//////////////////////////////

Visitors guide to Glen Canyon Park

Some 70 well-maintained acres of blissful nature await those who need to get away from the city without leaving the city. Here you find walking trails under big trees and paths ideal for dogs, though steep for walkers.

​

Sitting in a valley, you hardly notice you’re in a city. Great place for a picnic among eucalyptus and hummingbirds. The views from the top of the canyon are sensational.

With stunning vistas and fresh renovations, Glen Canyon Park is a mostly forested neighborhood park that becomes alive in the spring with wildflowers. The elevation only rises to about 700 feet.

The landscape includes rocky crags that shoot up from the sides and top of the canyon. There are tennis courts, a baseball diamond, a kickball field, a new rec center with an indoor rock climbing wall, multiple basketball courts (they lend you a ball) and lots of walking/hiking trails. And a nice playground.

One lengthy trail has a lot of shade and features small bridges crossing a creek that runs throughout the park. Most trails along the floor of the valley are flat. Other trails lead up from the floor to connect to neighborhood streets.

​

The rock formations are called chert, a sedimentary rock composed of crystallite quartz. As rocks go, it's a hard one to crack, so it has been used for tools and weapons since way back when. For now, feel free to use it as a ladder to better picture taking.

Beware: Working water fountains are not always easy to find. … If you bring a dog, know that you might come upon a coyote here. … Watch for poison oak. … Bring a jacket; it’s usually chilly.

Hot tips: There is hardly anyone there to mess with the tranquility on weekdays. … Go after a rain for better flow in the stream. … If you get hungry, trek up to the Safeway and Starbucks on Diamond Heights Boulevard. ... Parking in nearby neighborhoods is easy. ... You feel like you left the city, but you can usually get good cell service.

Getting there: Entrances throughout surrounding neighborhoods off Portola Drive, O’Shaughnessy Boulevard (which becomes Bosworth Street). Main entrance is near the rec center is at Elk Street and Chenery Street just off Bosworth Street. … You can get there on MUNI buses. The 44 bus winds along the edge of the rec area. The walk from the Glen Park BART station is 20 minutes.

​

Hot tip: The spring wildflowers have been known to wow all over the loop, which takes 2 or 3 hours to complete if you're not stopping for a gazillion pictures. The popular AllTrails app gives this place almost a perfect rating.

​

Nearby: Check out the huge cross at Mount Davidson. You can't get any higher in the city without visiting a dispensary. If you want to tie this park in with a trip to Twin Peaks, it’s about a 20-minute walk downhill from Twin Peaks to a Glen Canyon Park entrance on Portola Drive.

​

Photo op: The park is open till midnight and offers great shots of the city skyline full of lights.

​

​