Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
reached using a car, it's probably easier to download one ahead of time at
www.presidio.gov. Most of the best natural areas around the city are fed-
erally managed together under the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
(
%
415/561-4700; www.nps.gov/goga).
The bus to take:
I think the best trails pass near Fort Point, which also
offers the best views of the Bridge; take Muni 28 or 29 to the bridge toll
plaza and use the marked signs to descend to your trail.
Birding & Walking
The experience:
With no cars and no mammalian predators,
Angel Island
(
%
415/435-1915; www.parks.ca.gov; daily 8am-sunset),
in the middle of
San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz, makes for a fitting stopover for birds. It
also makes for a fitting break from town for humans (Mar-Nov is the
tourist season), and as a bonus, a visit here comes with a ferry ride with
views of Alcatraz. Here, there's more to do than at a heavily regulated gov-
ernment park (think guided Segway tours, an intermittent tram tour, lots
of biking and kayaking). The centerpiece is the 788 foot-tall Mount
Livermore, ripe for a not-too-brutal hike, but the fire road that rings the
island close to the water level is, of course, easier to tackle. The island
was once the immigration checkpoint for people from Asia, and some of
the old buildings remain, although the museum facilities are not extensive
enough to warrant a trip on their own. (You can only see them by tour
(
%
415/262-4429; www.aiisf.org for the upcoming schedule.)
The bus to take:
The F Tram goes right by the pier. One you're at the
island, there's a visitor center at the Ayala Cove landing. Services usually
leave from Pier 41 at Fisherman's Wharf (
%
415/705-8200; www.blueand
goldfleet.com; $15), although during winter you may be required to catch
a ferry to Tiburon, across the Bay, before continuing on.
THE PRESIDIO & THE MARINA
You don't want to go alone to the
Exploratorium
9
555
(Palace of Fine Arts,
3601 Lyon St.;
%
415/561
-
0399; www.exploratorium.edu; $14 adults; $11 sen-
iors 65 and over, kids 11-17, and students; $9 kids 4-12; Tues-Sun 10am-5pm),
a kid-oriented, fully hands-on science museum on the edge of the Presidio. That's
because many of the exhibits require a buddy to operate. Although you're famil-
iar with the setup from your hometown science museum—press this button and
create an electromagnetic field, shake this table and see where the balls roll—
you've probably never enjoyed them on this warehouse scale (budget at least 3 or
4 hrs.—or even more—there's that much) or at this quality level. Unlike so many
hands-on museums, nearly everything works. That's because there's an on-site
workshop where the exhibits are designed, built, and maintained. In fact, you can
