Geography
The city is located on a narrow arm of land next to San Francisco Bay, the largest land-locked harbor in the world. San Francisco is surrounded on three sides by water: the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate strait, and San Francisco Bay.
Pacific waters temper San Francisco’s weather, keeping temperatures and overall climate unusually consistent and mild year-round. GGNRA’s hills, however, create distinct microclimates around them and cause wide variations in temperature and sky conditions in different parts of the park.
The famous fog blankets different elevations in varying ways, resulting in complex patterns of mist and sunshine. Most common on summer mornings, the fog rolls in from the cooler ocean and backs up against the hills. In winter, the fog comes from colder inland areas.
Natural History
San Francisco is one of the top U.S. cities for nature lovers, and thanks to GGNRA a high percentage of the city is set aside as parkland.
More than half of the bird species of North America have been sighted in GGNRA. This abundance of birds is related to the diversity of habitats in the parklands around San Francisco: coastal scrub, grass prairies, sandy and rocky shorelines, creeks and salt marshes, oak woodlands, redwood forests and more.
The park is home to more than 3,000 plant and animal species. Golden Gate National Recreation Area and adjacent parklands were designated as the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1988.
Conservation History
The land now comprising GGNRA had long been under government ownership. American military occupation dating from the 1840s restricted development. As the Army’s properties became obsolete for modern defense, they were transferred to the National Park Service.
Park advocates managed to circumvent the requirement that national parklands be contiguous and convince lawmakers to create Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972. During the next three decades, the National Park Service acquired Alcatraz Island, Fort Mason, Fort Funston, Cliff House, Crissy Field, the Presidio and much more.
The Nature Conservancy purchased land in the Marin Headlands from a would-be developer and transferred it to GGNRA. Rancho Corral de Tierra, a former Mexican land grant on the San Mateo Peninsula was preserved through the efforts of the Peninsula Open Space Trust.
GGNRA has benefited enormously from the efforts of a stellar nonprofit support organization, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The hiking experience has been greatly enhanced by the terrific visitor centers at Muir Woods, Marin Headlands and Lands End. The Conservancy has helped improve Crissy Field and sites along the Golden Gate Promenade, and has also improved and signed many park trails.
More Info
Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Building 201, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA 94123. Call 415-561-4700. ThePresidio Visitor Center is located at 210 Lincoln Boulevard on the Presidio’s Main Post. Call 415-561-4323. The robust nonprofit support organization for GGNRA is the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. Learn more at www.parksconservancy.org