Paved, accessible trails and steep steps connect Fort Mason’s upper and lower units. In between, the Great Meadow slopes down from upper Fort Mason to the Marina. These grassy hilltops and hollows are great for picnicking, sunbathing, walking, or sports activities. The meadow also offers wonderful views of San Francisco’s hilly skyline and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy use one one of the historic buildings at upper Fort Mason as a headquarters for park operations. Another one of these historic buildings is a popular hostel for travelers.

VISIT FORT MASON: TIPS AND HIGHLIGHTS

Fort Mason Center

The covered piers and waterfront warehouses at lower Fort Mason provide space for the Fort Mason Center, a compendium of more than 30 distinct environmental, cultural, and arts organizations. Here you will find art galleries, small museums, theaters, performance space, a restaurant, and a book store. More than 500 different groups use the Center’s facilities for special events and programs ranging from acting and antiques shows to festivals and workshops. 

Park Headquarters

A good place to begin exploring the Golden Gate National Parks is at Park Headquarters in Building 201—a gracious, white three-story structure in upper Fort Mason. The visitor information center here also provides park maps and other information for the Golden Gate and other western national parks.

• Check out the Fort Mason Center’s weekly calendar for events or exhibits that interest you.
• Stay in the Fisherman’s Wharf Hostel located in upper Fort Mason.
• In the Great Meadow, look for the larger-than-life-size statue of Congressman Phillip Burton, who sponsored legislation that created the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972.
• Stop by Park Headquarters for information and a current NPS program calendar.
• Paid parking is available at Fort Mason Center, entrance off Marina Boulevard.

Earthquake Refugees
After the famous jolt of 1906, the tents of earthquake refugees dotted Fort Mason’s Great Meadow. While the city collapsed and burned, thousands of hungry and homeless people received care at Fort Mason, which served as the headquarters for army relief field operations.

Black Point Battery
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, San Francisco’s defense rested solely on the firepower of Fort Point and Alcatraz. The Union valued California’s natural (and economic) resources and built three temporary emergency fortifications in the Bay Area to protect them, including Black Point Battery. Six 10-inch Rodman cannons (weighing 24,000 pounds each) and an equal number of smaller James guns armed the battery, but not one of these weapons were ever fired at the Confederates.

Port of Embarkation
Lower Fort Mason was the nerve center of wartime embarkation programs between 1910 and 1963. Thousands of men and tons of supplies passed through the facility’s three deep-water finger piers on their way to war zones across the ocean.