Crissy Field, San Francisco

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Th Former Airfield of the Presidio is now a mixed use area for the public now, Crissy Field is anchored by Marina Green on the east side, and Fort Point on the West. The park is home to a multitude of uses and has many public amenities.

The Cliff house restaurant has been recently in 2003 redone. The view of the waves is magnificent that however can not be said of the food (not bad but not fabulous) . Go to the bar, get a drink and order some pot stickers (some of the best in town) and enjoy the view. Follow this up by a walk around the remnants of the Sutro Baths (right next to the building) or Sutro Gardens which are on a cliff directly across from the Cliff House. You will have to turn left and walk up the hill to get to the gardens. For a longer walk , turn left, go up to the corner turn left and go to the WWII memorial , take some stairs down there is a path along the coast, great walk (take the lower path) the one with the stairs if you keep taking the paths down you will end up on a tiny beach, not for swimming but a great place to just sit and rest. Pets on leash are welcom in reality off leash is ok on the walk down to the beach.

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Covering the area at the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio of San Francisco Park is a popular recreation area for fishermen, cyclists, joggers, picnickers, and others who want to enjoy the outdoors. This park sits on what used to be a US Army and US Coast Guard Station. The Presidio closed in 1995 and much of the area became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation area.

A hangar on Crissy Field was also a key Japanese language school during WWII. This school was later moved to the Presidio of Monterey and became the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center that still exists today.

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Here is a favorite hangout for the locals, a place to hike, run, jog, ride bikes, and just take a break from the city. It offers some great views of San Francisco Bay, and a sanctuary for all kinds of marine and coastal life.

This is where some of the early Spanish, Russian, and English visitors landed. It was the site of the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition; sadly, all the buildings from that event are gone except the Palace of Fine Arts (where the Exploratorium now stands). After that, this became a US Army airfield, which closed after World War II. In 1962, it was designated a National Historic Landmark.

Crissy Field Center provides a wealth of information about this highly sensitive eco-system, and its history. By the way, if you visit then please stay on the trails at all times. The coastal vegetation here is fragile, and easily damaged by people trampling on it.

Sandy beaches, people playing volleyball, happy dogs running off leash everywhere. Not to mention beautiful views of the Golden Gate bridge.

Drive through the Presidio then stop at Chrissy Field and walk along the water. You can go as far as Fort Point to get a close up view of the Golden Gate Bridge. There is almost always good parking near Fort Point because I don't think a lot of people know about it. You can watch surfers under the Golden Gate Bridge get dangerously close to the rocks!