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Our Favorite Photos of 2017

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The Golden Gate National Parks, by nature, are fiercely visual. There is no shortage of spectacular landscapes, fun activities, and fascinating people to photograph.

Every year, our Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy photographers and National Park Service volunteer photographers capture thousands of images.

We asked six photographers to share their top images from 2017 taken from around the San Francisco Bay Area—as well as the story behind each of them.

Click the thumbnails for larger versions of the images, and the inside story behind each.

After you're done perusing the gallery below, follow us on Instagram (@parksconservancy) to see more stunning imagery of your local national parks.

  • ranger preparing for Boy Scout troop
    No, it’s not a forensics team or an alien invasion. That’s just Ranger Mike Evans getting pumped up to lead Boy Scout Troop 273 in painting over 6,000 square feet of graffiti at Battery Chester. Maria Durana/Parks Conservancy
  • presidio rush intern MacArthur meadow
    This image—of Presidio Trust intern Sara Lobdel planting native rush at MacArthur Meadow during the 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service—reminds me of the collective power of volunteers…and that restoration really happens one plant at a time. In 2015, the Presidio Trust, the National Park Service, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy began the meadow’s restoration as one of the final steps in the effort to restore the entire Tennessee Hollow Watershed. Hundreds of community volunteers have planted thousands of native plants (grown by other volunteers!) at the Presidio nursery. Maria Durana/Parks Conservancy
  • Ranger Kelsi Ju leads a class of students in the Marin Headlands
    Ranger Kelsi Ju leads a class of students in the Marin Headlands Paul Myers/Parks Conservancy
  • baby gray foxes
    This past spring, Curran White and I went out to photograph gray fox pups in Muir Woods National Monument. It is a wonderful gift to share a space with the wildlife in our national parks. We learn so much through these rare encounters. Paul Myers/Parks Conservancy
  • Baker beach youth
    This is how I feel when I am down at Baker Beach, too! Another great program in the Golden Gate National Parks, Camping at the Presidio shares the joys of camping with kids—by training leaders to take their groups to the only campground in San Francisco. Paul Myers/Parks Conservancy
  • Vivien Kim Thorp
  • alcatraz island staff
    I took this shot on a Friday morning in November, just as the Alcatraz Cruises vessels carrying the day’s first visitors were docking at Alcatraz Island. It’s rare, even in low season, to see Alcatraz without crowds. What I like about this picture are the two Parks Conservancy staff members taking a few minutes to enjoy themselves before the hectic day began. I am always impressed at how warmly they welcome the 1.6 million visitors who come to the island each year. Vivien Kim Thorp/Parks Conservancy
  • bat monitoring in the night
    I love this photo because it was technically very challenging to shoot in the dark like this. You have to somehow keep the people’s faces, the white gloves, and the bat in focus. They were catching and measuring bats for the ongoing monitoring program on Mt. Tam. Alison Taggart-Barone/Parks Conservancy
  • people in the parks
    My joy really comes from watching people in the parks open themselves up to the menu of experiences that the National Park Service and Parks Conservancy offer. Ranger Rik Penn allowed this boy to actually put on a Buffalo Soldier uniform, creating this magical moment in the process. Alison Taggart-Barone/Parks Conservancy
  • Golden Gate Bridge and fog
    The Golden Gate Bridge is endlessly fascinating and beautiful with the different fog patterns and layers that flow through its cables. I like this photo because it shows how the two layers can be present at the same time. Alison Taggart-Barone/Parks Conservancy
  • Bats and children
    Bats. All my life I’ve been wary of bats. “They carry disease,” people would say. While, yes, that’s technically true, they are so much more than the diseases they may or may not be carrying around. If anything is infectious, to me, it’s their adorableness. In late October, I was lucky enough to see their cuteness first-hand, during a mist-netting outing as part of the ongoing bat research study on Mt. Tam. This kid was clearly as enamored with and curious about these creatures as I was. Curran White/Parks Conservancy
  • native Americans and the golden gate bridge
    One of the reasons I love being a part of the park family is its dedication to honor and engage with all communities. The Presidio Visitor Center opening, in particular, was a celebration of the various communities and cultures that have converged in the Presidio over the centuries. There were military officials. There were Chinese dragon dancers. There were busloads of youth from various neighborhoods around San Francisco. And then there was the blessing by members of Costanoan Rumsen Ohlone Tribe. Accompanied by dancers in traditional garb, tribe members led a ceremonial chanting that blessed this new welcoming gateway for visitors. It was a beautiful way to honor the many occupants of the land that’s now a 1,400-acre national park site. Curran White/Parks Conservancy
  • This bridge, this view
    This bridge, this view: I’ve shot both dozens of times. Each time, however, I find something new to enjoy. On this summer-y, relatively cloudless night, I managed to get the rising moon in between the two towers of the bridge, almost exactly in the middle of the span—making it easily one of my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. Why? That moonlight. That miraculous ghostly, silver moonlight. The way it shimmers on the surface of the waters beneath the bridge and elongates like a shimmering ribbon onto the surf. I just love the texture of the water in this image. Curran White/Parks Conservancy
  • New and improved fire rings
    New and improved fire rings (or, in this case, fire squares) were added by the National Park Service to Ocean Beach in early 2017. The “fire pits” are very popular gathering spots for families and friends to enjoy the sunset and socialize. They are so popular that on a nice Friday or Saturday evening, it is often hard to find an open fire pit. Kirke Wrench/National Park Service
  • Corporate-partner volunteers
    Corporate-partner volunteers celebrate after collecting trash and debris along Rodeo Beach during the 2017 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. Each year, tens of thousands of volunteers give their time to participate in activities to maintain and improve the Golden Gate National Parks—on MLK Day and throughout the year. Kirke Wrench/National Park Service
  • In February 2017, park visitors and members of the community gathered for the opening of the new William Penn Mott, Jr. Presidio Visitor Center. The new center is located on the Main Post, in view of the Golden Gate Bridge
    In February 2017, park visitors and members of the community gathered for the opening of the new William Penn Mott, Jr. Presidio Visitor Center. The new center is located on the Main Post, in view of the Golden Gate Bridge. Kirke Wrench/National Park Service
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January 1, 2018