In the southeastern corner of San Francisco, John McLaren Park spreads across 312.86 acres of grasslands, hills and wetlands, making it the largest park in the city after Golden Gate Park and one of its happiest open secrets. The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department cares for this sweeping landscape, and it rewards anyone willing to wander a little farther south.
The park is made for full days outdoors. Seven miles of trails wind through it, including a section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, and the Philosopher’s Way is a 2.7-mile loop dotted with stone markers that invite walkers to pause and reflect as the views open up. Along the way you will find the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, a golf course, water reservoirs and a charming bog where redwood trees surprise first-time visitors.
Families and groups have plenty of room to settle in: there are five picnic areas with tables and grills, five playgrounds, two fishing ponds and playing fields and courts for all kinds of games. In spring and early summer, the park’s native grasslands put on one of the city’s best wildflower shows, proof that wild beauty thrives well within city limits.
Best of all, McLaren Park still feels undiscovered. While other San Francisco parks fill up by noon, here there is space to fly a kite, watch the hawks circle overhead and picnic above the bay. Happy City News happily recommends it as the city’s great green backyard in the southeast.
Photo: SFHistoryNerd, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
