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Golden Gate Park Points of Interest
There’s so much to explore and discover in Golden Gate Park’s 1,017 acres, but be sure not to miss these special attractions!
AIDS Memorial Grove
Nancy Pelosi Drive and Bowling Green Drive | Map It The National AIDS Memorial Grove is a living tribute to all whose lives have been touched by AIDS, and a dedicated space where people can gather to heal, hope, and remember. Its purpose is to ensure that those who have suffered from the AIDS epidemic — both those who have died and those who have shared their struggle — are not forgotten.
Anglers Lodge
1232 John F. Kennedy Drive | Map It Tucked away in the park’s western end, just across from the Bison Paddock, are three serene pools and a rustic mountain-style lodge, home to the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club. Generations of San Franciscans have learned to fly-fish here, and people come from around the world to participate in tournaments and other events. The pools are open to anyone who would like to practice their casting technique, free of charge, and members are often happy to provide tips.
Bison Paddock
1237 John F. Kennedy Drive | Map It Visitors to Golden Gate Park are often astounded to stumble upon a herd of American bison grazing in a meadow in the park’s western end, but these huge, shaggy Great Plains denizens have been a beloved institution since 1892. Before San Francisco opened its first zoo in the 1930s, a menagerie of creatures was kept in Golden Gate Park, including elk, deer, bear, sheep, and bison. The herd’s first home was in the park’s eastern end, but in 1899 they were moved to the meadow where you see them today, just west of Spreckels Lake along John F. Kennedy Drive. The small herd that remains is cared for by the San Francisco Zoo, while Rec and Park gardeners maintain the enclosure.
California Academy of Sciences
55 Music Concourse Drive | Map It Life-changing moments. World-changing science. The California Academy of Sciences is an aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, and natural history museum in the heart of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park—and a powerful voice for biodiversity research and exploration, environmental education, and sustainability across the globe.
Conservatory of Flowers
100 John F. Kennedy Drive | Map It A Victorian confection of wood and glass, the Conservatory of Flowers, which opened in 1879, is the oldest building in Golden Gate Park and one of San Francisco’s most beloved landmarks. It houses some 1,700 species of aquatic and tropical plants, many of them rare, including a 100-year-old giant Imperial philodendron, a world-renowned collection of orchids, giant water lilies, and carnivorous plants. Special exhibits have included such popular favorites as the Butterfly Zone and the miniature garden railroad. Admission to the Conservatory of Flowers is free to San Francisco residents and all veterans.
https://gggp.org/conservatory-of-flowers/
de Young Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive | Map It The de Young, San Francisco’s oldest museum, is housed in a strikingly modern copper-sheathed building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron. The museum building, which opened to the public in 2005, provides San Francisco with a landmark that integrates the museum’s superb art collections, architectural innovation, and the natural landscape in one multifaceted destination.
Japanese Tea Garden
75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive | Map It The Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park is the oldest in the United States, created for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition as the fair’s Japanese Village exhibit. The garden’s lush, harmonious landscaping pays homage to the traditional Japanese art of the garden. Paths wind through its 3.5 acres of carefully chosen and manicured plants, including graceful Japanese maples, twisting pines, clipped azaleas, and cherry trees that put on a spectacular flowering display in March and April. Admission to the Conservatory of Flowers is free to San Francisco residents and all veterans.
https://gggp.org/japanese-tea-garden/
JFK Promenade
JFK Drive, from Kezar to Transverse | Map It The John F. Kennedy (JFK) Promenade is a 1.5-mile stretch of permanent car-free road enjoyed by a wide range of visitors. Along the route, visitors can enjoy art installations, public pianos, rest stops and enhanced entrances featuring seating and lawn games, and live music in the heart of San Francisco’s majestic Golden Gate Park. It is a place of whimsy, fun and lingering delight.
More than a dozen massive murals are painted directly upon road, large-scale sculpture installations adorn the mile as creative totems to community solidarity, two grand pianos sit ready for open play, live music permeates the air from two different stages, a beautifully restored vintage caravan pours locally roasted coffee, circus performers emerge and vanish again as organically as the naturally occurring elements, a storyboard walk educates minds young and old on the history of the park, children’s games can be found in plain sight. More info from our partners Illuminate
Koret Children’s Quarter and Carousel
MLK Drive and Bowling Green Drive | Map It Thought to be the nation’s first public playground when it opened in 1888, this historic area was renovated in 2007. It features a climbing wall, a rope climbing structure, and the beloved historic concrete slides. The adjacent 1914 Herschell-Spillman Carousel features 62 hand-painted animals and remains a park favorite.
Facility Details & Carousel Hours
McLaren Lodge
501 Stanyan Street | Map It Built in 1896, McLaren Lodge was the home of the park department’s fifth superintendent, John McLaren, until 1943. McLaren Lodge is currently both the headquarters for the Recreation and Park Department and an interesting stop for architecture buffs.
McLaren Lodge is a registered San Francisco landmark (No. 175).
Music Concourse
Music Concourse Drive off of MLK Drive | Map It The Music Concourse, a landscaped basin between the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum , is a vital civic and cultural space within Golden Gate Park.
Golden Gate Park Band | Illuminate LIVE
Oak Woodlands
JFK Drive and Conservatory Drive East | Map It While most of Golden Gate Park has been landscaped with ornamental features, a few remnants of San Francisco’s oak woodlands still exist. The northeast corner is home to some of the oldest coast live oak trees in the city.
Panhandle
Stanyan to Baker Streets, between Fell and Oak | Map It The Golden Gate Park Panhandle is approximately three-quarters of a mile in length, stretching from Stanyan to Baker Streets; and situated between Fell and Oak Streets. The Panhandle contains paths, a basketball court, playground, restrooms, large lawn areas, and a monument to past President McKinley at its east end. The multi-use pathway on the north side of the Panhandle is a popular route for bicyclists traversing across the City.
Portals of the Past
At Lloyd Lake, off of JFK Drive | Map It The Portals of the Past is an unusual little monument at Golden Gate Park. Standing on the shores of Lloyd Lake (just to the west of the de Young Museum), these columns actually have an interesting history. During the big earthquake and fire of 1906, most of Nob Hill was flattened by the destruction, however, the entrance way to the mansion of A.N. Towne somehow managed to remain standing. It was later removed and brought over to Golden Gate Park, where it still stands today, as a symbol of the perseverance of San Francisco… working towards an optimistic future, regardless of the tragedy of the past.
Prayer Book Cross
John F. Kennedy Drive near Transverse | Map It On a steep, 150-foot-high knoll, this 64-foot-tall Celtic cross stands bold to the sky. The tallest monument in the park, it is nicknamed “Plymouth Rock of the Pacific.” Here, above Rainbow Falls at Crossover Drive, it commemorates the first-known use of the Book of Common Prayer in an English-speaking service on North America’s West Coast. The monument, with a span of 23 feet, consists of 68 huge blue Colusa sandstone blocks. Bishop William Ford Nichols, the second Episcopal Bishop of California, dedicated it on January 1st at the opening of the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition.
San Francisco Botanical Garden
9th Avenue and Lincoln Way | Map It The San Francisco Botanical Garden grows and conserves plants from around the world — more than 8,000 varieties in 55 acres of landscaped gardens and open spaces. Stroll through a grove of coast redwoods and a Mediterranean garden, explore cloud forests from meso-America and southeast Asia, and wander gardens of flora from Chile, Australia, Japan, California, and more. The garden’s special collections include rhododendrons, camellias, magnolias, and succulents. Admission is free to San Francisco residents and all veterans.
https://gggp.org/sf-botanical-garden/
Windmills and Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden
John F. Kennedy Drive and the Great Highway | Map It On the far western edge of Golden Gate Park stand two wooden windmills that were built to pump groundwater for irrigating the park’s lawns and gardens, helping to transform the dunes that once covered the area. The North, or Dutch, Windmill was built in 1902, followed by the South, or Murphy, Windmill, completed in 1907. Motorized pumps were first installed in the Dutch Windmill in 1913 to augment the power system, and the Murphy Windmill was electrified soon after. It’s commonly believed that the windmills were taken out of service around 1935. Cosmetic repairs to the Dutch Windmill were completed in 1980, and a renovation of the Murphy Windmill and adjacent Millwright’s Cottage was completed in 2012.
The Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden is a serene spot located next to the Dutch Windmill and is best known for its seasonal display of thousands of tulips that typically bloom in early spring.