanyan streets, turn right on a paved path that changes to dirt just beyond a rest bench.
Climbing gently on a single track, you soon merge with a wide dirt path by veering slightly left. Pass through a large clearing and then follow the path as it curves right and descends. At a T-junction, turn left on a wide dirt path, and then come to a paved path, where there is a water fountain. To your right is Conservatory Dr. East, a paved road.
Bear left on the paved path, then angle right at a fork. Rhododendrons line the path, ecologically at home beneath a large coast redwood. About 100 feet ahead, a paved path merges on your left. You continue straight, skirting a parking area, left, and then veer right to pass around McLaren Lodge.
Passing a couple of rest benches, right, your path bends left and meets a paved path that parallels Kennedy Dr. Here you turn right and soon cross Conservatory Dr. East. The paved path continues on the other side of Conservatory Dr., and you follow it past two well-known park attractions — the tennis courts, left, and the dahlia garden, right. The park’s oldest building, the Conservatory of Flowers, is ahead and right.
McLaren Lodge
This picturesque stone building, which houses the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department headquarters, was built in 1896 and is named for the park’s second, and most influential, manager, John McLaren.
The Conservatory was damaged in 1995 by a windstorm and was closed many years for repairs; it reopened in September 2003. It houses an extensive collection of tropical plants, including palms, orchids, bromeliads, and carnivorous species.
Just past the Conservatory, you cross Conservatory Dr. West, then resume your ramble along the north side of Kennedy Dr. To your right is the George Washington elm, planted here in 1952 by the San Francisco Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. According to a plaque here, the parent of this tree spread its limbs over George Washington as he took command of the American Army on July 3, 1775.
Once common shade trees east of the Rockies, elms in the United States have been decimated by Dutch elm disease. This fungal disease, spread by beetles, was introduced by accident around 1930. It’s good to see a healthy elm flourishing, especially one with so distinguished a past.
At about 1 mile, you come to a paved path on the right, the first since you crossed Conservatory Dr. West. Turning right, you climb moderately past several rest benches and dirt paths, all on your left. When you reach a chess-themed area — pedestals in the shape of knights and rooks supporting a covering that provides shade for tables and benches — bear left and follow a paved path through it.
With the chess area on your left, you merge with a paved path that joins from the right. Go about 75 feet to a junction, where you turn right onto a dirt path and stay left where it forks. Now you descend gently through a beautiful grove of coast live oak, traversing a hillside that drops left. At the next fork stay left again, and follow the path to a park entrance on Fulton St. across from 2nd Ave. Turn right and follow the sidewalk back to the trailhead.
TRIP 2 Golden Gate Park: Stow Lake
| Distance | 2.4 miles, Semi-loop | |
| Hiking Time | 1 to 2 hours | |
| Difficulty | Easy | |
| Trail Use | Leashed dogs, Good for kids | |
| Best Times | All year | |
| Agency | SFR&PD | |
| Recommended Map | Map: Map & Guide to Golden Gate Park (Friends of Recreation and Parks) |
HIGHLIGHTS Walking this charming semi-loop — which visits Stow Lake and also introduces you to the Rose Garden, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens — it’s hard to imagine San Francisco’s premier park as a bleak area of sand dunes, far removed from the city’s population center, but that’s what civil engineer William H. Hall had to work with when the park was created in the 1870s.
DIRECTIONS Parking around Golden Gate Park is often hard to find, especially on week ends. Also, there are road closures within the park on weekends and most holidays. If possible, use public transportation. San Francisco Muni bus lines 5 and 28 serve the trailhead at Presidio Blvd. and Fulton St. For more information, call SF Muni: (415) 673-6864.
Chinese Pavilion, on the east side of Stow lake, was a gift from the city of Taipei.
FACILITIES/TRAILHEAD Restrooms, phones, and snack/food vendors are scattered throughout the park. There are no facilities at the trailhead, which is on the southeast corner of Presidio Blvd. and Fulton St. (The nearest restroom is just west of the Rose Garden.)
You follow a paved path beside noisy Presidio Blvd. into the park. After about 100 feet you reach a four-way junction, where you go straight through the park’s lovely Rose Garden. Crossing John F. Kennedy Dr., you turn right on a paved path, and after about 150 feet veer left and climb past some tall eucalyptus trees. The path soon levels and curves left beside the Japanese Tea Garden, well worth a visit. Its entrance is ahead and then left about 100 yards on Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr.; there is a fee for admission.
Opposite the Tea Garden exit is a paved path going right and uphill to Stow Lake. Ahead, across Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., is Friend Gate and the entrance to the Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens (free admission).
The Arboretum
The 70-acre Strybing Arboretum and Botanical Gardens contains plants from around the world, including Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and, of course, California. You can explore the John Muir Nature Trail, walk through a garden with plants mentioned in the Bible, and experience the Garden of Fragrance. There is a small pond here, and the water, combined with the variety of flowering plants, attracts many species of birds. An information board near the entrance lists guided walks and classes that are available.
To visit Stow Lake, go uphill on the paved path and then climb a set of steps. When you reach the lake, turn left and follow the paved path that circles the lake, which is actually a narrow body of water surrounding an island. Paddleboats ply the lake’s placid waters, which are fringed by Monterey pine, eucalyptus, and Monterey cypress. On the southwest side is Rustic Bridge, an 1893 stone span that leads to the island. Continuing clockwise around the lake, you come to the Boathouse, where you can buy snacks and drinks and rent boats and bicycles. Restrooms are downhill and across a parking area, left.
Stow Lake is a favorite birding destination — from its shore you may spot great blue herons, black-crowned night herons, egrets, gulls, ducks, geese, and songbirds. Sometimes a rare bird shows up and creates a stir among local birders.
Passing the Boathouse and ambling beside the lake, you come to Roman Bridge. To visit the island, turn right and cross the bridge. At a four-way junction, you turn right again and now begin to circle the island
