Site
1
Wave Organ
2
Seward Street Slides
3
Musee Mechanique
4
Clipper Cove
5
Audium
6
Free Gold Watch
7
Presidio Pet Cemetery
8
Precita Eyes
9
Fortune Cookie Factory
10
Giant Sundial
11
Mosaic tiled steps
12
Spire
13
Golden Gate Casting Pools
14
Farallones Marine Sanctuary
15
Cayuga Park
16
Eagle Point Labyrinth
17
Camera Obscura
18
Sunnyside Conservatory
19
Glen Park Canyon
20
Sand Dunes
21
Greenwich Steps
22
SF History Center
23
Billy Goat Hill Park
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The Wave Organ is a system of PVC pipes and cemetery stones that rely on the power of the ocean to create music. Exploratorium artists in residence George Gonzales and Peter Richards created the system in 1986. It's best around 5:30AM. Walk to the end of a spit of land and enjoy the sounds and some excellent views.
http://rentnema.com/blog/out-and-about-at-san-franciscos-hidden-parks/
http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/wave-organ
Marina
https://www.google.com/maps/place/The+Wave+Organ/@37.8086207,-122.4401935,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x50d83c0a55fbcd2a, 83 Marina Green Dr
Free
Nearly 40 feet of cement slides. Bring your own cardboard, or hope that there's some hanging around. Throw some sand down the top of the slide to gain extra speed.
https://localwiki.org/sf/Seward_Street_Slides
http://sfrecpark.org/destination/seward-mini-park/
Castro
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Seward+Mini+Park/@37.7578734,-122.4397167,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xaa87bf747ceac740 30 Seward St
Free
A collection of over 200 privately owned coin-operated mechanical musical instruments and antique arcade machines in their original working condition, including artifacts from the Zelinsky family who had previously displayed their games at Playland at the Beach in the 1920s.
http://www.museemecaniquesf.com/image.php?img=/images/musee_entrance_new.jpg
http://www.museemecaniquesf.com
Fisherman's Wharf
https://www.google.com/maps/place/musee+mecanique/@37.8097112,-122.4167234,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xed9aa8b90062eab8?sa=X&ved=0CJABEPwSMA5qFQoTCPGh57ir5sgCFRDLYwodEW0P7w Pier 45 at the foot of Taylor Street
Free
$ (5-15)
A hidden stretch of beach to the south of Treasure Island’s yacht harbor, shielded from the wind with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge. Good for kayaking, picnicking, or a quick stop on the way to or from Oakland.
http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?181671-Treasure-Island-Cruise-In-8-30-9-1  http://sftreasureisland.org/cove
http://www.californiabeaches.com/beach/clipper-cove-beach-on-yerba-buena-island/
Outside SF
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Clipper+Cove+Way,+San+Francisco,+CA+94130/@37.8161988,-122.3731205,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x808580308f12c5bd:0x30558fb6e1d660e8
Free
The only theatre of its kind, Audium pioneers the exploration of space in music. The theatre's 176 speakers surround listeners in sounds that move past, over, and under them. "Sound sculptures" are performed in darkness in the 49-seat theatre. No children under 12; $20 tickets.
http://www.upout.com/blog/fun/celebrate-burning-man-in-san-francisco
http://www.audium.org/
Nob Hill
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Audium/@37.7883599,-122.4239985,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x2b9de0818d048df9?sa=X&ved=0CHkQ_BIwCmoVChMIu9nYz6vmyAIVENtjCh1azwRV 1616 Bush Street
$$ (15-25)
What began as a silk screening print shop has now also become an impressive vintage arcade, housing 20 pinball machines, skeeball, and scores of other classic games at ’80s arcade prices. Check the website for times and tournaments.
https://instagram.com/freegoldwatch/?hl=en
http://freegoldwatch.com
Haight
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Free+Gold+Watch/@37.7681782,-122.4527041,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xc5438abd8814e010?sa=X&ved=0CIwBEPwSMA1qFQoTCMKB396r5sgCFUjeYwodl74P7w, 1767 Waller St.
$ (5-15)
Surrounded by a white picket fence, the pet cemetery is the final resting place for hundreds of loyal animals owned by families stationed at the Presidio. Grave markers resemble those found in military cemeteries and sometimes reflect the pets' military lives and service.
http://dereksisson.com/2010/10/presidio-pet-cemetery-part-2/  http://www.presidio.gov/explore/Pages/presidio-pet-cemetery.aspx
http://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/pet-cemetery.htm
Presidio
https://www.google.com/maps/place/pet+cemetery+san+francisco/@37.801089,-122.4671008,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x9ffea37d63b003a9?sa=X&ved=0CH4Q_BIwDWoVChMI4fKG4I65yAIVA6yACh0W8w7f
Free
One of three community mural centers in the US, Precita is a community-based arts organization that sponsors and implements ongoing mural projects throughout the Bay Area and internationally.
http://www.precitaeyes.org/images/  http://missionlocal.org/2013/09/sundays-with-precita-eyes-the-missions-outdoor-gallery/
http://www.precitaeyes.org
Mission
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Precita+Eyes+Muralists/@37.7525053,-122.4159515,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x808f7e488da64dd1:0xca37e30a9ce03726, 2984 24th St
Free
This factory has been supplying fortune cookies to Chinatown and around the world since 1962. From just outside the entrance you can watch fortune cookies being made right in front of you. Take a free tour. Buy them by the bag or the handful.
http://www.thebolditalic.com/articles/5082-a-look-at-sfs-tiny-fortune-cookie-factory http://www.cifography.com/fortunecookie
http://www.sanfranciscochinatown.com/attractions/ggfortunecookie.html
Chinatown
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Golden+Gate+Fortune+Cookie+Factory/@37.7969413,-122.4101603,17z/data=!4m5!1m2!2m1!1sfortune+cookie+factory!3m1!1s0x808580f35d997251:0xeaf42e49647fd390 56 Ross Alley
Free
A giant, climbable sundial, this oddity was erected in 1913 to lure prospective buyers to newly built homes in a little-known neighborhood that's worth a quick visit.
https://www.baycitizen.org/news/local-intelligence/local-intelligence-giant-sundial/  http://www.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/09/04/tourism-for-locals-keeping-time-with-ingleside-terraces-massive-sundial
http://www.sfog.us/solar/sfsundials.htm
Ingleside
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ingleside+Terraces,+San+Francisco,+CA/@37.7263628,-122.476009,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x808f7dc9c01ce799:0x760a7f1b8df2bf67 Ingleside Terraces
Free
The 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project has been a neighborhood effort to create a colorful mosaic running up the risers of the 163 steps located at 16th and Moraga in San Francisco. Designed by local artists, it was put together by more than 300 people from the neighborhood, and took two years to complete.
http://www.tiledsteps.org/
http://www.tiledsteps.org
Sunset
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Tile+steps/@37.7561862,-122.4779935,16z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x80858761c278b065:0x3d5b0419554cd6ed  16th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122
Free
The handy work of Andy Goldsworthy, this sculpture of trees was constructed in 2008 in a grove near the Arguello Gate. Located along the Presidio's Bay Area Ridge Trail, it is comprised of 38 large cypress trunks, fastened together. Spire is over 90 feet at it's highest point. Also worth checking out are Wood Line and Tree Fall, Goldsworthy's other Presidio installations.
http://www.presidio.gov/explore/Pages/andy-goldsworthy-spire-wood-line.aspx
http://www.presidio.gov/explore/Pages/andy-goldsworthy-spire-wood-line.aspx, http://www.for-site.org/project/goldsworthy-in-the-presidio/
Presidio
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/''/Bay+Area+Ridge+Trail,+San+Francisco,+CA+94129/@37.7929092,-122.4423575,14z/data=!4m8!4m7!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x80858725c65bf031:0xc71859f5fcfe1ae2!2m2!1d-122.4600358!2d37.7919126 San Francisco Bicycle Route 65, San Francisco, CA 94129
Free
Part of the Golden Gate Angling and Casting Club, these shallow casting pools were created to perfect your fishing game. Located along the Equestrian Trail in Golden Gate Park, the pools are fascinating. Free Casting Lessons at the GGACC Angler’s Ponds accommodate all levels of casters and are usually held between 9:30am and 12pm. You must RSVP on the club website to make sure enough instructors are present.
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/mdalton/3897385010/ http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/infrastructure/b2.html
http://www.ggacc.org, http://www.golden-gate-park.com/golden-gate-angling-casting-club.html
Richmond
https://www.google.com/maps/place/37°46'08.0%22N+122°29'44.7%22W/@37.7688968,-122.4979299,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x0
Free
Located 27 miles west of San Francisco, in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, these islands support a wide array of wildlife including seabirds, seals and sea lions, and porpoises and dolphins. The islands also serve as migratory destinations for the great white shark, and orca, gray, humpback, and blue whales. A day-long adventure leaves from SF's Pier 39.
https://www.oceanicsociety.org/whale-watching/farallons http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/07/29/marin-county-man-swimming-historic-route-from-sf-to-farallon-islands/
http://www.farallones.org/about_us/index.php, https://www.sfbaywhalewatching.com/farallones.php, https://www.oceanicsociety.org/whale-watching/farallons
Outside SF
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Farallon+Islands,+San+Francisco/@37.8622252,-123.212069,10z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8085e2b7910a1ba3:0xdc331bc6012c791a
$$$$ (50+)
Filipino emigrant Demetrio Braceros transformed what was once an abandoned and sketchy park into a whimsical experience filled with imaginary wooden creatures and totem poles.
http://thescrambler.com/august08-cayuga-park http://sfrecpark.org/reservablefacility/cayuga-clubhouse/
http://sfrecpark.org/destination/cayuga-playground/
Outer Mission
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cayuga+Playground/@37.7146684,-122.4540066,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x808f7c2639a02073:0x3338e8375190ac95?hl=en-US 301 Naglee Ave
Free
This labyrinth (off of the Coastal Trail) was made (and has been re-made at least 3 times since 2008) with grapefruit-sized stones and inspired by traditional walking labyrinths from monasteries, where the goal is contemplation and meditation.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jessandcolin/3216856632  http://www.yelp.com/biz/eagles-point-san-francisco
https://plus.google.com/112051995129989495358/about
Richmond
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Eagle+Point+Labyrinth/@37.7880047,-122.505852,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x9536fe6d1540ff8a?sa=X&ved=0CJIBEPwSMA9qFQoTCMfRhPei5sgCFVTOYwodqpYIjQ, Lands End Trail
Free
The camera obscura is based on a 15th century design by Leonardo da Vinci. It produces 360 degrees of live images of the Seal Rock Area using a series of mirrors and sunlight that reflect on a concave disk. The last remaining structure of the world famous Playland, it was built by Floyd Jennings and Gene Turtle in 1946 on the observation deck behind the Cliff House.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camera_Obscura_(San_Francisco).JPG
http://www.giantcamera.com, https://www.cliffhouse.com/history/camera_obscura.html
Richmond
https://www.google.com/maps/place/1096+Point+Lobos+Ave,+San+Francisco,+CA+94121/@37.7787764,-122.505876,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x808587b5819977d5:0x3c810824bf4fed99, 1096 Point Lobos Ave.
Free
English inventor William Augustus Merralls originally built this gathering space on his estate in 1898. The Conservatory has passed from private to public hands and is now owned by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. The hundred-year old palm grove and the dramatic foliage of the surrounding gardens are open everyday dawn to dusk. The conservatory building is open for permitted private and community events.
http://sfrecpark.org/destination/sunnyside-conservatory/  http://sunnysideconservatory.org/award-winning-restoration/
http://sunnysideconservatory.org
Sunnyside
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Sunnyside+Conservatory/@37.7319652,-122.4495953,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x5e38d2d8eb4e1b9d 236 Monterey Blvd
Free
Tucked in a tiny canyon between residential neighborhoods, Glen Canyon Park is a small open space preserve that boasts redtail hawks, owls, raccoons, skunks, and possums. Islais Creek runs through the canyon, which provides unique views of the city. The main Bosworth entrance is preferred, and easiest to find.
http://sfforest.org/2012/01/31/a-thousand-signatures-against-poisons-in-the-park/ http://glenparkassociation.org/2010/12/14/tell-rec-and-park-what-do-to-thursday/
http://bahiker.com/sfhikes/glencanyon.html
Glenridge
https://www.google.com/maps/place/glen+canyon+park/@37.7415588,-122.4431851,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x8f353da71333a1f3?sa=X&ved=0CIsBEPwSMA9qFQoTCLuciP635sgCFcU2iAodpYgNQA  Elk St
Free
San Francisco was once covered with sand dunes, the largest of which can can be found at Fort Funston. Rough trails depart from Fort Funston and travel south along the ocean into San Mateo County. By early summer, the dunes along the ocean are dotted with vivid bouquets of flowers.
http://www.san-francisco-travel-secrets.com/fort-funston.html
http://www.nps.gov/goga/planyourvisit/fortfunston.htm nps.gov
Lake Merced Park
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Fort+Funston+National+Park/@37.7163014,-122.5112901,14z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x2c5b494bcda94ecc Fort Funston Rd
Free
One of two sets of stairs leading up to (or down from) historic Coit Tower (the others are the Filbert Steps), the Greenwich Steps begin with panoramic views of the city and then descend into lush gardens at the foot of Telegraph Hill.
http://www.inetours.com/Pages/SFNbrhds/Coit_Tower.html  http://www.yelp.com/biz/greenwich-street-stairs-san-francisco
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60713-d142465-Reviews-Greenwich_Steps-San_Francisco_California.html  http://www.yelp.com/biz/greenwich-street-stairs-san-francisco
Embarcadero
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Greenwich+Steps/@37.8030381,-122.4038063,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x3071c879fcbe2567  231 Greenwich St
Free
Tucked away on the 6th floor of the San Francisco Public Library, the Daniel E. Koshland San Francisco History Center contains a research collection of books, newspapers and magazines, photographs, maps, posters, archives and manuscript collections, and ephemera, documenting all aspects of San Francisco life and history.
http://www.baya.org/page/2  http://sf.funcheap.com/ready-518carnegie-contemporary-building-san-francisco-libraries/
http://sfpl.org/index.php?pg=0200002501
Mid-Market
https://www.google.com/maps/place/San+Francisco+Public+Library/@37.7792824,-122.4158576,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xebdea9b084af4b86 100 Larkin St
Free
This hilltop park with its modest 0.2 miles of steep switchbacks, has amazing views of the city and bay, and a mix of urban forest and grassland plant communities. The park can be accessed from 30th street or Beacon Street.
http://sfrecpark.org/destination/billy-goat-hill/
http://sfrecpark.org/destination/billy-goat-hill/
Glenridge
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Billy+Goat+Hill+Park/@37.7412358,-122.4330991,15z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0x4d80767c0852cc39?sa=X&ved=0CIcBEPwSMA1qFQoTCMudv4Xn5sgCFUnjYwodgXMFuw 30th & Castro
Free
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