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Authors
Visual Travel Tours, "Beyond the self-guided tour" Denver Business Journal, 2/19/10 excerpt.

The Spectacular Golden Gate Park


 

City residents and tourists alike enjoy the world-class museums, the lakes, bridges, waterfalls, trails, gardens, sporting areas and public art of Golden Gate Park, all located within an area 3.5 miles long and a half mile wide. Park superintendent John McLaren (1887-1943) developed the park to be a gradual transition from the busy, cultural, ornamental East End to a more tranquil, wild, and natural West End. This layout plan still exists, interspersed with athletic fields, playgrounds, clubhouses, and just about every kind of garden imaginable. Indeed, the Golden Gate Park is the consummate urban playground with diversions for everyone!

 
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Tips in this Tour:
Start your Golden Gate Park adventure at the Visitor’s Center inside the Park Chalet, located across the street from Ocean Beach at the far west end of San Francisco. Surrounded by historic murals on the first floor, take a stroll back in time by viewing many notable events that touched the lives of San Franciscans during the 1930s. Maps, brochures, a three-dimensional diorama of the park and an information booth are on site.
Directly across from the Academy, the de Young Museum is located at 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive (located between Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and JFK Drive). Museum hours are from 9:30am to 5pm on Tuesday through Sunday and closes at 8:45pm on Fridays. The museum admission fee is as follows: adults ($10); seniors 65 and over ($7); and students with ID ($6); admission is free for children 13 and younger: (415) 863-3330. Once inside, there is no extra fee for visiting the museum courtyard, cafe, store, sculpture garden, or tower.
The Japanese Tea Garden is located on the corner of Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., at the eastern portion of Golden Gate Park. It is adjacent to the de Young Museum. Admission is $5. Info lines are: (415) 752-4227; (415) 752-1171; or (415) 750-5105. Seasonal operating hours are March through October (8:30am to 6pm daily), and November through February (8:30am to 5pm).
The main entrance to the San Francisco Botanical Garden is located just inside Golden Gate Park at  Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way. When coming from the Japanese Tea Garden, the garden may be accessed through the Friend’s Gate. Tours: (415) 661-1316 ext. 312; Story Time: (415) 661-1316 ext. 303; Bookstore: (415) 661-1316 ext. 308; and Library: (415) 661-1316 ext. 303. The Gardens are open on weekdays from 8am to 4:30pm, while on weekends and holidays the hours are from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free.

Click to see a QuietGuide™: Scroll as you stroll. Text+photos formatted for mobile. 

Transportation: By Foot - Easy walking
Specialty: City/Town
Category: Guided Tour - play before & while you tour
Added:01/19/2009
Duration: 30 min

Chapters in this tour:
     San Francisco’s Famous Golden Gate Park
     The Academy of Sciences
     The de Young Museum
     The Gardens & Lakes
     Playgrounds & Sport Activities
 
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Provider: Brad Olsen

 Brad Olsen is a Contributing Editor for World Explorer magazine and writes a travel column for Heartland Healing called “Sacred Destinations.” His seventh book, “Sacred Places Europe: 108 Destinations,” was released in March, 2007. Brad's commentaries have appeared on National Public Radio, CNN and the Travel Channel. He enjoys extended global travel, and public speaking on the subject of sacred places.

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