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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2009 Turning the Tide
Park E-Ventures Article
The Institute at the Golden Gate has had the privilege of hosting many fellows and interns throughout the past four years of driving positive environmental change. This month, we’re honoring the many people who have left their mark on the Institute’s work.
National Park Service Ranger with Summer Campers
Park E-Ventures Article
The kids are antsy and the beginning of the school year is weeks and weeks and weeks away. Not to fear—the Golden Gate National Parks are here and near! Here are 10 fun and affordable ways to get the kids outside, in nature, and happily exhausted by the end of...
Batteries to Bluffs Trail, Golden Gate Bridge
Park E-Ventures Article
It’s summer time and that means trails throughout our parks will be bustling with families. Did you know that Crissy Field Center also uses trails for educational purposes? Learn how Camping at the Presidio utilizes the Batteries to Bluffs Trail in their new program “Are We There Yet?”
Hands release a hawk
Park E-Ventures Article
Parks Conservancy internships launch scientific careers! Chris Briggs was a banding intern with the GGRO in 2000. A dozen years of raptor research later, Dr. Briggs returns to the GGRO as the Banding Program Manager to take over when Buzz Hull retires.
Hiking near Muir Beach
Park E-Ventures Article
In early June 2012, the Institute at the Golden Gate and the East Bay Regional Parks District, with the support of the National Park Service, hosted a convening of Bay Area park and health professionals to discuss the current state and potential future of the Park Prescriptions initiative and the...
Franciscan Manzanita
Park E-Ventures Article
Some have asked: Why don’t we just buy plants from our local nurseries to restore the park? In short, the Parks Conservancy grows native plants from seed because such a practice increases the chances of the plants’ survival.
Mission blue butterfly (Icaricia icariodes missionensis)
Park E-Ventures Article
A bright flash passes by, triggering someone to yell “BLUE!” Team members nimbly make their way through a mosaic of summer lupines at Oakwood Valley. Quickly but carefully, one person follows the butterfly until it lands. “It’s a mission blue, male, resting on a lupine.” Read on to learn more.
Park E-Ventures Article
Trail Mix. Scroggin. Gorp. Studentenfutter. Schmogle. Great names for a great snack! Try one of our specially formulated blends on your next park outing. Read on for some of our favorite recipes.
Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary
Park E-Ventures Article
We’ve all hosted parties. But what happens when the party spans a weekend, your guest list includes 250,000 people, and it takes an army to get ready? You enlist volunteers! Find out from one Parks volunteer what it was like to be part of San Francisco’s biggest party of the...
Park E-Ventures Article
To build excitement for National Trails Day on June 2, 2012, we are putting you to the (trail) test. Flex your brain muscles to identify the park and the trail in the photos below and discover what type of trail aficionado (or not!) you are. (Scroll down for the answers)...
Park E-Ventures Article
In the 21st century, Bald Eagles have become a more common than rare sighting in the Bay Area, mostly seen in the wintertime near a supply of ducks or fish. In the spring or summer, nesting Balds may even stake a claim near a large Bay Area lake or reservoir...
seeds
Park E-Ventures Article
As you are out enjoying the parks this summer, be sure to take a closer look and appreciate the many ways that plants have adapted to ecological conditions to disperse their seeds.