Park Stories

With all the stigma surrounding them, it’s important to understand all sides to the story. Bats play a major role in the balance of an ecosystem, in California and around the world.

Take a minute to read a poem about a beautiful bird we see throughout our San Mateo park sites. 

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy staff, interns, and volunteers look forward to participating in this day of service every year.

Come take a moment to lift up a log or peer closely at a fallen branch and you might be surprised at what you find. But what is that spongy-looking thing? And is that orange moss growing on that tree? Don’t worry, the Parks Conservancy has you covered in this “fun guide."

This new feature will take the time to thank and highlight some of our regular volunteers who have enriched our parks and our lives.

Despite a lapse in federal appropriations (also called “government shutdown”) that began on Saturday, December 22, many park sites and visitor facilities in the Golden Gate National Parks remain open.

The parks are fiercely visual, making it easy for photographers—both amateur and professional—to snap some truly awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping images. Out of thousands of photos taken this year in the Golden Gate National Parks, here are the 18 favorite photos from our staff photographers.

Pathways through the Golden Gate National Parks don’t always mean trails.  For many staff members at the Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service (NPS), and the Presidio Trust, their paths to full-time employment started during internships or youth programs offered in our parks.

Whether you’re an art lover or a volunteer with a penchant for planting, these (hopefully wet) winter activities will be sure to whet your appetite. Here’s the need-to-know lineup for January-March 2019.

Resolve to be outdoors more this year. Even doctors are actually handing out "park prescriptions."

Please welcome our new trail maintenance, construction, and stewardship interns! They will be working hard to fight the cold and care for trails over the next 6-9 months.

Whales are common recurring characters in the waters along Crissy Field, but in October 2018, one (artificial) leviathan made its landfall. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Blue Whale art exhibit on Crissy Field challenges everyday visitors to examine their plastic consumption and the health of our oceans.