Coit Tower - San Francisco

Coit Tower sits atop Telegraph Hill, looming over the eastern side of San Francisco with its almost regal presence. It serves as a directional marker for people lost in the mazes of city streets, but with its rich history and its excellent viewpoint, Coit Tower offers much more than just a way to find out where you are in the city.Because of heavy traffic in the area, the best way to get up to Coit Tower is to walk through the energetic streets of North Beach to Filbert Street. The hill is one of the steepest short distances in San Francisco, but the street has steps to make the trek a little bit easier. For a break, pause halfway up and turn to the west to get a glimpse of the great view you will be seeing shortly. There are also many San Francisco limousine tours that can make your Coit Tower tour comfortable, while avoiding any parking hassles in this busy area.

web: http://sftravel.com/coit-tower-san-francisco.html

Fort Funston - San Francisco

Fort Funston is a popular San Francisco dogwalking location. Most visitors walk the paved Sunset Trail, a north to south route on the bluff, and reach Ocean Beach via Fort Funston's northern section. Fort Funston's stretch of Ocean Beach is where you'll see scores of dripping wet dogs, romping across the sand with driftwood stick in their mouths.

web: http://www.bahiker.com/sfhikes/funston.html

Golden Gate Park - San Francisco

Though the park has seen changes over the years, what remains today is a testament to the will of the city to preserve a place to play, relax and grow culturally. The new de Young museum is sure to bring a new wave of visitors, as the re-opening of the Conservatory of Flowers did in 2003. The music concourse is being improved and should open in early- to mid-2006, perhaps around the same time the Murphy Windmill returns from repairs in the Netherlands. The California Academy of Sciences is due to re-open in 2008. The old horse stables, closed in 2001, may be renovated starting in 2007. And a new, temporary disc golf course is being evaluated in late 2005 for long-term feasibility.

web: http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/ggpark.shtml

Conservatory of Flowers - San Francisco

The Conservatory of Flowers is a large botanical greenhouse in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, constructed in 1878. It houses an important collection of exotic plants. It is the oldest building in Golden Gate Park and the oldest municipal wooden conservatory remaining in the United States. It is also one of the first municipal conservatories constructed in the country. For these distinctions and for its associated historical, architectural, and engineering merits, the Conservatory of Flowers is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the California Register of Historic Places, is a San Francisco Landmark, and is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark of the American Society of Civil Engineers.(from wikipedia)
web: http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/visitus/

Japanese Tea Garden - San Francisco

Located near the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, this garden is a marvel of the landscape architects art. This traditional Japanese garden covers five acres. Several paths take you by an authentic pagoda, a monumental Buddha, a miniature waterfall, and over an acutely arched bridge that no kid can resist. Overlooking the gardens koi-filled pond is a Japanese-style tea house, which in spring is covered with a cascade of wisteria. The gift shop sells souvenirs with a Japanese flair.

Tickets:

USD $4 Adults;

USD $2 Children/ Senior;

Free on the first Wednesday of the month.

web: http://www.holymtn.com/garden/Gallery/index_teagarden.html

Strybing Arboretum - San Francisco

MISSION STATEMENT OF THE SAN FRANCISCO BOTANICAL GARDEN SOCIETY

The mission of the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society is to create a community to actively support the Garden with fundraising, promotion and advocacy, and to provide outstanding botanical, horticultural and environmental education opportunities for people of all ages.

The mission of the San Francisco Botanical Garden is to create, sustain, and interpret a distinct, documented collection of mediterranean, mild temperate and tropical cloud-forest plants displayed in designed gardens and habitats, and to provide a place of exceptional beauty and natural sanctuary.
web: http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/

Lake Merced - San Francisco

Lake Merced is a dual lake system so large that it dwarfs all other lakes in and around San Francisco. It is surrounded by a narrow margin of park lands creating an area of 740 acres which is designated as parkland, most of that area being the surface of the lakes themselves. Although it may appear artificial in origin, Lake Merced is a natural spring fed freshwater lake system. Local ground water plays a large part in keeping the lakes fed. The area was acquired by Parks and Recreation for public use in 1950. It subsequently became very popular for fishing which has been amplified by a vigorous rainbow trout stocking program from Fish and Game over the years. The lake in its pristine state was beautiful, supporting cattails and reeds around the periphery, birds, trout, bass, carp, a vigorous hydrophilic ecosystem. It is utterly unique within the franciscan biological region and an important natural resource as well as an important recreational resource.

web: http://www.lmtf.org/