13 fascinating things to know about Golden Gate Park
, 2022-11-01 17:10:04,
San Francisco is a city of parks — 481 of them, to be exact — gorgeous pockets of urban green space that are our backyards, playgrounds, gyms and safe spaces. Every San Franciscan has a quality park within a 10-minute walk from home, and of these hundreds of urban oases, Golden Gate Park reigns supreme.
With more than 24 million visitors each year, Golden Gate Park easily ranks among the nation’s most-visited urban parks, alongside icons like Central Park in New York, the National Mall in Washington and Lincoln Park in Chicago.
But we’ll admit, with more than 1,000 can’t-miss acres and history spanning more than a century, Golden Gate Park might seem a bit daunting for the uninitiated. With so much to explore and experience — biking, boating, hiking, waterfalls, museums, gardens, hidden gems — where do you even start? Let us help take some of the guesswork out of the city’s crown jewel, and you’ll find Golden Gate Park far more approachable than you might have thought.
With help from locals, we’ve put together a primer to help you know what to do in Golden Gate Park to make the most of your visit. From little-known facts and must-see sights, to trip-planning tips and local lore, we’ll help you make the most of your first (or next) visit to this sprawling getaway within San Francisco.
An aerial view of Golden Gate Park from the Pacific Ocean. Golden Gate Park is the third most visited city park in the U.S.
Steve Proehl/Getty ImagesGolden Gate Park is bigger than Central Park
The first thing to know about Golden Gate Park is that it’s massive, with 1,017 acres of public grounds measuring 3 miles end to end. That makes the park roughly 200 acres larger than Central Park. Golden Gate Park is home to 680 forested acres, 130 acres of meadows, 15 miles of drives and 33 acres of lakes. But lest we get too cocky, the Trust for Public Land reports that, even with all that acreage, there are still more than 100 city parks in the U.S. that are larger than Golden Gate Park.
Bikers pass a long line of people for the SkyStar Observation Wheel Golden at Golden Gate Park on Nov. 28, 2020, in San Francisco, California.
Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle 2020Golden Gate Park has a Ferris wheel
If the London Eye has taught us anything, it’s that nothing…
,
To read the original article from news.google.com, Click here
Private Internet Access gives you unparalleled access to thousands
of next-gen servers in over 83 countries and each US state. Your
VPN experience will always be fast, smooth, and reliable.
