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 Magazine. More about our publications here

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Youth wellness collage
Gateways Article
During the summer months, the Crissy Field Center would normally be teeming with young people. While we’ve missed connecting and engaging in person, we’re meeting virtually and practicing wellness.
The main entrance to Muir Woods National Monument.
Article
“We share the history of racism in national parklands as tools and reminders for change,” said Chris Lehnertz, President & CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. “We are on the strong side of advocating for a more just world.”
Black and yellow peregrine falcon with white fluffy chicks in rocky nest
Article
For the first time in recorded history, peregrine falcons have nested on Alcatraz Island! After months of observating the pair, park biologists have spotted two fledglings.
Uniformed firefighters gesture to each other as a prescribed fire burns on the grassy landscape.
Gateways Article
As autumn nears, park managers are shifting priorities towards wildfire resilience and protecting communities along the wildland-urban interface: the high-risk zone where human development meets flammable vegetation.
Alcatraz Garden Volunteers
Park E-Ventures Article
While the Alcatraz Garden volunteers have not been able to interact with the beautiful land they care for since March 13, that hasn’t stopped them from staying connected with one another.
Colorful wildflowers in front of a disused federal penitentiary building on Alcatraz Island.
Article
For two months this year following the shelter-in-place order, the five gardens at Alcatraz grew wild and untended until Shelagh Fritz, the Senior Program Manager on the island, was able to return. The history of the Alcatraz Gardens is one of careful planning, wild growth, and dedicated work.
Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida)
Article
The Quartermaster Reach project will create seven acres of extraordinary habitat for birds, plants, and other native species. But these culverts will do more than just let the waters flow beneath a busy roadway.
Aerial photo of Fort Mason, the San Francisco Bay, and the city.
Article
Discover the history of how the military shaped San Francisco's LGBTQ community.
Buffalo Soldiers
Article
In this moment and as we continue forward, it’s important to acknowledge the racist history on these lands so that we can learn from it and overcome it.
Statements from Parks Conservancy open letter.
Article
Black Lives Matter—here at the Parks Conservancy, on our public lands and across the nation. We condemn anti-Black racism. Racial injustice and inequities across society have been a part of national systemic discrimination and bias for far too long. They will not be our future.
Historic image of dignitaries at Muir Woods to remember FDR.
Article
May 19 marks three quarters of a century since diplomats from across the globe ventured into Muir Woods to honor the memory of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Lana Salvador (center) with her fellow healthcare workers in San Francisco.
Article
Lana Salvador, a respiratory isolation nurse in San Francisco, reflects on the lessons she learned in nature 10 years ago as a LINC intern, and how she still uses those lessons today.