Walking San Francisco

The Mission Revival structures of Fort Winfield Scott reflect the Presidio’s Spanish heritage.

PUBLIC TRANSIT: The 30 Muni bus terminates on Broderick St., a block outside the park, near Crissy Field.

The Presidio, along with Mission Dolores, was just about all there was to San Francisco during the city’s Spanish period. It was Spain’s military outpost, linked to the mission by a trail that later became Divisadero Street. Its location overlooking the Golden Gate was suitable for guarding the entrance to San Francisco Bay.

The Presidio’s 1,000 acres remained a military outpost under the Mexican government. Later, under US rule, the Presidio was an Army base until 1994, when it was turned over to the National Park Service. As a park, it has a lot to offer. Its historic buildings include one of the city’s very oldest structures, as well as many buildings from the Civil War period. Some rows of military housing built in the Colonial Revival style resemble a Norman Rockwell vision of small-town American life, with wide porches and plenty of red brick and white trim. San Francisco’s most recognizable architectural feature, the Golden Gate Bridge, touches down on the park’s northern tip.

Meanwhile, postmilitary tenants of the park include George Lucas, whose film production companies are based here, and numerous nonprofit organizations. But it’s the land and the location that make the Presidio special, for during its two centuries as a military base the area was spared the rapid development that went on outside its walls. Thus, an extraordinary swath of nature has been preserved for the leisurely enjoyment of the modern civilian. It is a huge and varied parkland, with cliffside trails overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a long, low-lying bayshore that draws walkers and bicyclers in great numbers.

This tour is lengthy—more than 5 miles—but doesn’t even cover half the park. Regard it as an introduction to the key sights, and come back to explore the park further on your own.

Walk Description

Start at Crissy Field, where San Franciscans come to appreciate their bay, and walk in the direction of the Golden Gate Bridge. The level, grassy strip to the left was an airfield, formed by the army in 1919. These were fairly early days in the development of flight, and many landmark voyages took off or landed here, including test runs at transcontinental flights. (Then, it took three days to make it from here to New York, with numerous pit stops along the way—not unlike a cross-country trip by Greyhound bus today.) In 1924, the first round-the-world journey by air made a heroic stop at Crissy Field before concluding at its starting point in Seattle. Two of the four aircraft that began the journey made it to the finish; the other two crashed. Needless to say, it was a dangerous endeavor for the times. The runway is said to be usable still, but only kites and Frisbees take off here these days.

Along the cinder path you’ll see marshlands that are being restored to their pre-Army state. The marshes are home to great blue herons, great egrets, and double-crested cormorants, and attract plenty of migrating surf scoters, Caspian terns, and Western grebes. It’s busier than an international airport.

Just beyond Crissy Field is the

Warming Hut, a welcoming gift shop, bookstore, and snack stand housed in a historic 1909 building that serves up hot beverages and sandwiches made with local and organic ingredients. Along the waterfront here, you’re sure to find stacks of carefully balanced rocks; local artists host an annual instructional gathering each April, but you can find folks testing their hand at this gravity-defying art form nearly every day.

Continue along the bayfront to

Fort Point, with the Golden Gate Bridge arching dramatically overhead. Along the way, take note of steps heading uphill to the left (we’ll walk up there in a bit). Also check out the seawall, from which Kim Novak took her dip into the bay in Hitchcock’s Vertigo. (She was fully clothed, and James Stewart leapt in after her, took her to his apartment, and managed to get her into a bathrobe without violating the strict film code.) On some days you’ll see surfers riding the waves just off the point. Fort Point itself, a huge brick-and-granite fortress, was built in 1853 to protect the entrance to the bay. Construction continued through the Civil War, when it was thought that a Confederate attack might arrive by sea. Many other buildings rose in the Presidio during that time, as San Francisco’s importance became clear to the vulnerable Union. From Fort Point the perspective of the Golden Gate Bridge—from underneath it—will knock your socks off. The graceful immensity of the bridge fully registers here.

Backtrack toward the Warming Hut and follow those steps we passed earlier. Toward the top, bear right on the trail that leads to Battery East. Built in 1876, this armed lookout is one of many built in the latter half of the 19th century along the bluffs overlooking the Pacific. When you reach the juncture with the Presidio Promenade, bear right and then right again on the unpaved path to continue on the trail, which passes beneath the bridge toll plaza and by a few more historic batteries before reaching the coastal Golden Gate Overlook, just beyond Battery Godfrey. Quite a few trails crisscross here, but if you follow the Coastal Trail, you’ll be fine. From the overlook, head inland through the parking lot to cross Lincoln following Langdon Court. Head down the slight incline to your left to reach the playing field of Fort Winfield Scott. This complex, built in 1910, has many Mission Revival structures that are fairly consistent with California architecture from the time (as opposed to the Colonial Revival structures, which are anomalous in the region). The iconic Presidio style of white buildings with red roofs began here.

Turn right to follow the pedestrian path bordering the playing field, and look for the unmarked paved pedestrian path that crosses the field next to two twin trees. Follow the path to make your way through Fort Winfield Scott, and look for Ruckman Avenue to your left. Follow Ruckman Avenue past some housing as it turns into Rod Avenue and dips beneath the CA 1 overpass to reach wide Lincoln Boulevard. Cross Lincoln and turn left; then take the first right onto unmarked Cowles Avenue.

Turn left on McDowell Avenue for a quick detour to the charming and folksy

Presidio Pet Cemetery, where you can pay respects to well-loved critters named Skippy; Knucklehead; and Peep, Pet Pigeon of Johnnie Burke. It’s by turns touching, humorous, and overblown. After your visit, return uphill on McDowell Avenue and turn left on a trail marked PRESIDIO PROMENADE to Lincoln Boulevard, which sweeps past the military cemetery on its way to the Main Post and Parade Ground. Just past the military cemetery, you’ll reach the

Korean War Memorial, on your left. Established in 2016, this beautifully planted and informative tribute honors those who served in the so-called forgotten war.

Turn right on Sheridan Avenue to take a shortcut to the southern end of the Parade Ground. The grounds have been converted into a parking lot, which adds convenience but detracts from the beauty of the surrounding buildings. Along Montgomery Street, you will note the historic Colonial Revival structures, uniform in design, that were once barracks housing for enlisted men. Where Sheridan meets Anza Avenue, you will find the historic

Powder Magazine, which dates back to the Civil War and now houses an indoor Andy Goldsworthy sculpture, Tree Fall (see Backstory, opposite), instead of gunpowder and munitions. Note the 4-foot-thick walls, important in the case of an accidental explosion so that neighboring buildings wouldn’t be damaged and the debris would shoot through the roof.

Turn right on Anza Avenue to reach Moraga Avenue and the

Presidio Officers’ Club, which still has some adobe walls from the original commandant’s headquarters, built in 1776. Other parts of the building were added throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, but go inside and enter the Mesa Lounge (to the left immediately after you enter), where a cutaway reveals some of the old adobe. Note the deep recesses in the walls for the windows—it’s a thick old structure. The club is home to the haute-Mexican restaurant Arguello, which pays culinary homage to the Spanish explorers who first established the club. Regardless of your appetite, the building is open to the public and now serves as a cultural center and museum. Be sure to check out the small Andy Goldsworthy work Earth Wall in the courtyard.

Turn right on Graham Street along the east side of the Parade Ground. The

Walt Disney Family Museum, which chronicles Disney’s life and career from Steamboat Willie to Tomorrowland with drawings, home movies, and innovative machinery, will be to your left across the esplanade. Continue to Lincoln Boulevard and the

Presidio Transit Center and Cafe, which has the best grab-and-go food, wine, coffee, and pastries of any bus stop we’ve ever seen. Follow Lincoln to Letterman Drive and the Letterman Digital Arts Center, where many branches of George Lucas’s multimedia empire, including Industrial Light and Magic (Lucas’s Oscar-winning special effects company), are based. Following Letterman Drive, walk around Building B, where (to borrow a familiar Star Wars patois) a fountain presided over by a statue of Yoda is. After admiring the

Yoda Fountain, walk through the buildings into the complex’s carefully landscaped parklike grounds. Nearing the end of our long walk, you’ve certainly earned a beer at

Sessions, if you feel so inclined. They fancy themselves a “New American Public House,” and everything here is sustainably harvested and locally grown. They boast more than 100 craft beers and an extensive cocktail menu as well. An artificial stream trickles down to a lagoon. Walk through or around the gardens, depending on how enchanted you are, and head out via Gorgas Avenue. Turn left on Girard Avenue and then make the first right on an umarked street to cross between buildings to make your way to Halleck Street. Turn right to follow Halleck Street, up and over Doyle Drive, and cross over to Crissy Field. From here it’s just about 100 yards back to where you started.

Points of Interest

Warming Hut 983 Marine Dr.; 415-561-3042, parksconservancy.org/visit/eat/warming-hut.html

Fort Point Long Ave. and Marine Dr.; 415-504-2334, nps.gov/fopo

Presidio Pet Cemetery 667 McDowell Ave.; 415-561-4323, presidio.gov/places/pet-cemetery

Korean War Memorial Lincoln Blvd. and Sheridan Ave.; 415-561-4323, kwmf.org

Powder Magazine/Tree Fall sculpture 95 Anza Ave.; 415-561-2767, presidio.gov/places/andy-goldsworthys-tree-fall

Presidio Officers’ Club/Arguello/Earth Wall 50 Moraga Ave.; 415-561-3650, arguellosf.com

Walt Disney Family Museum 104 Montgomery St.; 415-345-6800, waltdisney.org

Presidio Transit Center and Cafe 215 Lincoln Blvd.; presidio.gov/places/presidio-transit-center

Yoda Fountain Building B courtyard, 1 Letterman Dr.

Sessions 1 Letterman Dr.; 415-655-9413, sessionssf.com