Park Stories

Highlighting the people, engaging programs and beautiful places that make the Golden Gate National Parks special. Can't get enough? Sign up for our monthly E-ventures newsletter, and become a member today to receive our gorgeous Gateways newsletter quarterly. More about our publications here

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Redwood Fog Globe
Article
Celebrate California's redwood forests with our new fog globe, winner of the 2019 Public Lands Alliance Innovative Product of the Year Award.
Hanging out at Muir Beach.
Article
Find a new park or activity, and check out what our youth leaders are doing for spring break in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond.
San Francisco Park Stewardship Intern Jonathan Howell
Article
For the last few months you’ve been hearing from either Yakuta, Gabriel, or Jainita, but this month our team got bigger! Please welcome Jonathan Howell: A motorcycle-riding, mountain-climbing parks lover you’ll want to meet.
A great horned owl.
Article
By Jainita Patel San Francisco Park Stewardship Intern It’s March and you know what that means—bird season! Soon, Lands End will be covered in passing migratory birds of all colors, shapes, and sizes. However, one particular bird caught my eye last month and it wasn’t a migratory bird—and it wasn’t...
Getting to work at Love Your Parks Day at Lands End in February 2019.
Article
By Elizabeth Aldenderfer Park Stewardship Trails Program Intern Recently, park stewardship teams joined forces to host a day all about appreciation and care for Love Your Parks Day in the Golden Gate National Parks! Nearly 40 people within the community showed up at Lands End eager to learn, love, and...
Women's Trail Day volunteers at a past event in the Golden Gate National Parks.
Article
What is it about an all-women, volunteer workday that makes us feel important, of value, and special? In the #MeToo movement era, women are committed to making a space for ourselves and to come together as a community.
Yerba buena (Clinopodium douglasii) plants.
Article
Have you ever wondered if the various plant and mushroom species you find when exploring San Mateo park sites are edible? You can’t take these with you, but you can get some ideas for your own garden and your next recipe!
Article
Did you hear the really BIG news? From October 2018 to March 2019, an artful, artificial leviathan landed on Crissy Field.
A trail at Rancho Corral de Tierra in San Mateo County.
Article
It’s amazing to think the land we are stewarding at Rancho Corral de Tierra used to be connected with the Sierra Nevada and has very slowly, over geologic time, made its way to the current location of present day San Mateo County.
Volunteers at work
Gateways Article
Superhero movies might be trendy, but being a hero to the parks never goes out of style—especially during times of need (ahem, partial federal government shutdown).
Man holding fishing net with juvenile coho salmon in it. He's about to hand it over to a research to re-release it in Redwood Creek.
Marin Parks Stewardship Newsletter Article
For coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), the connection between Redwood Creek and the Pacific Ocean is a matter of life or death.
Bruce Fowler's Future ID is on display with others at Alcatraz through October.
Gateways Article
Bruce Fowler is currently incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Through the San Quentin Arts in Corrections program, he participated in the Art in the Parks installation Future IDs at Alcatraz. Fowler’s artwork, depicting a sailboat and his captain’s license, is on display along with other IDs in the New...