Golden Gate Park was built with children in mind: its southeast corner holds the Koret Children’s Quarter, one of the oldest public playgrounds in America, where generations of San Franciscans have climbed the concrete slides, ridden the swings and explored play structures that keep getting better. Right beside it spins the park’s beloved 1914 carousel, its hand-painted animals circling inside a storybook rotunda.
Families build whole days around this corner: playground, carousel, then the park’s lawns, the nearby Conservatory of Flowers and hot chocolate from a park cafe. It’s old-fashioned city childhood, preserved and polished – and the concrete slides are still gloriously fast.
