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The Western Shoreline and Golden Gate Park

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Updated by Denise M. Leto

Few American cities provide a more intimate and dramatic view of the power and fury of the surf attacking the shore than San Francisco does along its wild Western Shoreline. From Lincoln Park in the north, along Ocean Beach from the Richmond south to the Sunset, a different breed of San Franciscan chooses to live in this area: surfers who brave the heaviest fog to ride the waves; writers who seek solace and inspiration in this city outpost; dog lovers committed to giving their pets a good workout each day.

From Lands End in Lincoln Park you have some of the best views of the Golden Gate (the name was given to the opening of San Francisco Bay long before the bridge was built) and the Marin Headlands. From the historic Cliff House south to the sprawling San Francisco Zoo, the Great Highway and Ocean Beach run along the western edge of the city. (If you’re here in winter or spring, keep your eyes peeled for migrating gray whales.) The wind is often strong along the shoreline, summer fog can blanket the ocean beaches, and the water is cold and usually too rough for swimming. Don’t forget your jacket!

The Western Shoreline

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Top 5 Reasons to Go

Lands End: Head down the freshly restored Coastal Trail near the Cliff House; you’ll quickly find yourself in a forest with unparalleled views of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Toast the sunset at the Beach Chalet: Top off a day of exploring with a cocktail overlooking Ocean Beach.

Legion of Honor: Tear yourself away from the spectacular setting and eye-popping view and travel back to 18th-century Europe through the paintings, drawings, and porcelain collected here.

Ocean Beach: Wrap up warm and stroll along the strand on a brisk, cloudy day and you’ll feel like a gritty local. Then thaw out over a bowl of steaming pho in the Richmond.

Old-time San Francisco: Wandering among the ruins of the Sutro Baths below the Cliff House, close your eyes and imagine vintage San Francisco: the monumental baths, popular amusement park Playland at the Beach, and that great old teetering, Victorian Cliff House of days gone by.

Quick Bites

Beach Chalet and Park Chalet.
The gorgeous setting often overshadows the upscale comfort food at the upstairs Beach Chalet and its downstairs sister, Park Chalet, across from Ocean Beach, on the western edge of Golden Gate Park. | 1000 Great Hwy., at JFK Dr. | 94121 | 415/386–8439.

Hunan Café 2.
With its plain-wrap storefront, this mom-and-pop shop may not look like much, but the friendly folks here serve delicious Chinese food; favorites include the ginger-and-onion chicken, Mongolian beef, and hot-and-sour soup. | 4450 Cabrillo St., at 46th Ave., Outer Richmond | 94121 | 415/751–1283.

Getting There

To reach the Western Shoreline from downtown by bus, take the 38–Geary, which runs all the way to 48th and Point Lobos avenues, just east of the Cliff House. Along the Western Shoreline, the 18–46th Avenue bus runs between the Legion of Honor and the zoo (and beyond).

Making the Most of Your Time

Despite low-lying fog and often biting chill, the premier sights of the Western Shoreline are outdoors—gorgeous hiking trails and sandy stretches of coastline. Bundle up and start off on the Coastal Trail, which passes by the Legion of Honor. Continue west to catch the sunset from the Cliff House or the Beach Chalet. If you don’t want to do the entire 3-mile hike, you can spend an hour touring the museum, catch the stunning views just below it, and head to the beach.

Top Attractions

Fodor’s Choice | Legion of Honor.
The old adage of real estate—location, location, location—is at full force here. You can’t beat the site of this museum of European art atop cliffs overlooking the ocean, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Marin Headlands. A pyramidal glass skylight in the entrance court illuminates the lower-level galleries, which exhibit prints and drawings, English and European porcelain, and ancient Assyrian, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art. The 20-plus galleries on the upper level display the permanent collection of European art (paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, and tapestries) from the 14th century to the present day.

The noteworthy Auguste Rodin collection includes two galleries devoted to the master and a third with works by Rodin and other 19th-century sculptors. An original cast of Rodin’s The Thinker welcomes you as you walk through the courtyard. As fine as the museum is, the setting and view outshine the collection and make a trip here worthwhile.

The Legion Café, on the lower level, serves tasty light meals (soup, sandwiches, grilled chicken) inside and on a garden terrace. (Unfortunately, there’s no view.) Just north of the museum’s parking lot is George Segal’s The Holocaust, a stark white installation that evokes life in concentration camps during World War II. It’s haunting at night, when backlighted by lights in the Legion’s parking lot. TIP Admission to the Legion also counts as same-day admission to the de Young Museum. | 34th Ave. at Clement St., Outer Richmond | 94121 | 415/750–3600 | legionofhonor.famsf.org | $10, $2 off with Muni transfer, free 1st Tues. of month | Tues.–Sun. 9:30–5:15.

John McLaren, the Boss Gardner

Fiery Scotsman John McLaren reigned as park superintendent from 1890 to 1943, ruling with an iron fist and often taking on City Hall to defend “his” park. When government officials planned to build a trolley line through the park, McLaren cursed “the rascals at City Hall” and marched downtown to challenge the decision, complaining that many plantings would be destroyed. The city planner assured him that the rail line would cut through a sparsely planted area of the park, but McLaren dragged the man to the site—which had miraculously bloomed into a lush flower garden overnight. When park police wanted to remove a tree that was too close to their stationhouse, McLaren allegedly replied, “I’m a reasonable man. Let’s compromise, and you move the station.”

McLaren hated statues and planted around them so vigorously that some, long forgotten, were only excavated after his death. Some say he hid the one of himself in the stables; discovered and installed posthumously, it strolls McLaren’s beloved Rhododendron Dell. When he reached retirement age, instead of a gold watch he got the title Superintendent for Life, and finally died peacefully at home, in the park building now known as McLaren Lodge.

—Denise M. Leto

Lincoln Park.
Although many of the city’s green spaces are gentle and welcoming, Lincoln Park is a wild 275-acre park with windswept cliffs and panoramic views. The newly renovated Coastal Trail, the park’s most dramatic one, leads out to Lands End; pick it up west of the Legion of Honor (at the end of El Camino del Mar) or from the parking lot at Point Lobos and El Camino del Mar. Time your hike to hit Mile Rock at low tide, and you might catch a glimpse of two wrecked ships peeking up from their watery graves. TIP Do be careful if you hike here; landslides are frequent, and many people have fallen into the sea by standing too close to the edge of a crumbling bluff top.

On the tamer side, large Monterey cypresses line the fairways at Lincoln Park’s 18-hole golf course, near the Legion of Honor. At one time this land was the Golden Gate Cemetery, where the dead were segregated by nationality; most were indigent and interred without ceremony in the potter’s field. In 1900 the Board of Supervisors voted to ban burials within city limits, and all but two city cemeteries (at Mission Dolores and the Presidio) were moved to Colma, a small town just south of San Francisco. When digging has to be done in the park, bones occasionally surface again. | Entrance at 34th Ave. at Clement St., Outer Richmond | 94121.

Creating Golden Gate Park

In the 1860s, San Francisco was booming. The California gold rush and the transcontinental railroad had swelled the city’s population, and San Francisco needed a magnificent public green space to emulate its older, eastern siblings.

City Hall chose an unlikely location: a vast expanse of sand dunes on the western side of the city. The local government cut a deal with the squatters who lived in the area, and in 1870, Golden Gate Park was born . . . on paper, anyway.

William Hammond Hall, a civil engineer first hired to survey the land, became the park’s intrepid first superintendent and began to create an urban oasis. In five years he managed to plant 60,000 trees—a feat on its own, considering that 75% of the park was covered in sand. Legend has it that after many plants failed to take root, a spilled sack of horse feed saved the day. Hall noticed that the toppled barley sprouted, so he mixed lupine with the grain, and voilà—greenery.

–Denise M. Leto

Worth Noting

Cliff House.
A meal at the Cliff House isn’t about the food—the spectacular ocean view is what brings folks here. The vistas, which include offshore Seal Rock (the barking marine mammals who reside there are actually sea lions), can be 30 miles or more on a clear day—or less than a mile on foggy days. TIP Come for drinks just before sunset; then head back into town for dinner.

Three buildings have occupied this site since 1863. The current building dates from 1909; a 2004 renovation has left a strikingly attractive restaurant and a squat concrete viewing platform out back. The complex, owned by the National Park Service, includes a gift shop.

Sitting on the observation deck is the Giant Camera, a camera obscura with its lens pointing skyward housed in a cute yellow-painted wooden shack. Built in the 1940s and threatened many times with demolition, it’s now on the National Register of Historic Places. Step into the dark, tiny room inside (for a $3 fee); a fascinating 360-degree image of the surrounding area—which rotates as the “lens” on the roof rotates—is projected on a large, circular table. TIP In winter and spring you may also glimpse migrating gray whales from the observation deck.

To the north of the Cliff House are the ruins of the once-grand glass-roof Sutro Baths, which you can explore on your own (they look a bit like water-storage receptacles). Adolf Sutro, eccentric onetime San Francisco mayor and Cliff House owner, built the bath complex, including a train out to the site, in 1896, so that everyday folks could enjoy the benefits of swimming. Six enormous baths (some freshwater and some seawater), more than 500 dressing rooms, and several restaurants covered 3 acres north of the Cliff House and accommodated 25,000 bathers. Likened to Roman baths in a European glass palace, the baths were for decades the favorite destination of San Franciscans in search of entertainment. The complex fell into disuse after World War II, was closed in 1952, and burned down (under officially questionable circumstances—wink, wink) during demolition in 1966. | 1090 Point Lobos Ave., Outer Richmond | 94121 | 415/386–3330 | www.cliffhouse.com | Free | Weekdays 9 am–9:30 pm, weekends 9 am–10 pm.

Ocean Beach.
Stretching 3 miles along the western side of the city from the Richmond to the Sunset, this sandy swath of the Pacific coast is good for jogging or walking the dog—but not for swimming. The water is so cold that surfers wear wet suits year-round, and riptides are strong. As for sunbathing, it’s rarely warm enough here; think meditative walking instead of sun worshipping.

Paths on both sides of the Great Highway lead from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard (near the zoo); the beachside path winds through landscaped sand dunes, and the paved path across the highway is good for biking and in-line skating. (Though you have to rent bikes elsewhere.) The Beach Chalet restaurant and brewpub is across the Great Highway from Ocean Beach, about five blocks south of the Cliff House. | Along Great Hwy. from Cliff House to Sloat Blvd. and beyond | 94122.

San Francisco Zoo.
Ever since one of its tigers escaped its enclosure and killed a visitor on Christmas Day 2007, the city’s zoo has concentrated on polishing its image, raising funds to update its habitats, and restoring its reputation with animal welfare organizations. Occupying prime oceanfront property, the zoo is touting its metamorphosis into the “New Zoo,” a wildlife-focused recreation center that inspires visitors to become conservationists. Integrated exhibits group different species of animals from the same geographic areas together in enclosures that don’t look like cages. More than 250 species reside here, including endangered species such as the snow leopard, Sumatran tiger, grizzly bear, and as of 2011, a new Siberian tiger.

The zoo’s superstar exhibit is Grizzly Gulch, where orphaned sisters Kachina and Kiona enchant visitors with their frolicking and swimming. When the bears are in the water, the only thing between you and them is (thankfully thick) glass. Grizzly feedings are 11:30 am daily.

The Lemur Forest has five varieties of the bug-eyed, long-tailed primates from Madagascar. You can help hoist food into the lemurs’ feeding towers and watch the fuzzy creatures climb up to chow down. African Kikuyu grass carpets the circular outer area of Gorilla Preserve, one of the largest and most natural gorilla habitats of any zoo in the world. Trees and shrubs create communal play areas.

Ten species of rare monkeys—including black howler monkeys, black-and-white ruffed lemurs, and macaques—live and play at the two-tier Primate Discovery Center, which contains 23 interactive learning exhibits on the ground level.

Magellanic penguins waddle about the rather sad concrete Penguin Island, splashing and frolicking in its 200-foot pool. Feeding times are 10:15 and 3:30. Koalas peer out from among the trees in Koala Crossing, and kangaroos and wallabies headline the Australian Walkabout exhibit. The 7-acre Puente al Sur (Bridge to the South) re-creates habitats in South America, replete with giant anteaters and capybaras.

An African Savanna exhibit mixes giraffes, zebras, kudus, ostriches, and many other species, all living together in a 3-acre section with a central viewing spot accessed by a covered passageway.

The 6-acre Children’s Zoo has about 300 mammals, birds, and reptiles, plus an insect zoo, a meerkat and prairie-dog exhibit, a nature trail, a nature theater, a restored 1921 Dentzel carousel, and a mini–steam train. A ride on the train costs $4, and you can hop astride one of the carousel’s 52 hand-carved menagerie animals for $2. | Sloat Blvd. and 47th Ave. (Muni L–Taraval streetcar from downtown), Sunset | 94132 | 415/753–7080 | www.sfzoo.org | $15, $1 off with Muni transfer | Mid-Mar.–Oct., daily 10–5; Nov.–mid-Mar., daily 10–4.

Sutro Heights Park.
Crows and other large birds battle the heady breezes at this cliff-top park on what were once the grounds of the home of Adolph Sutro, an eccentric mining engineer and former San Francisco mayor. An extremely wealthy man, Sutro may have owned about 10% of San Francisco at one point, but he couldn’t buy good taste: a few remnants of his gaudy, faux-classical statue collection still stand (including the lions at what was the main gate). Monterey cypresses and Canary Island palms dot the park, and photos on placards depict what things looked like before the house burned down in 1896, from the greenhouse to the ornate carpet-bed designs.

All that remains of the main house is its foundation. Climb up for a sweeping view of the Pacific Ocean and the Cliff House below (which Sutro owned), and try to imagine what the perspective might have been like from one of the upper floors. San Francisco City Guides (415/557–4266) runs a free Saturday tour of the park that starts at 2 (meet at the lion statue at 48th and Point Lobos avenues). | Point Lobos and 48th Aves., Outer Richmond | 94121.

Golden Gate Park

Jogging, cycling, skating, picnicking, going to a museum, checking out a concert, dozing in the sunshine . . . Golden Gate Park is the perfect playground for fast-paced types, laid-back dawdlers, and everyone in between. More than 1,000 acres, stretching from the Haight all the way to the windy Pacific coast, the park is a vast patchwork of woods, trails, lakes, lush gardens, sports facilities, museums—even a herd of buffalo. You can hit the highlights in a few hours, but it would literally take days to fully explore the entire park.

Conservatory of Flowers.
Whatever you do, be sure to at least drive by the Conservatory of Flowers—it’s just too darn pretty to miss. The gorgeous, white-framed 1878 glass structure is topped with a 14-ton glass dome. Stepping inside the giant greenhouse is like taking a quick trip to the rain forest, with its earthy smell and humid warmth. The undeniable highlight is the Aquatic Plants section, where lily pads float and carnivorous plants dine on bugs to the sounds of rushing water. On the east side of the conservatory (to the right as you face the building), cypress, pine, and redwood trees surround the Dahlia Garden, which blooms in summer and fall. To the west is the Rhododendron Dell, which contains 850 varieties, more than any other garden in the country. It’s a favorite local Mother’s Day picnic spot. | John F. Kennedy Dr. at Conservatory Dr., Golden Gate Park | 94118 | 415/666–7001 | www.conservatoryofflowers.org | $7, free 1st Tues. of month | Tues.–Sun. 10–4:30.

Stow Lake.
Russian seniors feed the pigeons, kids watch turtles sunning themselves, and joggers circle this placid body of water, Golden Gate Park’s largest lake. Early park superintendent John McLaren may have snarked that manmade Stow Lake was “a shoestring around a watermelon,” but for more than a century visitors have come to walk its paths and bridges, paddle boats, and climb Strawberry Hill (the “watermelon”). Cross one of the bridges—the 19th-century stone bridge on the southwest side is lovely—and ascend the hill; keep your eyes open for the waterfall and an elaborate Chinese Pavilion. | Off John F. Kennedy Dr. | 94118 | 415/752–0347 boat rental, 415/668–6699 surrey and bike rental | Boat rentals daily 10–4, surrey and bicycle rentals daily 9–dusk.

San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden.
As you amble through the manicured landscape, past Japanese sculptures and perfect miniature pagodas, over ponds of carp that have been here since before the 1906 quake, you may be transported to a more peaceful plane. Or maybe the shrieks of kids clambering over the almost vertical “humpback” bridges will keep you firmly in the here and now. Either way, this garden is one of those tourist spots that’s truly worth a stop (a half hour will do). And at 5 acres, it’s large enough that you’ll always be able to find a bit of serenity, even when the tour buses drop by. The garden is especially lovely in April, when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. | Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., off John F. Kennedy Dr., Golden Gate Park | 94118 | 415/752–4227 | www.japaneseteagardensf.com | $7, free Mon., Wed., and Fri. if you enter by 10 am | Mar.–Oct., daily 9–6; Nov.–Feb., daily 9–4:45.

Koret Children’s Quarter.
The country’s first public children’s playground reopened in 2007 after a spectacular renovation, with wave-shaped climbing walls, old-fashioned cement slides, and a 20-plus-foot rope climbing structure that kids love and parents fear. Thankfully, one holdover is the beautiful, handcrafted 1912 Herschell-Spillman carousel. The lovely stone Sharon Building, next to the playground, offers kids’ art classes. Bring a picnic or pick up grub nearby on 9th Avenue and you could spend the entire day here. Be aware that the playground, which has separate areas for toddlers and bigger kids, is unenclosed and sightlines can be obstructed. | Golden Gate Park, Bowling Green Dr., off Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Golden Gate Park | 94118 | 415/831–2700 | Playground free; carousel $2, kids 6–12 $1 | Playground daily dawn–dusk; carousel Memorial Day–Labor Day, daily 10–4:30, Labor Day–Memorial Day, Fri.–Sun. 10–4:30.

de Young Museum.
It seems that everyone in town has a strong opinion about the de Young Museum: Some adore its striking copper facade, while others just hope that the green patina of age will mellow the effect. Most maligned is the 144-foot tower, but the view from its ninth-story observation room, ringed by floor-to-ceiling windows and free to the public, is worth a trip here by itself. The building almost overshadows the de Young’s respected collection of American, African, and Oceanic art. The museum also plays host to major international exhibits, such as 2010’s showing of postimpressionist works on loan from the Musée d’Orsay and 2011’s exhibit of 100 works from Paris’s Musée National Picasso. | 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr., Golden Gate Park | 94118 | 415/750–3600 | deyoung.famsf.org | $10, free 1st Tues. of month | Tues.–Sun. 9:30–5:15; mid-Jan.–Nov., Fri. until 8:45.

California Academy of Sciences.
With its native plant–covered living roof, retractable ceiling, three-story rain forest, gigantic planetarium, living coral reef, and frolicking penguins, the Cal Academy is one of the city’s most spectacular treasures. Dramatically designed by Renzo Piano, it’s an eco-friendly, energy-efficient adventure in biodiversity and green architecture. The roof’s large mounds and hills mirror the local topography, and Piano’s audacious design completes the dramatic transformation of the park’s Music Concourse. Moving away from a restrictive role as a backward-looking museum that catalogued natural history, the new academy is all about sustainability and the future, but you’ll still find those beloved dioramas in African Hall.

By the time you arrive, hopefully you’ve decided which shows and programs to attend, looked at the academy’s floor plan, and designed a plan to cover it all in the time you have. And if not, here’s the quick version: Head left from the entrance to the wooden walkway over otherworldly rays in the Philippine Coral Reef, then continue to the Swamp to see the famous albino alligator. Swing through African Hall and gander at the penguins, take the elevator up to the living roof, then return to the main floor and get in line to explore the Rainforests of the World, ducking free-flying butterflies and watching for other live surprises. You’ll end up below ground in the Amazonian Flooded Rainforest, where you can explore the academy’s other aquarium exhibits. Phew. | 55 Music Concourse Dr. | 94118 | 415/379–8000 | www.calacademy.org | $29.95, free one Sun. per quarter | Mon.–Sat. 9:30–5, Sun. 11–5.

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum.
One of the best picnic spots in a very picnic-friendly park, the 55-acre arboretum specializes in plants from areas with climates similar to that of the Bay Area. Walk the Eastern Australian garden to see tough, pokey shrubs and plants with cartoon-like names, such as the hilly-pilly tree. Kids gravitate toward the large shallow fountain and the pond with ducks, turtles, and egrets. Alas, the city began charging admission to the gardens in 2010, so it’s a slightly less alluring picnic spot compared to the free stretches in front of the Conservatory of Flowers and on the Music Concourse between the de Young and the Cal Academy. | Enter the park at 9th Ave. at Lincoln Way, Golden Gate Park | 94122 | 415/661–1316 | www.sfbotanicalgarden.org | $7, free 2nd Tues. of month | Apr.–Oct., daily 9–6; Nov.–Mar., daily 10–5.

National AIDS Memorial Grove.
This lush, serene 7-acre grove was conceived as a living memorial to the disease’s victims. Coast live oaks, Monterey pines, coast redwoods, and other trees flank the grove. There are also two stone circles, one recording the names of the dead and their loved ones, the other engraved with a poem. Free 20-minute tours are available some Saturdays. | Golden Gate Park, Middle Dr. E, west of tennis courts, Golden Gate Park | 94118 | 415/765–0497 | www.aidsmemorial.org.

Beach Chalet.
Hugging the park’s western border, this 1925 Willis Polk–designed structure houses gorgeous Depression-era murals of familiar San Francisco scenes, while verses by local poets adorn niches here and there. Stop by the ground-floor visitor center on your way to indulge in a microbrew upstairs, ideally at sunset. | 1000 Great Hwy. | 94121 | 415/386–8439 restaurant | www.beachchalet.com | Restaurant Mon.–Thurs. 9 am–10 pm, Fri. 9 am–11 pm, Sat. 8 am–11 pm, Sun. 8 am–10 pm.

Dutch Windmill.
It may not pump water anymore, but this carefully restored windmill, built in 1903 to irrigate Golden Gate Park, continues to enchant visitors. The Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden here is a welcoming respite, particularly lovely during its February and March bloom. On the south side of the park, the Murphy Windmill is undergoing renovation and received its refurbished copper dome in 2011; swing by for an interesting comparison. | Golden Gate Park, John F. Kennedy Dr., a half block east of Great Hwy. | 94121 | No phone | Dawn–dusk.

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