Visitors guide to Golden Gate Park

Golden Gate Park is spacious (more than 1,000 acres, forming a 50-block-long rectangle, not counting the panhandle), and few urban parks can match it for beauty and diverse offerings.

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Hiking, biking, rollerblading, golf (regular or disc golf), basketball, tennis, archery, lawn bowling, softball, soccer, football, fishing, rowing, beach volleyball - Golden Gate Park is an urban oasis for the active set. And a few active coyotes.

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Golden Gate Park is a feast for the eyes of photographers. Flowers, trees, ponds, waterfalls, world-class museums, windmills, fountains, statues, gardens, a Ferris wheel, the beach. An aquarium, outdoor concert venues, a carousel, and a few confined and cantankerous bison - part of a bevy of wildlife that includes raccoons, deer and a few coyotes. 

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Start with lunch at Ocean Beach then walk through the park into Haight-Ashbury for dinner, where you could reward yourself with fried plantains and ice cream at Cha Cha Cha.

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Top things to do in Golden Gate Park (unless there's a music festival, then all bets are off):

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1. Bike or walk the park. Plenty of bike rental options. It's best to go on Saturday, when many roads are closed to cars from April to September. Take it slow, you might burn up your phone battery stopping for a gazillion pictures at every turn.
    

2. Stroll around Stow Lake and it feels like you left the city. Rent a pedal boat or canoe and take a photo in front of Huntington Falls on Strawberry Hill, an islet in the middle of the small man-made lake. In a very romantic city, few places match the charm of Stow Lake. Photo ops are plentiful, including stone bridges and a lot of birds and swans - and turtles that are not shy. Stow Lake is one of the few places in the park where you can grab coffee or a bite to eat. Bonus: There are public restrooms. Not like the ones at Macy's, but they at least exist, out behind the clubhouse.
    

3. Stroll Spreckels Lake, watch the remote-controlled model boats sail along (some are elaborate works by fascinating owners) and check out the array of birds. This is one of the most beautiful corners of a beautiful park, a perfect spot for a picnic.
    

4. Make a smelly new friend at the Buffalo Paddock, also known as the Bison Paddock, because, of course, nothing is simple. With a short walk from Spreckels Lake, you can try to imagine yourself in the Wild West as you watch a herd of American bison roam, or, more likely, just stand there. Note: If a bison arches her tail, she is nervous, and a bowel movement often follows.
    

5. Build a campfire on Ocean Beach across the Great Highway from Golden Gate Park’s western edge. The 4-mile stretch of sand frequented by high winds and surfers is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It has 16 fire pits, some better than others. They do not allow beach fires November through February. 
    

6. Relax with a walk among more than 55,000 plants at San Francisco Botanical Gardens, a 55-acre park inside the park The Bay Area’s mild Mediterranean-style climate makes it a great place to grow almost anything. Enjoy a wide range of plants from around the world in the botanical paradise along the edge of the park near Lincoln Way, not far from Haight-Ashbury or the Music Concourse. Admission is free the second Tuesday of each month.
    

7. Point and giggle at exotic plants inside the Conservatory of Flowers, a spectacular living museum of rare and beautiful tropical plants under glass. Opened in 1879, the wood and glass greenhouse is the oldest existing conservatory in North America and has attracted millions of visitors to Golden Gate Park. The main building/greenhouse is nearly 150 years old and is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's an iconic San Francisco structure, up there with the Golden Gate Bridge and Coit Tower. From Borneo to Bolivia, the 1,500 species at the conservatory represent unusual flora from more than 50 countries around the world. Immersive displays in five galleries include the lowland tropics, highland tropics, aquatic plants, potted plants and special exhibits. The grounds (no admission charge for those) are worth a visit for a photo. Beware: It is closed on Mondays. But you get in free the first Tuesday of each month (regular admission is $5).
    

8. Grab tea and take in the sights and smells at the Japanese Tea Garden. The oldest public Japanese garden in America covers 15 acres. Fortune cookies were first created and served here in 1914, we’re told. You will find an azalea-covered waterfall and plenty of wisteria and bonsai in a gorgeous setting. It’s a great place to meditate and relax. The five-story Pagoda makes for dazzling pictures, particularly when the cherry blossoms bloom in spring. Check out the scenic moon bridge and extra large Buddha (1.5 tons).
    

9. Relax in Shakespeare’s Garden amid flowers and plaques with quotes from the Bard himself. Few places in San Francisco top this spot for serenity and romance. Rest amid more than 200 flowers plucked from Shakespeare’s writing, a few steps from the California Academy of Sciences museum. See why it is a popular place for weddings.
    

10. Shoot for a hole-in-one at the Golden Gate Park Golf Course on the western edge of the park, a short walk from Ocean Beach. The nine-hole, par-3 course is nestled among aged cypress trees in a way that many visitors never know it's there. The golf course is home to the Windmill Grill, one of the few places to grab a bite inside the park.
     

11. Take time to smell the displays of seasonal flowers (tulips in the spring, mums in the fall) in the garden alongside the Dutch windmills on the park’s western edge near Ocean Beach. If you’re biking, this is a great rest stop. The two windmills are functional, after being restored. They once were used to pump water into the city, particularly the area around Golden Gate Park, which is built on sand dunes.
     

12. AIDS Memorial Grove, also known as The Grove, is a national monument on the eastern side of the park. It’s a place where the millions of Americans affected directly and indirectly by the disease can come for a bit of solace. Take a memorable rest on a bench in Redwood Circle.
     

13. The deYoung Museum is one of the top two art museums in a wealthy city where that is quite a compliment. The copper-clad building itself is worth a look, with 360-degree views of the city and ocean from its ninth-floor observation deck, the Hamon Tower. Admission is free the first Tuesday of each month. Tickets include same-day admission to the picturesque Legion of Honor museum in Lincoln Park, where you can take in breathtaking views of the Golden Gate Bridge and see a bronze cast of Rodin’s The Thinker, both of which are free.

14.  Watch African penguins and sharks (don’t worry, they’re separated) at the Steinhart Aquarium in the California Academy of Sciences museum. The four-story living rainforest and dazzling coral reef ecosystem is right next door to the deYoung on the gorgeous Music Concourse, which is a park within the park, a great place to walk or sit beside a fountain. The California Academy of Sciences is one of the world’s biggest museums of natural history, and, yes, there are penguin feedings. It includes a large planetarium and a rainforest enclosed in a 90-foot dome. Don’t miss the living green roof with some 1.7 million plants native to California. If you have extra cash around, they will rent it to you and up to 3,000 friends.

15. Ride the new 15-story Ferris wheel on the Music Concourse. Plenty of good seats available with no lines in the evening, a great time to go. It costs $18 for 12 minutes or so filled with views of the park’s greenery, the ocean, downtown skyscrapers, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. 

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Beware: There is a small chance you could encounter a coyote in the park. Just compliment their grooming and keep moving. They are rare, and they are mostly scared of you, except when they get with their friends. You're very unlikely to encounter a pack in the park, but if you do, back away. 

 

Hot tip: Parking is easiest on the western edge of the park near Ocean Beach and in underground garages on the Music Concourse.  

 

Oddly: Lovers in love regularly fork over $25,000 to $40,000 to hold their wedding at the Conservatory of Flowers. That gets you a ceremony and reception for 100 guests. And probably years of debt.

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Nearby: If you traverse the park from west to east, you end up at the park’s panhandle in the famously hippie Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. The panhandle is a thin strip of parkland amid pretty Victorian homes, many converted to apartments. Stop by Haight-Ashbury and see what Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Robin Williams and the Grateful Dead found so mesmerizing.  

 

Good eats: On the western edge of the park, stop by the Beach Chalet and gaze at the Pacific Ocean through the floor-to-ceiling windows.  Not many other food options in the park, none better than this. You can try the hot dog and sweet potato chips, plus a thick brownie, at the Stow Lake snack bar. Or, there is nothing wrong with the hot dog and pretzel vendors throughout the park. There are more of them on weekends. You usually have multiple options by the Conservatory of Flowers and the Music Concourse, where you also can rent a bike.

 

Getting around: The park is rectangular, around 3 miles long from east to west and a half-mile wide. Bring a bike or rent a bike. Hike it. No other options can match those. 

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Photo op: So many to choose from. We will take windmills and tulips. Or the Old Stone Bridge over Stow Lake. Or the front of the Conservatory of Flowers. Or, at the western edge of the park, a shot of the sunset at Ocean Beach. Your best shot there might require you to march up the hill to the famous Cliff House for sumptuous sunsets, and maybe a chocolate fudge sundae at a window table.