Visitors keep discovering new pleasures in this jewel of a national park. From eucalyptus-lined ridges overlooking the City to its restored wetlands and beaches, it is both a place of tranquil seclusion and unique activities. Transferred from the Army to the National Park Service in 1994, the Presidio offers forests and museums, rambling trails and restaurants, cliffside surf and historic architecture.

The fine ruins here excite visitors' imaginations. Adolf Sutro, a visionary 19th-century San Francisco mayor, built a home and gardens on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. Today all that is left are dreamily romantic gardens. Below it, on a rocky shore, are the vast remains of Sutro Baths.

Ridges and ravines mark this hiking area 25 minutes south of San Francisco. Wildlife, including hawks, deer, and wildflowers, abound on the slopes which drop to the Bay on one side and Thornton Beach on the other. The park's highest point is 1,200 feet and has a plaque honoring Portola's discovery of the Bay in 1769.

Offering more of a stroll than a hike, the two-mile trail that meanders through the meadows of this serene valley leads you to bluffs overlooking the Pacific. There you'll several fine sand beaches and the Pacific's shattering surf.

The long blue finger of Tomales Bay points seaward, straight along the San Andreas Fault from the north end of the Olema Valley out to the Pacific. Explore it by kayak and keep your eye for the abundant shore birds, such as herons, egrets, ospreys, and much more.

Yes, it's even more awesome than you imagined. Since it opened in 1937, this 1.7-mile suspension span between San Francisco and Marin counties has become one of the most beloved bridges in the world. A work of art, an engineering marvel, and an American icon, the Bridge is flanked on both ends by the natural beauty of the Golden Gate National Parks. Enjoy an exhilarating, but often chilly, walk across it.

No beach in the world has a view like this. From its sandy shore just west of the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, look east to a stunning panorama of the city. Limited parking. Camping reservations required.

Just a few miles from Muir Woods, Muir Beach is a lovely haven with a restored lagoon. Redwood Creek, home to a rich variety of shorebirds, salmon, and trout, empties here. The beach lies in a quiet and dramatic cove with its own sheltered picnic area.

You're in another world here, a picture-perfect rural valley bordering both the Golden Gate National Parks and Point Reyes National Seashore. This pastoral landscape stretches for nine miles, its ribbon of Highway 1 unspooling between the slopes of Bolinas and Inverness Ridge. Here you have an opportunity to experience two national parks in one trip.

Ready for a challenge? This 4,000-acre park above the San Mateo coast is a former Spanish colonial land grant. It boasts miles of winding public trails, important watersheds, diverse wildlife, and, atop 2,000-foot Montara Mountain, a breath-taking 360-degree view from the Bay to the Pacific.