Oh my God it's like we had our own little private park it's really huge out nowhere in the middle…read moreof Golden Gate Park. The sun was out we had shade few people had their little doggies there was a cute little baby was a great birthday party, I had so much fun few people walk through even though they didn't know there was a private party going on only draw back Ain't no bathrooms!! So that could be a little hard thank God I don't really drink so that was an issue for me until we left. lol I'm sure there's a lot of cute little hidden gems in the park where you could have your private party, but check this one out pretty cool and it's big enough where they were playing dodgeball which was some kind of drinking game they made up it was pretty funny they had great time.

My friends and I had an impromptu picnic at Doughboy Meadow on a warm and sunny afternoon. I am…read morelooking forward to going back again with my 2 year old. Parking was easy to find and Stow Lake is a short walk from the meadow. No ants or bug bites... Just gophers

Pretty nice and unexpected view from this trail…read more Sure it is a dirt path but it's a very very short trail. You can walk it in 5 mins. Some benches and tree stumps to sit down on and enjoy a quiet moment Best when the sun is out , enjoy the colors of the flowers! You have to park further away in the residential areas and walk into there

Edgehill Mountain Park (well, technically an "Open Space"--I wonder what the difference is) is a…read morebeautiful slice of forested hillside on the southwest slope of Laguna Honda hill. There is basically just one trail running across it from Knockash to Edgehill streets, and a couple of benches. The views are limited a bit due to the trees, but it is still a very pretty place to walk through, especially at sunset. In fact, the entirety of Laguna Honda Hill is very scenic, and I highly recommend walking up to the top while you're here. Also, what is with those crazy shingled castle-mansions? Someday I gotta get me one of those. It seems that there is a very active volunteer group that works in Edgehill Park doing habitat restoration and I've also seen proposals for a staircase down to Kensington Way, which would be awesome! You can check out their website here: http://www.edgehill.net/Edgehill-Mountain.htm

The main post is such a beautiful area of the presidio that it makes my head spin. Lush grass, epic…read moreviews of the bay and with all kinds of businesses in the surrounding area you'll find something for everyone. The most amazing part of this spot is how well it's maintained. Seriously, it's like every blade of grass was placed with intention. I'm a huge fan of the presidio trust and respect how they keep this place in its sustainable state. Highly recommend a run or hike in the area followed by a little R&R on the cool plastic seats and benches scattered throughout. I mean, I'm here right now and it inspired me to write this review!!!

Rating the hiking and biking trail. I'm guessing it's called the Bay Trail which runs along the…read moremarsh at Baylands Park. More for bicyclists than for hikers. As a hiker, be aware of your surroundings and stay on one side of the path, and be ready to move out of the way when a bicycle approaches. Sometimes bicyclists can approach from behind. The marsh gives off a not-so-pleasant smell. Scenery is ok; not spectacular but you'll see the bridge along this trail. No shade so wear a hat and bring water if you're planning to take a longer walk.

Its a nice park. Great place for children. The view is amazing as well. We will be back…read more Although we were regulars with my son was 5 to 9.

Look - You probably won't do much more than drive past this spot. I would hesitate to write a full…read morereview, but the one other review is posted by a cool Yelper with a ton of Street Cred as the SYOY game goes. This little patch across from Speckles Lake used to be overgrown. Thanks to the work of volunteers, there are plantings and it can be a little secluded picnic area. Restrooms right across the street on the west end of the lake. The flowers bloom occasionally. Sometimes it's fairly mundane. My one recommendation is that during the wet times of the year the lower areas get pretty swampy. But that is common in a lot of spots around GGP and Lands End. Thanks to Wilhelm for the original review. SYOY Player!

If you've ever taken part in a One Brick gardening project the chances are fairly high that you…read morealready know about or have worked on the maintenance of Rhododendron Island in Golden Gate Park. If you've driven past Spreckels Lake, run along the western end of John F. Kennedy Drive or have completed the entire San Francisco Bay to Breakers course you've probably seen Rhododendron Island without knowing it. Rhododendron Island sits on John F. Kennedy Drive and 36th Avenue sandwiched in between Spreckels Lake and the Golden Gate Park Equestrian Center. As the history of this patch of land goes it had always been a garden filled with a wide array of rhododendron varieties until City budget issues and neglect turned it into a forest of non-native plants, overgrown weeds and litter. Enter volunteer organization One Brick in the summer of 2003 whose volunteers assembled on site on a regular basis to clean up the patch of land, remove the plants that didn't belong and re-introduce different varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas. It took the volunteer group an entire year, but in the summer of 2004 they completed their project transforming this patch of land back to a garden filled with rhododendrons, azaleas and different tree species. Today, Rhodendron Island is one of the signature events for One Brick. There is a project nearly every month, rain or shine, where volunteers come out to help maintain the gardens, pull out new weeds, lay down weed cover, spread mulch, trim or remove unwanted plants. In my five years of volunteering through One Brick I have probably worked on the island over a dozen times and I've done all of the things listed at one time or another, but I did something two weekends ago that I had never done here before. It was a Saturday and rain was forecasted for that morning. About fifteen or so hearty volunteers including myself turned out. The skies were overcast but dry when we gathered. We noticed the drops of water slowly come down plopping onto the surface of Spreckels Lake across the street. The San Francisco Rec and Parks Department gardener told us he wanted us to prepare the land and help him plant some azaleas into the garden. In less than two hours under a steady rain our group of muddy, wet volunteers dug out weeds and unwanted grass patches and replaced them with 90 azalea plants of different varieties and different sizes. Ninety!! In the words of the gardener himself we were a planting machine, and had he not run out of plants we would have kept going as we were all quite enthusiastic about adding new life to the garden. Rhododendron Island is best to visit in late March or early April when many of the plants begin to flower. For me anyway it'll be interesting to see how many of our 90 plants survived. I've posted some photos taken in April, 2009.

** The following review reflects my experience DURING the COVID-19 pandemic. **…read more I can't be the only one who thought the Mountain Lake Trail was just the paved path around, you guessed it, Mountain Lake. Could that be my unique niche of urban ignorance as an interloper in these parts? OK, fine then. I admit I'm a Presidio Luddite. Well, as far as I can tell, Mountain Lake is mostly a marsh and a pond for various cavorting birds, all of us surrounded by the vehicular speedway known as Veterans Blvd. As it turns out, the fragmented trail itself actually consists of not only that segment but almost the entire southern perimeter of the Presidio as well as the new boardwalk extension that goes out toward Baker Beach. You could easily miss this latter part because of the blink-and-miss signage that leads you up the steps to get to the scenic area called Marine Cemetery Vista, named spookily after sailors that were buried here in the 19th century (photo: https://bit.ly/3tgUEmr). Traversing east of the lake, the path is more popular with dog owners, joggers, and golfers headed to the Presidio Golf Course. There are several short detours you can make off this part of the trail to get to sights like Inspiration Point and El Polin Spring (both via the wooded Ecology Trail) and Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line, a cool public art display (think Lincoln Logs - review: https://bit.ly/3teb6nA). You eventually make your way to either the Broadway or Presidio Gates if you continue in this direction. RELATED - Up for a hike? Here's a collection of trails I've walked and reviewed: https://bit.ly/2OrC8nU

This trail starts at the end of Pacific Avenue at Arguello Blvd. It's a paved trail going between…read morehouses and the golf course until you get to Mountain Lake. Mountain Lake Park has a big grassy area, play structure, and bathrooms. The lake is okay, it's nice to see nature and birds but it's near a busy thoroughfare which is loud and takes away from the serene feeling. I'd probably come here more if I lived down the street but just for a lake, I think Stowe Lake is much better. The trail goes alongside the right side of the lake (the playground and park is to the left) and behind it under the overpass. From here you can make a right or left. If you turn left you'll soon see a staircase. Take 100 stairs up to a boardwalk which is called the Cemetery Overlook Path. This has views of the west part of the city and is nice during sunset. You can take this to the Lobos Creek Boardwalk which is about .7 miles. The path splits up and is not exactly clear so it's good to have a hiking app like All Trails. If not take the Cemetery Overlook Path to Wedemeyer Street make a left then you'll come across the Lobos Creek Valley path. If you make a right, this path goes up near the golf course and can loop around through Washington Blvd passing by the art installation Spire. This loop take about 2 miles.

Trail starts at 40th avenue and goes along the golf course to the back of the Legion of Honor. This…read moremight be nice to park in lieu of the parking lot over there if going to the museum since that lot is known to have lots of car break-ins. This trail is only about .3 miles long so not really a destination to itself but it's best if used as an add on to the Lands End Trail. The trail forks right before going to the Legion of Honor so if you take the left side the trail takes you through to the street going through the SF VA Medical Center. From here it becomes a trail again going through Fort Miley where there are some batteries and an old Octagon House. From there loop around with the regular Lands End Trail. To do this loop is a little under 2 miles. For a list of more SF hikes and walks: https://bit.ly/43PhQtL

The Clement Trail is a useful little connector that runs through Lands End and lies on the western…read moreedge of Lincoln Park Golf Course. If you are trying to cut across the park, this is the most direct route. The trail is not all that long and is most definitely not a destination. But, it's secluded, has good views of the golf course and is a good way to expedite your travels across Lands End. A couple of notes: *The Trailhead on the Clement End starts at 40th Avenue. *There are restrooms located on the north end of the trail. *It's also easy to miss the start from this side. It's just to the right of the tee box behind the museum. *Keep an ear open for "Fore!" as you are right along a golf course.

This is a great place to walk your dog. I'm currently dog-sitting a Min Pin and decided to bring…read moreher hear today around noon to do her business. Fortunately, other people were walking their dogs as well.