San Francisco‘s Golden Gate Park is the third-most visited park in the country, home to gardens, museums, lakes and wildlife (including buffalos) it’s an urban enclave unlike any other.
What makes it special? Check it out:
- The California Academy of Sciences is one of the most ecologically-attuned museums on Planet Earth. Natural history is the theme, in all of its manifestations: flora, fauna, mineral and extraterrestrial. Explore the aquarium, planetarium and myriad nooks and crannies that set this place apart from the pack. If you’re inclined to research, the academy harbors an archive of more than 20 million specimens, and a stupendous library.
- While the academy’s indoor precincts are spectacular, the San Francisco Botanical Garden beckons you outside. Native California flora abounds, as well as plants from the reaches of southwestern Australia, Chile and even South Africa. They’re all in the Mediterranean sector of the garden. From this part of the garden you’ve got access to the John Muir Nature Trail as well as the Redwood Trail. There’s a trio of other sections – Mild-Temperate, Montane Tropic and Specialty. In the latter see (and smell) the Garden of Fragrance.
- One of the park’s most magical attractions is its famous carousel. It’s in the Koret Children’s Quarter. There you can harness a menagerie of animals: dragon, camel, giraffe, ostrich, tiger and – of course – horses. Since its inception, just three carousels have graced the park. This one is number three and it was lovingly crafted in 1914 by the Herschell-Spillman Company.
(Image: gtall1)
