San Francisco, CA

Golden Gate Park is massive. When you think about the fact that San Francisco is as small as it is, it emphasizes how impressive it is that the city maintains a park which runs for about forty avenues from practically the center of the city all the way to the Pacific Ocean. You could wander around the park for days and still not have seen everything that there is to see there. But there are only a few places in the park that I go to on a regular basis.

Here are my favorite spots in Golden Gate Park:

• The Bison Enclosure – Okay, okay, the truth is that I don’t love this place. There are all of about six bison in there and they look totally depressed and awful. (There’s a committee concerned about this.) But I love the fact that there are bison in San Francisco’s park. And I end up going here on a semi-regular basis because people rarely believe me that there are bison in the park so I have to go prove it.

• The Botanical Gardens – This is far and away my favorite part of Golden Gate Park. You go here, and it feels like you are nowhere near a city at all. There are different sections for different plant life from all around the world, but that interests me less than the fact that there is so much peacefulness to be found in this park. It’s absolutely beautiful and it’s free. And you can literally spend hours in here.

• Japanese Tea Gardens – I wouldn’t say that I love this place, but I like it. If I’m spending any amount of time in Golden Gate Park during a cold day, I usually make my way over here to get some warm tea. If you get there late enough (close to closing) you can get in for free (although your tea will come in a Styrofoam cup and not an actual tea cup). The gummy candies sold in the gift shop are also worth picking up.

• The windmill and flower garden. I have no idea why this place reminds me of my mom but it does and so I love hanging out there for a little while if I end up at the west end of Golden Gate Park. This happens most often if I’m visiting Ocean Beach and / or the Cliff House / Sutro Baths area; I’ll stop in by the windmill before catching a bus back home.

• Speedway Meadows – There are free concerts and other events held here all of the time. You can’t even hear the music from the streets near the park but it’s in there, with plenty of room to spare to enjoy the activities. Totally awesome that we have this.